Chapter 2

"A practical solution?" I choked out the words, my voice barely a whisper. "Mark, we're married. I love you. I just gave you everything."

I gestured wildly around the room, at the life we had built, a life now fractured and unreal. My whole body was shaking.

He sighed, a faint, annoyed sound, as if my emotional display was an inconvenience.

"Don't be naive, Ava," he said, swirling the dark liquid in his glass. "Love is a luxury. Power is a necessity. What you gave me was a tool to achieve that necessity. And it worked perfectly."

He set his glass down with a soft click.

"Look at the difference between you and Emily. She is a symbol of hope and sacrifice. The world adores her. Marrying her cements my image. It makes me untouchable."

He looked me up and down, his gaze dismissive.

"You," he said, "are a symbol of old money and privilege. A beautiful accessory, yes, but not the right one for the story I'm building now. Your family's name will protect you from the worst of the gossip, but my wife needs to be a saint. And that's Emily."

Every word was a calculated blow, designed to diminish me, to make me feel worthless.

"So what am I now?" I asked, the tears blurring his cold, handsome face. "Your secret? Your disgrace?"

"You are my good luck charm," he said, stepping forward and trying to touch my cheek. I flinched away. His hand dropped, but his smile remained. It was a predator's smile. "And you will continue to be. You'll stay here, in the penthouse. We can't have you running off and causing a scandal. Think of your family's reputation. Think of your mother."

The mention of my mother made my stomach clench with fear. He knew she was my weakness.

"You will be seen, occasionally," he continued, pacing slowly. "At lower-profile events. Everyone will assume we have an arrangement. The powerful do these things. It will be an open secret, and you will play your part. You will be gracious. You will be silent."

I just stared at him, unable to process the sheer cruelty of it all. The man I loved was a monster, and I had been blind.

I sank onto a sofa, my legs giving out. I felt hollowed out, a shell of the woman I was just twenty-four hours ago. The golden sheet from last night was gone, probably already sold, melted down, and repurposed. Just like me.

He came and sat beside me, his tone softening into something that sounded like concern but felt like a threat.

"Ava, I do care about you," he said, his voice a low murmur. "I truly do. That's why I'm making sure you're taken care of. You have everything you could ever want right here. Don't make this difficult. For either of us."

His hand rested on my knee, a gesture that was once comforting but now felt like a brand.

"Think of your mother, Eleanor," he said again, his voice gentle but firm. "She's so proud of our marriage, of what we represent. A scandal would devastate her. Her health isn't what it used to be. We wouldn't want to cause her any... distress, would we?"

The threat was clear, wrapped in a thin veil of fake affection. My mother's well-being was now a hostage in his game.

I closed my eyes, the fight draining out of me, replaced by a cold, heavy resignation. He had me trapped. He had thought of everything.

I opened my eyes and looked at him, the man who was my husband and now my jailer. I gave a slow, defeated nod.

"Okay, Mark," I whispered. "I'll do what you want."

He smiled, genuinely pleased this time. "Good girl. I knew you'd be reasonable."

He stood up, adjusted his tie, and walked towards the door, a man in complete control of his new world. My world.