When I was twenty years old, I was forced to marry River Brown.

Seven years older than me. CEO of one of the most ruthless business empires in the country. My family’s company had collapsed, buried under a mountain of debt, and River—cold, powerful, terrifyingly composed—was the one we owed it all to. His condition? Marry me.

I remembered trembling the day we signed the marriage contract. I thought I was signing away my freedom. But to my surprise… he was gentle. He never raised his voice, never touched me without care, never made me feel like a burden.

And slowly, I fell in love with him.

River brought me to Paris just to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night. He gifted me rare books when he found out I liked to read. He flew us on a private yacht to Santorini just because I said once that I dreamed of seeing the sunset from a cliff. Every time I got sick, he made sure I had fresh flowers and homemade soup. He wasn’t just kind—he was attentive. He made me feel… chosen.

So on our third wedding anniversary, I wanted to surprise him. A candlelit dinner by the sea, his favorite wine, the wind just soft enough to feel like a movie scene. I set it all up on the deck of our private villa.

And then she came.

The woman walked in like she owned the ocean. High heels clicking on the deck, her eyes locked on me like I was trash. She tossed a thick wad of cash right on the table, ruining the setup.

“Stay away from my River,” she spat, “Your job is done.”

I stared at her, stunned. “Excuse me? Who… who are you?”

She rolled her eyes like I should know. “Candice. His first love. Seven years ago, he proposed. I wasn’t ready, so I left to chase my dreams. Heard he married some poor bitch—must be you.” She gave me a disgusted once-over. “I let it happen. Thought he just needed a body to warm the bed while I was gone. But I’m back now. You can leave.”

“No,” I said, my voice firmer than I expected. “I’m his wife. I love him.”

She scoffed. “Love? That’s cute.”

She didn’t know. She didn’t see how he held me when I cried. How he laughed when I made pancakes. How he stared at me like I was the only thing that mattered in a room full of diamonds.

“You really think he loves you?” she said with a smirk. “Wanna make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?”

Candice leaned closer, her perfume sharp and suffocating. “Let’s both text him. I’ll tell him I’m back. You tell him you’re hurt. Let’s see who he runs to.”

I hesitated. “What?”

Before I could react, Candice snatched a knife from the dinner table and slashed my wrist.

“What are you doing?!” I screamed as I clutched my bleeding wrist.

“Just making it look real. Now, you say you got hurt. I’ll say I’m back in town and need him. Let’s see where his heart goes.”

“You’re insane.”

“No,” she said. “I’m confident. Are you?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, still staring at the blood trailing down my wrist.

“He’s going to come to me,” I whispered. “Today is our anniversary.”

I sent the text with shaking fingers. “River, I got hurt. Please come. I need you.”

Then, I sent the photo of my bleeding wrist hoping it would be enough for him to reply.

We waited.

Five minutes.

Ten.

Then Candice’s phone lit up.

She smiled. “Oops. It’s him.”

She answered and put him on speaker.

“Candice? My love?” River’s voice rang with excitement. “Oh God, you really came back. I missed you so much. Where are you? Let me come pick you up!”

My heart dropped.

Candice raised an eyebrow. “Pick me up? I thought today was your anniversary.”

River laughed on the other end. “As if I care about Allison. She’s convenient, that’s all. Now that you’re back, you’re my priority. I’ll just tell her I’m busy—she won’t even mind.”

I couldn’t breathe.

Candice gave me a smug look. “Still think he loves you?”

I stared at her. My world was spinning. “No… no, but he was good to me. He—he took me to Paris, he bought me books, he—”

“Did that for me first,” she cut in. “None of that makes you special.”

“But he chose me,” I whispered.

Candice tilted her head. “And now?”

I clenched my fists, blinking away the tears that blurred the flicker of the candlelight.

“He didn’t,” I whispered.

Candice mocked, “Well, you know what to do now. Leave him!”

Candice walked off without another word, leaving me there—bleeding, humiliated, broken.

I looked at the table I had prepared so lovingly. The candles were still lit. The sea still shimmered behind me. But everything felt dark.

I picked up my phone. Still no reply.

My hands shook as I typed one final message to River. “Happy anniversary.”

I didn’t wait for a response.

Instead, I scrolled through my contacts and dialed a number I had almost forgotten.

“Professor Kim,” I said when he answered. “I’ve decided. I’ll accept the scholarship abroad.”

I sat still, hugging my knees to my chest as the night deepened. My phone rested beside the untouched dinner I had spent hours preparing, its screen glowing faintly.

Maybe he got delayed… Maybe he’s on his way. Maybe he would still choose me even after what I heard.

I typed out one last message.

“I’m still here, River. I prepared all of this for us. Please come…”

No reply.

A cold breeze brushed against my skin, yet I didn't move. I called him, my fingers trembling. But this time… “The number you dialed is unreachable.”

Unreachable.

I blinked, heart sinking further. That was it, wasn’t it? All the illusions shattered. He wasn’t coming. He never intended to. I had never been important—only convenient. Just as he told Candice.

Why hadn’t I seen it sooner? Why did I let myself believe that the man who once held my hand at the Eiffel Tower, who whispered promises as we lay on the yacht beneath the stars, could have loved me?

Tears blurred my vision as I stood, slowly gathering the remnants of the dream I tried to keep alive. I drove in silence, each breath growing heavier. The roads swam in and out of focus beneath my tears, the lights of the city bleeding into one another.

I didn’t see the car until it was too late.

There was the sound of metal twisting, glass shattering—and then everything went black.

When I woke, everything hurt. My body felt like it had been torn apart and stitched back together with fire.

“Don’t move too much, Miss Brown,” a nurse said gently. “You’ve got stitches and some fractures… You’re lucky to be alive.”

Alive. The word felt ironic.

“Where…” I croaked, throat dry. “Where’s my husband? River Brown… Did he know about this?”

The nurse hesitated, adjusting the IV in my arm. “We contacted him immediately. He didn’t come. But he sent his butler to cover the hospital bills.”

My heart twisted. “Just the butler?”

She gave a small nod, then handed me a phone. “Maybe try calling him yourself.”

With trembling fingers, I dialed his number.

One ring… Two… Three… Voicemail.

I tried again.

Nothing.

I tried again.

Still, nothing.

It hit me like a second crash—I was truly alone.

As I stared at the blank wall ahead, the television in the corner changed to a news segment. At first, I didn’t pay attention… until I heard the names.

“River Brown, heir to the Brown conglomerate, was spotted at La Maison with none other than famed fashion designer Candice Lee.”

The screen showed a video of them together. Candice’s laughter echoed through the audio, her hand resting comfortably on River’s chest as he chuckled. His eyes gleamed in a way I had never seen. Alive. Soft. Joyful.

The way he never looked at me.

The reporter continued, “Sources claim the couple might be rekindling their relationship after years apart. They looked deeply connected…”

I turned away, blinking back the tears.

He hadn’t even bothered to check if I survived the crash.

The next few days passed in a fog. I lay in that hospital bed with flowers from strangers—none from him. The doctors came and went. Nurses offered smiles. But the man I married, the man I once thought loved me… was nowhere.

Instead, Candice’s Instagram flooded with updates: spa visits, beachside cocktails, shopping sprees. In every photo, River was beside her—laughing, smiling, spoiling her.

And in every caption, she tagged him boldly. No care, no shame. And he never hid it.

I watched all of it with numb eyes.

The day I was discharged, I received a message from my professor.

“Your scholarship is confirmed. Your flight leaves in 10 days. Please prepare.”

I marked it on my calendar the moment I got home.

Only… it didn’t feel like home anymore.

When I walked into the house, something felt off. The lights were bright, the sound of laughter drifted from the backyard. Curious, I followed the noise, limping slightly.

And then I saw it.

A party. Music. Drinks. River in the center with his friends, looking as if nothing had happened—as if his wife hadn’t just nearly died. As if I didn’t exist.

No one even noticed I had returned.

I was about to head to my room when I heard one of his friends—Ethan, I think—laughing.

“So how are you gonna dispose of that pathetic loser Allison now that Candice is back?”

I should have walked away. I should have gone to my room, locked the door, and never looked back. But my legs wouldn’t move.

I stood in the dark hallway like a ghost, frozen by the voices spilling from the backyard. Their laughter felt like knives, each one sharper than the last. But the voice that gutted me most was his—River’s.

“Well, I’m not sure,” he said, casually, as though deciding what to do with some object he no longer found interesting. “Maybe I’ll send her somewhere far away… or, I don’t know, she’s convenient. Always like a dog, following me around. So maybe I’ll keep her.”

Laughter erupted.

My breath caught in my throat. A part of me wanted to cover my ears, to scream, but I couldn’t. My feet stayed rooted, and the rest of me shattered piece by piece.

Then another voice, probably his best friend, scoffed. “Wouldn’t that provoke Candice, though? Come on, man. You waited for her for seven years. You even flew to London every month just to catch a glimpse of her—and now you’re just gonna let Allison stick around like this? You’re spoiling Allison, and she probably thinks you actually love her now.”

I held my breath.

Then River spoke again—laughing.

“Love her? Oh, no. She’s nothing. Just someone who warms my bed at night.” His voice grew even colder. “Candice… Candice is the love of my life. I plan to marry her soon. Give her everything she deserves.”

The crack in my chest widened. I felt it rupture—sharp, ugly, silent.

I had been a fool.

“Where is Allison, by the way?” another voice chimed in. “Didn’t she get into some car accident? Weren’t you supposed to take care of her?”

River chuckled. “Oh, that? The butler handled it. I had this party to plan for my Candice.”

I think my soul left my body for a moment.

And then Candice arrived, her heels clacking on the patio tiles like the drumbeat of a final sentence. Her voice was honeyed as she approached him. “Thank you for the party… but I think I want some time alone with you. What do you think?”

River laughed again—so carefree, so charmed. “You know I’d never say no to you.”

He stood, took her hand, and disappeared with her inside.

I stumbled backward, tears already streaming down my face, my mouth open in a silent scream.

I rushed to my room and locked the door behind me. But even from there, the hallway filled with the sounds of their pleasure.

The soft moans. The harsh breaths. The sounds of a shared intimacy—one I had foolishly believed was mine.

And all I could do was cry.

The night dragged on. The morning sun was already bleeding through the curtains when the door to my room slammed open.

Ice-cold water splashed against my face, shocking me awake.

I gasped, coughing, drenched and trembling. “What the hell?!”

Candice stood at the foot of my bed, smirking in silk. “Didn’t I tell you to leave?” she said, tossing the now-empty glass onto the floor like it was trash. “What the hell are you still doing here?”

I wiped the cold water from my face, struggling to calm my shaking hands. “I didn’t mean to stay,” I said quietly. “I just came here to get my things. That’s all. I already booked my ticket. I swear—I’ll be gone in ten days.”

Candice crossed her arms, tilting her head like she’d just heard the most amusing joke. “Ten days?” she scoffed. “So you’re still planning to attend on his birthday?”

I looked away. “That’s just when my flight is. I don’t have anywhere else to stay until then… And if I suddenly vanish, River will get suspicious.”

She stepped closer, the scent of her perfume suffocating. “Right, because we wouldn’t want that, would we? You still care what he thinks. You think he’ll come running after you? Please.” Her voice dipped lower, sharper.

“I know you don’t want me telling him that you’re the one who forced me to leave.”

“What are you trying to say? That it’s my fault you’re leaving when you clearly know you have no place after I came back?”

Her hand lifted suddenly, ready to strike me across the face—

But the sound of approaching footsteps made her freeze.

River appeared in the doorway, hair tousled, shirt half-buttoned, eyes narrowing at the scene before him. “What’s happening here?”

Candice turned around in an instant, smile blooming like a flower in sunlight. “Oh, nothing,” she purred, linking her arm through his. “I just wanted to get to know your wife better. Since I’ll be staying here, I thought we could become friends.”

My heart stopped.

“She’s going to stay here?” I echoed, voice cracking.

River didn’t even look at me. “Yes,” he said casually. “Candice is a special friend. So I expect you to treat her right. Be respectful. Serve her.”

I stared at him, stunned into silence.

Candice leaned her head on his shoulder and yawned dramatically. “Speaking of serving… how about you cook breakfast for us? I’m starving.”

They turned to leave, and just before they disappeared down the hallway, River glanced back. “Don’t keep us waiting, Allison.”

And just like that, they were gone. Laughing. Whispering.

Leaving me soaked, humiliated, and shaking.

I sat down slowly on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the water pooling on the floor.

Ten days.

Just ten more days.