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My name is Ethan Prescott, scion of a powerful family, destined for a life groomed by expectation. My future was mapped out: marry Victoria Sterling, secure the Prescott legacy, forge a formidable alliance. But then I met Sarah, a bright, real woman who painted harbors and loved the sea. She awakened a truth in me that transcended wealth and duty, and I promised her a future, vowing to defy my iron-willed mother, Eleanor. But Eleanor's ultimatum crashed down, a brutal choice: marry Victoria and save my family's name, or watch Sarah's world crumble, utterly destroyed. I caved, clinging to a twisted compromise: marry Victoria, give them an heir, then we'd be free. What began as a desperate hope became a living nightmare. I stood by, powerless, as Victoria's calculated lies smeared Sarah, accusing her of crimes, orchestrating public humiliations, even leading to physical assault at my mother's command. I watched Sarah's spirit break, her belief in me shatter, all while I built a public facade of a perfect family with Victoria and our children, Lily and Daniel. Each "temporary" sacrifice I made was a new knife in her heart. How could I, the man who swore to protect her, become the architect of her deepest agony? Each decision fueled by fear, each broken promise, only cemented my role as her tormentor, crushing the very soul I claimed to love. I was a fool, chained by duty, believing my elaborate ruse protected her, when in reality, it was destroying her. But just as I stood at the altar, moments from sealing my public fate with Victoria, the horrifying truth erupted. I heard Victoria's chilling confessions of pure manipulation-the fake illnesses, the staged "accidents," even her "miscarriage"-and my own mother's cold admission of forcibly banishing Sarah. Now, the scales have fallen from my eyes. I know the depths of their deceit, and I will tear down their empire to find Sarah and reckon with the ghosts of my unforgivable past.