n' s voice came through the phone, a mi

se apartment, away from the sleek, mi

voice steadier than I felt. "But

' ve loved you for ten years. I' ll take you wit

alized I missed so much. It was a stark contrast to

rst time in what felt like forever. "Let' s do it soon. I

d, his voice thick with emo

ispered, just as the f

every bit the powerful real estate developer he was, handsome an

d, his tone casual but ca

. It was a physical reaction now, my

ms into skylines. I thought we were a team, a power couple. A week ago, I found out I was just his playth

I said, ending the call and t

ce neutral, a mask I

ver me. "Going back to that little

hing outside this glittering city was

my face. "A little gift. To ma

e toy to keep me quiet. I took the keys with

rpreting it as compliance. He leaned in

g his hand away.

too strong to

, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

ad given Sophia, a gift he' d flaunted on soci

grip tight. "Stop acti

of his control over me. He thought he could bu

from us lit up. It was a picture of Mark and Sophia, smiling, with

ulled me toward the window, pressing me against the cold

th hot and unwelcome. "She' s the one I' m go

He was rubbing my face in his

my voice shaking with a pain so dee

ed himself closer, his hand sliding down

y voice dangerously low.

sed by my force. I immediately wiped the spot on my dress w

shifted back to that infuriating smirk. "Playin

king down at me as if I were

e my wife. It' s a business arrangement, good for both our families. But you... you' re the one I ha

d in the silence, a cruel parody o

to surprise him with a design award I' d won. His door was sl

doorknob, my happy annou

ding to Sophia?" Hayes had asked. "What ab

the moment he would tell his friend that I was th

a pastime. A fun distraction. You didn' t really think

ke it had dropped

k," Hayes had said, a no

he looks at me like I' m a god. It' s flattering. But her family has nothing. Sop

of my life, of my love, erased in a single, brutal s