Chapter 2 The bride

It started with a DM from a guy named Jules. One night on his Yacht. No strings. No promises. Tori thought it was all fun until she caught feelings. What began as a crazy night on his Yacht turned into crazier days... Now she's drowning in a love story that's hotter, messier, and more dangerous than she ever imagined. Because loving Jules comes with one RULE... And love that feels too good never comes without a PRICE...

For three years, I, the actress Ava, poured my heart into loving Ethan. I proposed to him 99 times, each met with a casual rejection, yet I clung to the hope that my devotion would eventually win him over. But one night, a chilling discovery shattered my deluded reality. I overheard Ethan whispering words of passionate love, not to me, but to a photograph of his niece, Mia. My heart slammed against my ribs. My boyfriend, the man I lived with, was obsessed with his much younger niece, and I was merely a convenient cover for their forbidden relationship. The full horror of his deceit hit me like a physical blow. Before I could process the betrayal, Mia, the object of his twisted affection, brutally shoved me down a flight of stairs, leaving me for dead and comatose. When I woke, broken and disoriented, Ethan confirmed my worst nightmare: he had given my healthy kidney to Mia during my coma, essentially dismembering me to save his obsession while I was helpless. The ultimate violation-a piece of my body, the most profound gift, forcibly stolen and given to the very person who tried to end me, all by the man who claimed to protect me. This wasn't just a betrayal; it was a total dehumanization. Yet, in that moment of utter devastation, a cold, unyielding resolve ignited within me. I had to escape, to reclaim my life from the monster who had taken everything.

Ethan Miller, a tech mogul, believed he had it all: a thriving empire and a fiancée, Seraphina Blackwood, his pure and minimalist sanctuary. He' d poured millions into her "spiritual journey," building her a lavish, soundproof studio for meditation and yoga. But one day, a system alert about unusual power consumption led him to an unimaginable scene. The serene studio was a den of debauchery, filled with loud music, champagne, and Seraphina, who shrieked with laughter that he "totally bought it!" She bragged about bleeding him dry for ruining her life, revealing her "pure and spiritual" facade was a calculated act of revenge to fund a reunion with her criminal ex-boyfriend. His world shattered; love turned to a cold, hard rage. He reeled from the betrayal, realizing he wasn' t her savior but her target, a naive fool he vowed would see his vengeance. This time, his "lucky touch" wouldn't be for her benefit but for his own absolute reclamation.

"Let' s get a divorce, Victoria." It was our fifth wedding anniversary, and for the ninety-ninth time, I heard those flat, bored words from my wife, Victoria, as she dismissed me for real estate analytics on her tablet. But then, she lowered the tablet, her beautiful, cold face mocking me: "Besides, I can' t leave you right now. I' ve been poisoned." She claimed a "love charm" from Thailand made her obsessed with her assistant, Ryan, who was the only one who could "cure" her. She then presented me with an absurdly expensive watch for our anniversary, a symbol of "loyalty," before calmly asking me to move out so Ryan could move in for his "treatment." Then, I saw it: my late mother' s cherished cashmere scarf, a symbol of my last tender memory, wrapped smugly around Ryan' s neck. It was the final cut, twisting the knife in a wound I thought was numb. "No," I said, the word startling even myself. I walked into a gleaming skyscraper, ready to resign, only to be told Victoria' s signature was required. She made me kneel in a crowded, high-end restaurant, forcing me to publicly declare I wasn' t good enough for her, just to sign my resignation. I did it. I walked out feeling nothing but a grim sense of victory, clutching the signed paper. Then, the world shattered when news reports surfaced, not from my new life, but of her erratic behavior, even assaulting someone who spoke ill of me. My phone rang, "Northwood Police Department." Victoria had filed a missing person' s report. She had found me. "She' s on her way to your office now, sir," the officer said, "We' re sending a car over as a precaution, just to keep the peace." My new life, so carefully built, was crumbling before my eyes because Victoria couldn' t stand to lose control. What would I do?

They told me it was a contract marriage, a deal to save my mother' s life. In reality, it was my own slow death sentence. For three years, I was hired to be Chloe Davis' s husband, the man she blamed for ruining her life after her high school sweetheart dumped her. I endured her endless parade of boyfriends, her daily allowance of five dollars, and constant humiliation, all to ensure my ailing mother received the best care. Then, the day my mother died, Chloe' s assistant called, demanding I return home from the funeral to make snacks for a party. Chloe, my wife, had no idea my mother was gone. Days later, I learned the truth: my mother had committed suicide to free me, after Chloe' s cousin, Jake Stone, maliciously convinced her that she was an inescapable burden. That night, at a club, Chloe poured red wine over my head for Jake' s amusement. But the ultimate betrayal came when I collapsed from malnutrition and exhaustion. Chloe visited me in the hospital, not with concern, but to demand I take the fall for Jake' s drunk driving accident. The irony was suffocating; her own reckless driving had caused the power outage that shut down my mother' s life support, effectively killing her. "No," I told her, my voice finally firm after years of silence. "I want a divorce." Her shock was absolute; I had never defied her. Before I could escape, Jake ambushed me, confessing his role in my mother' s death, triggering a rage that landed me back in the hospital. Yet, Chloe watched as her bodyguards, on her command, broke my ribs and crushed my painting hand. Why had my life become this torment? Why had I, a quiet artist, become the target of such unbridled cruelty? I left with my mother' s ashes, leaving behind all the money, and promised myself I' d never look back.

My fiancé, Mark, whispered promises of forever, of a family, as we lay in bed watching the sunrise. He said he loved me, and I believed him with every fiber of my being. I built my world around him, his happiness my only goal. Then, I found his journal. Page after page, he wrote about Chloe, his childhood sweetheart, with a desperate, passionate love he never showed me. It was dated a week after he proposed to me. I wasn't his love; I was a placeholder, someone convenient to fund his lifestyle and soothe his ego while he waited for his true love to be available. The gentleness was a tool, his promises a means to an end. My heart shattered into a million pieces. Then Chloe' s husband died, and her family went bankrupt. Mark brought her to our home, demanding she stay. When I finally defied him, telling him she couldn't stay, he went into a rage. The next day, two rough men arrived. I thought they were there to evict me, but they grabbed me, dragging me from my home. "A lesson in obedience, Sarah," Mark had said, adjusting my collar as they held me. "You're tougher. Three days. I'll get the money and come for you. Just be a good girl." But he never came. I was thrown into a dark, reeking basement – an underground fight club. There, I learned the true meaning of his betrayal. He didn't just abandon me; he sold me, leaving me for dead, all to punish me for standing in his way. I barely escaped, a ghost of my former self. When I stumbled back home, I found him celebrating, bragging about how I had been "broken in." Sarah Miller died that night. Three years later, I faced him across a crowded ballroom, his gaze freezing on mine. He rushed towards me, murmuring, "Sarah? Is that you? Do you know I've been searching for you for three years!" But the broken girl was gone. I leaned into the warm, solid figure beside me, a cool smile on my face. "Mr. Stevens," I said, "we're not close. Please don't let my husband get the wrong idea."