glass shattered on the

ead like a p

an it

n' t even look at me. Her eyes were fixed on Damien, who was sitting nex

mph in his eyes. He had "accidenta

ly. In reality, I was a live-in servant, a punching bag, and the s

carred from years of this kind of work. I used to be an artist, my hands once capable o

ivian snapped. "Use your shirt. I do

ontempt. Damien chuckled softly, a low, c

liation was a familiar weight, a cloak I was force

arned long ago that argui

k up the wine, the cold liquid seeping through the fabric agai

rsary a week ago. Not their wedding anniversary, of course.

r of fake sympathy. "Like a pathetic little dog. D

into a sneer. "He w

years, the wounds they inflicted had become a part of me,

ave the Thorne empire from a hostile takeover. My family got a pittanc

oss of freedom, a cage she was forced into. And she made sure I felt every ounce of

He was the one who whispered poison in her ear, stoking the

e red stain now transferred to my

ad Damien' s eyes and Vivian' s cold demeanor. He was ta

e on the wall rang. It was an old landline, one the ser

ed it. "Thor

er eyes widening slightly be

s here. O

ssion a mixture of pity and fear. She knew

to beat a little faster. No one ever called for me

id, my voice ho

a kind, unfamiliar voic

Ye

neral Hospital. I' m calling abo

od ran

s... he' s asking for you, Alex. He says he h

th the force of a p

her wa

h was for me to

ted in the barren wasteland of my heart. It w

s reb