a

in waves, Shawn's cold eyes, the red-haired woman's predatory smile, my belongings moved like I was nothing more than an inconvenient hou

Carla entered, not meeting my eye

d that you be moved to the blue guest suite downstairs. It

averted gaze. "Carla, please. My sister called

I'm sorry, Dr. Harrison. I don't know anything about your family." She glanced ner

overlooked the rose garden. My prison had been upgraded, but it was still a prison. The armed guard who h

rrace, but please don't attempt to leave the grounds," Carla murmured, setting my suitc

out, leaving me alone in the elegant suite. Despi

dress. The hot water of the shower couldn't cleanse the confusion and hurt that clung to me like a second

ith its delicate diamond pattern had been crafted specifically for my hand. Should I take it off? Ac

eflection. "I won't play

for fresh air to clear my pounding head. The sunshine felt like

k who's fi

mimosa dangling from her manicured fingers. Today, she wore a blood-red jumpsuit that hugged

e?" I asked, my voice s

ease." She looked me up and down with undisguised contempt. "God, no wonder Shawn's eyes wand

thm of my heart. "I'm not interested in fashion advice from someone who clearly spen

e now. Shawn might have felt obligated to give you better acc

interest in whatever you're trying to do. Just let me be." I pressed my fingers to

. The sound of breaking glass made me spin around, just in time t

from me!" she hissed, he

on. Her eyes widened, and a calculated look flashed across her face. With del

ed, the sound piercing through my shock. Vivian stumbled towar

low voice, so different from

crystal still clutched in my bloodstained hands as

, my voice rising with disbelief.

t through them, his expression shifting from concern to confusion to something cold and unre

?" he demanded, his vo

e your wife was a lunatic," she sobbed, gesturing wildly at me. "She wants to break my skull! The fact t

neurosurgeon, for God's sake. If I wanted to hurt someone, I wouldn't use a clumsy

oice was tight. "

ng this farce? After three months of marriage, after countless nights when he'd held me through nightmares

as I set the vase down on the table with deliberate care. "No

ried, a flash of pain, of longing, of something desperate and unspoken. But then it was go

me," Vivian sniffled, "and she just attacked me out

ned and walked toward the doors, my back straight and m

me to a stop with surprising force. I refused to look at

id, his voice low enough that o

wn Harrison never pleaded for anything in his life. He was always so confident, so in control.

ve arm around her shoulders as he guided her toward the house. I stood frozen, trying

with adrenaline and delayed shock. The woman was clearly unstable, dangerous, even

t my imprisonment in my own home. And beyond these walls, my family might

ing, I needed to understand how the man who had vowed to

food when my heart felt hollowed out. I had no phone, no computer, no way to contact

isman. Just yesterday morning, Shawn had kissed me goodbye, reminding me of our an

empty room, clinging to the thought like a lifeline. "L

hem too? What if the cut-off call from Lina wasn't just bad reception? The fear

ee months ago, I had stood before my family and friends and promised to love Shaw

transformed into a stranger, my family unre

, the man I loved slept besi

me, so intense I could barely breathe. I rolled onto my

at the shreds of my courage. "Just hold on a little longer. Someone wi

y head that whispered an even more terrifying possibilit

ave died for was the very one