Chapter 4

Ellie POV

The scattered, awkward applause following Marcus's crude display echoed in my ears like a taunt.

I slipped out through the French doors into the garden. The night air was crisp and cool, a merciful relief against the suffocating heat of the ballroom.

I needed to breathe. I needed to remind myself that his cruelty was his problem, not mine.

I found a stone bench tucked behind a tall hedge of hydrangeas and sank onto it, resting my throbbing ankle.

My mind replayed the kiss. The way he had looked at me. Like he wanted to destroy me just because I refused to break.

Suddenly, low voices drifted from the other side of the hedge.

I froze.

"Word is you were a bit rough on her in there," a male voice said. It was Marcus's business partner, David.

"Rough?" Marcus laughed. It was a cold, ugly sound. "It's a game, David. Ellie is manipulative. She's playing the victim with that cane. I have to show her who's in control."

Control. It was always about control.

Then Izzy's voice cut in, sharp and amused.

"She needed to learn her place," she said. "The bet was for nine goodbyes, Marcus. You remember?"

My blood ran cold.

"The bet?" David asked.

Izzy giggled. "Back in college. I bet you that I could make you leave her nine times before she finally snapped. And look at that. I won."

Silence hung heavy in the air.

Then Marcus spoke. "And you did it beautifully, Izzy. The gallery investment is yours. Consider it payment for saving me from a boring life."

I stopped breathing.

It wasn't just neglect. It wasn't just an affair.

It was a wager.

The missed surgery. The funeral. The rain on the highway.

They were just points on a scoreboard.

I felt a sensation I hadn't expected. The ice in my chest didn't melt; it hardened. It turned into something indestructible.

I didn't cry. I couldn't. You don't cry over a transaction. You just close the account.

I stood up silently. I realized then that I had been grieving a marriage that never existed. I had been in love with a mirage.

I walked back to the hotel, taking the service elevator to avoid seeing anyone.

I entered my suite. It felt empty, but clean.

I saw my portfolio on the desk. My designs. My future.

The door clicked open.

I turned.

Marcus was standing there. He had followed me.

He was holding a roll of paper in his hand. My blueprints. The ones I had left at the table in the ballroom.

"You forgot these," he said, tossing them onto the bed carelessly.

He looked smug. He thought he was bringing me a peace offering, or perhaps just returning lost property to a subordinate.

Those blueprints were for a studio in Maine. A solo project.

He reached out, as if to touch my arm.

"Don't," I said.

He frowned. "Stop the drama, Ellie. I defended you to David. I told him you were just emotional."

He was lying. I had just heard him.

I looked at the blueprints. That was my soul on that paper.

I lunged forward. I didn't care about the pain in my ankle. I grabbed the blueprints from the bed before he could get any closer.

I clutched them to my chest like a shield.

"Get out," I said.

He laughed. "Or what? You'll limp away?"

I looked him dead in the eye.

"Or I will destroy you, Marcus. Not with a game. But with the truth."