Ware

g me 'husband' last night." That text, a ghost from an alternate reality, flashed through my mind. But my text

o offered a lifeline: my Juilliard professor, Dr. Elena Petrova. Dr. Petrova, I

new you would. I' ve already secured your fl

s hidden under a blanket of Glenn' s possessiveness. I stuffed a small duffel bag with essentials, leaving behind

loyalty." I stared at the engraved initials, F.W. and G.C. A cruel joke. With a flick of my wrist, I unclasped it a

s still a naive teenager in the foster system. The tech mogul family he vaguely said was looking for me. It was a long

emerged, impeccable as always, and then Karis appeared, clinging to his arm, her laughter tinkling in th

s built on my heartbreak. And he still had no idea what was coming. He thought he had me tied down, a p

rk contrast to the chaotic symphony of my racing thoughts. Glenn wasn't h

landed, love. Miss you already. Can't w

All

f Glenn proposing, a close-up of the diamond on her finger. Engaged to the most wo

e wore a dress he' d bought me last year, a shimmering emerald green. He looked at her with that intense, possessive gaze he

as a replica of a memory, a cruel distortion of a past that had once been mine. He was mimicking the gestures,

beautiful, Fae," he'd said, his voice soft, almost convincing. "But my love is a full-time commitment. I need you here, by my side." He'd called i

like I do, Fae," he'd whispered, his words a silken chain. "No one will understand you." I

She craved his status, his wealth, his powerful family. She was everything he wanted: compliant, ambitious in ways that serv

wide and innocent. "He's just worried about you. You should listen to him." She had been a co-conspirator, a snake in the grass, whispering poison in my ear while

tbreak; it was a profound, soul-deep revulsion. My body trembled, cold

Just left the fitting for my wedding dress

e was rubbing it in, twisting the knife. She knew.

lenn' s lies, Karis' s manipulations, his grandfather' s pressure-it was all a meticulously

He looked rumpled, tired, but satisfied. He walked into th

gning surprise. His voice was too bright

touch hollow. I didn't respond, didn't move. He paused, then p

ld a glint of calculation. He was analyzing, assessi

time. The man who had promised me the world, the man who had built me a golden cage, th

was