When I came out, Darren was still awake, as if he'd been waiting for me on purpose.

He saw the raw, broken skin on my arms and something like guilt flickered in his eyes.

"Jules, thank you."

Although it was a business marriage, his parents had never really warmed to Kitty's personality. From the very beginning, the daughter-in-law they wanted was me.

But Darren had insisted on marrying her, even defying his parents to do it.

Back then, I thought I'd never have a chance.

So when he proposed to me later, I felt like the luckiest woman alive, like I'd won the lottery.

Now I knew how stupid I'd been.

Darren gently took my hand.

"Tomorrow's the anniversary of your parents' passing. Let me go with you to visit them."

I didn't say anything. Just nodded. I had to see them before I left.

The irony was almost too perfect. Darren and Kitty's wedding anniversary fell on the same day as my parents' death anniversary.

Every year, Kitty would cling to him, demanding he celebrate with her, and I'd go alone.

The next day, on the road to the cemetery, Darren's phone rang.

He hung up, slammed the brakes, and turned to me with fury blazing in his eyes.

"Juliana Henson, you called the police about yesterday?!"

"Do you have any idea that the cops took Kitty in for questioning last night?!"

I shook my head, bewildered.

"I didn't—"

"Enough." Darren cut me off, his voice ice-cold. "And here I thought you were sweet and sensible. Turns out you're just calculating."

"Get out. Take a cab the rest of the way."

"Kitty's never been humiliated like that in her life. She's been crying nonstop. I need to go see her."

I froze. It was twenty-something below zero outside. Snow drifted past the windows.

"The cemetery is still over ten miles from here. We're in the middle of nowhere. Where am I supposed to find a cab?"

He scoffed, a mocking smile curling his lips.

"So what?"

"Go ahead and run to my parents. Have them beat me to death. Or better yet, call the cops on me too, so you can stop saying I owe you."

He yanked me out of the car, impatient, and drove off without a backward glance.

The ache in my chest was beyond words.

The wind cut through me, and I couldn't stop shaking.

I'd barely pulled my collar tighter when two luxury cars came screaming down the road.

Kitty stepped out, flanked by a group of thugs.

"No cameras out here. Beat this shameless tramp until she can't stand."

"Oh, and don't touch the stomach. I still have plans for that."

One of them kicked my phone out of my hands before I could dial.

Kitty grabbed a fistful of my hair and slapped me across the face, seven, eight times.

"Juliana Henson, did I give you permission to get comfortable? You've been stuck to Darren like a parasite since we were kids."

"You actually conned him into visiting your dead parents on OUR anniversary? Do those pathetic ghosts of yours even deserve it?"

"Today I'm going to teach you what it means to know your place."

Kicks rained down on my body. Cigarette butts were ground into my arms, each one blistering the skin. My clothes were torn open, and they took photo after photo.

Someone kicked a phone within reach. My hand trembled as I stretched toward it and pressed the speed dial for my emergency contact.

That spot had always belonged to Darren.

The line was busy.

A second later, Kitty's phone rang.

She glanced at me, smiled, and deliberately hit speakerphone.

Darren's cool, detached voice filled the air.

"Where are you?"

Kitty was so spoiled she didn't even bother hiding it. She whined, "Blowing off steam. She got me dragged in by the cops and stole you away from me. I had to get a little payback."

The dull thud of boots connecting with flesh must have carried through the speaker. Darren went silent for a few seconds.

"Didn't I come back to spend the anniversary with you? Jules has a weak constitution. Tell your people to show some restraint."

"That's enough. If someone actually dies, not even the Sullivans and the Farleys combined can protect you."

His tone was cold, but Kitty sounded delighted.

"Okay, okay, I know you're worried about me~"

"Be a good boy and wait for me at the hotel. I'm on my way. Friendly reminder: my lingerie today is very sexy~"

She admired the intimate photos of me she'd just taken, then tipped my chin up with the toe of her shoe.

"Juliana Henson. Some things you think you have? You never had them at all."

"Learn your place. Stop clinging to Darren, and maybe I'll let you play Mrs. Farley a little while longer. Understand?"

"Anyway, I'm done wasting my breath on you. Darren's waiting for me."

The world went silent. I lay curled in the snow.

Through the haze, a memory surfaced: the year I turned eighteen, when Darren had insisted on programming his number as my emergency contact.

"Jules, sometimes in an emergency, you only get the chance to dial one number. There's no time to call the police."

"But no matter when it is, no matter where you are, one call from you and I'll fly to your side to protect you."

I closed my eyes slowly.

He never kept that promise.

When I opened them again, I was in a hospital.

A nurse smiled at me. "You're awake! You have some frostbite, but luckily the baby's fine."

"Congratulations. You're pregnant."

She removed my IV, turned, and left.

I sat there alone, staring at nothing.

Once, I'd believed Darren truly wanted a child with me, a symbol of our love. I'd let myself hope for it in secret, let myself feel that quiet thrill.

But now that it was real, I didn't want it anymore.

A sharp slap echoed down the corridor.

I crept to the door and heard Abner's voice, thick with fury.

"Are you out of your mind? That Sullivan girl feeds you one lie and you swallow it whole?"

"When you said you wanted to divorce her and agreed to marry Juliana, I actually thought you'd grown up. And what have you done instead?"

"Sneaking around with your ex-wife, mistreating the woman you married. Juliana is pregnant, and you abandoned her in that godforsaken place. She's covered in injuries. Is this how you repay what her family did for you?"

Something in those words struck a nerve. Darren's eyes went red in an instant.

"Stop throwing that word at me! 'Repay.' Is guilt-tripping me all you people know how to do?"

"My entire life, she's been like a mountain chained to my back. Like I have to protect her, spoil her, marry her, have children with her. I can't even breathe!"

"That's exactly why I chose Kitty in the first place. At least she didn't suffocate me. At least looking at her didn't feel like someone was collecting on a debt. She made me feel free!"

"Why should two lives from the Henson family cost me my entire existence? Did I ask them to play hero and save me? If I'd known this was the price, I would rather have died in that collapse!"

I slid down the wall, slowly, until I was crouching on the floor. Tears hit the cold tile one by one.

He'd finally said it.

So my very existence had been suffocating him all along.

But back then, he was the one who begged me to stay.

My hand drifted to my stomach. A sob caught in my throat.

"You shouldn't have come," I whispered. "Neither of us should have."

Darren and his parents fell into a cold war. I pretended I hadn't heard a thing.

Abner and Sophia asked me again and again who had done that to me in the snow.

I never told them.

Not to protect Kitty. The time simply wasn't right.

Whether it was guilt over misjudging me, or anger at himself for being manipulated—I wasn't sure which.

Darren took over all of my care for the duration of my hospital stay. He even declined Kitty's calls several times.

Once, when she called again, I caught the hesitation on his face.

I grabbed his hand and pressed it against my lower belly, looking up at him with the same wide-eyed dependence I'd perfected as a child.

"Darren, feel this. Our baby's sleeping right here."

"Don't worry, the baby's healthy. When they were hitting me that day, I made sure to protect my stomach, because I remembered you said you couldn't wait for us to have a child of our own. I wanted to make you happy."

"I don't like other people interrupting our time together as a family of three. So don't pick up, okay?"

Sometimes, a man's guilt is the most useful weapon there is.

Sure enough, Darren's eyes went red. Without a second of hesitation, he powered off his phone and pulled me into his arms.

"Jules, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"Kitty went way too far this time. I swear on my life, this is the last time. I will never let her hurt you again."

From an angle he couldn't see, my face was completely blank.

I already knew what happened when you believed promises and guarantees like those.

After Kitty couldn't reach Darren and I blocked her number, she finally lost her composure.

The next day, the large screen in the hospital lobby and the television in every patient room all began playing the same video.

It was footage of me pinned to the ground, my clothes being torn off.

Those thugs and their disgusting laughter.

A line of text scrolled across the top on repeat:

"Juliana Henson. Slut. Bastard factory."

Darren had gone to pick up food. When he came back, he found me curled up at the foot of the bed, shaking.

Every male patient in the room was eyeing me with lewd, undisguised stares.

"Damn, sweetheart, you really get around, huh? Does the bastard in your belly even know who its daddy is? How about you come keep me company after you're discharged?"

The women and their families spat at me, hurling every degrading name they could think of, telling me to get out.

Darren was livid. He smashed the television, demanded the hospital cut the feed immediately, and had me transferred to a private VIP room.

Even though Kitty played dumb, he tore into her until there was nothing left.

And right in front of me, he blocked her on everything.

This time, it was real.

Kitty had been spoiled by his indulgence for too long. She couldn't accept it. She snapped completely.

The following evening at dusk, she had her people drag me to the rooftop terrace on the fifth floor and forced me to my knees.

One stiletto heel slammed into the side of my head. Blood poured down instantly.

"You conniving bitch. You're using that pregnancy to play the victim, aren't you? Deliberately driving a wedge between me and Darren!"

"You think he actually likes you? Let me tell you something. When I suggested using you as a breeding tool, he agreed without even blinking."

"Because he despises that pathetic little good-girl act of yours. Always so agreeable, never angry, like you're the most selfless person alive and the whole world owes you something."

"He wanted to let you believe you were at your happiest, and then drag you straight to hell. Watch you cry and beg. Rip that fake mask right off your face!"

Kitty pulled out a paring knife, her eyes burning with hatred, and pressed the blade against my belly.

"But I've changed my mind. There are plenty of women in this world who can have babies. Worst case, we'll just adopt one."

"You will never use a child to come between my husband and me. I'll gut it right now!"

The words barely left her mouth before a figure came sprinting across the rooftop.

He kicked her so hard she flew backward, the knife clattering out of her hand.

"Touch her one more time and see what happens!"