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I was Sarah Miller, an architect with big dreams, when I married Ethan Caldwell, the golden boy of Manhattan. I truly believed in love, that our quiet city hall wedding was just the beginning of our grand adventure. But my new life in his lavish penthouse quickly became a gilded cage. His stepmother, Victoria – his father' s younger wife, and Ethan' s undeniable obsession – revealed the sinister truth. I was a mere placeholder, a convenient beard, and she dared me: nineteen nights to win his heart, or vanish. My desperate attempts to connect were met with cold indifference. He left me trapped in a burning cafe, rushing to Victoria' s side. He demanded I lie to the press, destroying my reputation to save hers. Then, when a chemical attack struck, he shielded her, letting the corrosive liquid burn me. My love wasn't gradually eroded; it was systematically executed. How could I have been so blind, so foolish, so utterly disposable? The physical scars paled in comparison to the gaping wound in my soul. But this wasn't the end of my story, only the beginning of my true one. I broke free, rebuilt a life from the ashes, and found real love. He eventually saw Victoria's true colors and desperately tried to win me back, only to find himself crashing my engagement party. He came seeking me, but found only the cold, unyielding shell of the woman he' d destroyed. He thought I was his to reclaim, but the love he squandered was irrevocably dead.