I was trapped.

Not just inside Bryant’s mansion but inside a life I never wanted. Days blurred into weeks, my world reduced to the four walls of my gilded prison. Guards surrounded me at all times, their eyes cold and emotionless. No one spoke unless necessary, and I was never allowed to be alone.

There was no phone, no internet, no way to reach the outside world. I was a prisoner in a silk cage.

Instead of fighting, I was forced to learn how to be the perfect wife. Every morning, a well-known etiquette coach arrived, drilling into me the proper way to sit, speak, smile, and obey. I had no choice but to endure it—Bryant made it clear that any resistance would only hurt the people I loved.

And then, the wedding day arrived.

I woke up feeling numb. My body moved on its own, letting the makeup artists and stylists do their work. They painted my lips red, curled my hair into perfect waves, and slipped me into the gown—the same one Bryant had sent me in a box, mocking my fate.

The dress was beautiful. White lace, delicate embroidery, and a flowing train fit for royalty. But it felt like a funeral shroud.

I was about to marry a monster.

I sat stiffly in the car, hands clenched into fists as we drove to the church. Guards sat on either side of me, their presence suffocating. I stared out the tinted windows, watching the world move outside. The world I no longer belonged to.

Then, just before we reached the church, a man approached me. He moved swiftly, slipping into the car before the guards could react.

He didn’t say much.

Just held up a photo.

My breath caught in my throat.

It was my family.

Tied up. Eyes wide with terror.

"If you try to run, if you do anything stupid," the man whispered, "Bryant won’t hesitate to kill them."

My stomach dropped. I wanted to scream, to fight, to tear this dress off and disappear. But I couldn’t.

I couldn’t risk their lives.

So I walked down the aisle, silent and obedient.

The church was packed with powerful people—investors, politicians, business moguls. Men who controlled the world with their wealth and influence. They all watched as I took slow, measured steps toward my captor.

Bryant stood at the altar, looking as handsome and arrogant as ever in his tailored suit. His dark eyes gleamed with victory.

I felt like I was walking toward my execution.

The ceremony was a blur. I barely heard the priest’s words. My body was ice-cold, my hands trembling in Bryant’s grip. And then—

"You may now kiss the bride."

My lips were claimed by a man I despised. His grip was firm, possessive, as he sealed my fate in front of everyone.

The applause rang in my ears. I forced a smile, pretending to be the devoted wife. Pretending so Bryant wouldn’t hurt my family.

And then, just when I thought I had survived the worst, my world shattered again.

"Congrats, Mrs. Harlow."

The voice was light, happy—familiar.

I turned, and there she was.

Mae.

My sister.

Smiling. Glowing. As if nothing had happened.

I felt my chest tighten. My pulse pounded in my ears.

Mae wasn’t a hostage. She wasn’t broken, terrified, or suffering.

She was celebrating.

She threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. Her touch burned my skin like acid.

"You did it," she whispered excitedly. "I’m so happy for you."

I froze.

Happy?

Mae was happy?

I pulled back, searching her face for answers. Was she brainwashed? Threatened?

But no. There was no fear in her eyes. Only joy.

And then it hit me.

She was part of this.

The kidnapping. The manipulation. The betrayal.

Mae had been working with Bryant all along.

My stomach twisted, nausea rising in my throat. My own sister. The one person I thought I could trust.

I wanted to scream. To shake her. To ask her why.

But I couldn’t.

Not here. Not in front of everyone.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced out a whisper.

"Mae… what did you do?"

She only smiled wider, leaning in to fix my veil.

"Relax," she murmured. "Everything worked out, right?"

For the first time—the late realization hit me. I am right.

I couldn’t breathe.

Bryant’s arm slid around my waist, pulling me close. His grip was iron. A silent warning.

I was his.

"H-How did you do this?"

She just stood in front of me with a full smile plastering on her face. “Can't you just be thankful? I saved your life from being worst?"

Worst? There was nothing worse other than this.

I gripped Mae’s wrist tightly and dragged her into the nearest bathroom, barely able to contain my rage. The sound of the bustling reception outside faded as I slammed the door shut, my chest rising and falling with furious breaths.

"What the hell are you doing here?" My voice came out in a harsh whisper, shaking with restrained fury. "Mae, you almost died—do you have any idea what Bryant is capable of?"

Instead of looking guilty, Mae sighed, annoyed, like I was the one being unreasonable. "Relax, Geoffanie. Bryant won’t hurt me. He never planned to."

Her words felt like a slap. "What?"

She crossed her arms, unfazed by my reaction. "It was all a setup. The whole thing—the kidnapping, the threats—it was planned. We planned it."

The blood drained from my face. "What are you talking about?"

She met my gaze with zero remorse, her next words slicing through me like a knife. "Bryant and I worked together. The original deal was for them to take me, but in the end…" She shrugged. "You were the better prize."

The room spun.

A deep, crushing silence settled between us before I finally spoke, my voice barely a whisper.

"You… let them take me?"

Mae didn’t even flinch. "You don’t get it, do you?" She let out a bitter laugh. "Do you know what it’s like to be compared to you all my life? You, the perfect daughter. You, the one with a bright future. And me? The disappointment. The girl who got pregnant at eighteen and had to—"

She stopped herself.

But I knew.

My breath hitched. "Mae… what did you do?"

Her lips pressed together, her chin trembling slightly. Then she whispered, almost too quietly, "I got rid of it."

My whole body went cold.

A sickening, twisting pain coiled in my chest as the reality settled in.

She… she had an abortion.

"You were pregnant, and you—" My voice broke.

"I had no choice!" she snapped, finally showing emotion. "I had no future! I had nothing! But you—" She let out a bitter, breathless laugh. "You had everything. And I was sick of it. So when Bryant gave me a way out, I took it."

My palm connected with her cheek before I could stop myself.

A sharp, echoing slap filled the room.

Mae’s head snapped to the side, but she didn’t look surprised. If anything, she looked relieved.

"You… you let Dad believe you were dead," I choked, my vision blurring. "Do you know what you did to him? He stopped eating, Mae! He almost had a heart attack from the stress!"

For the first time, Mae hesitated. Guilt flashed in her eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly. She straightened, regaining her composure.

"He’ll be fine," she muttered. "Because now, I’ll be the one to take over the company."

I stared at her, feeling my heart shatter into pieces.

This wasn’t the sister I grew up with.

Mae smirked and reached for the door handle. "Good luck with Bryant," she said, her tone almost teasing. "You’re going to need it."

And then, she walked away.

She left me standing there, alone, broken, and trapped.

I had survived the wedding. But surviving Bryant was an entirely different battle.

For the next few months, I lived under his roof, bound to him in a marriage that felt more like a prison sentence. Bryant controlled everything—where I went, who I spoke to, even what I wore.

He was different now. More possessive. More ruthless.

It wasn’t like before—when we were engaged and my parents had forbidden our wedding. Back then, I loved him. Or at least, I thought I did.

Now, love had no place between us.

And the worst part? He knew it.

At first, I thought Bryant only wanted control. But then, I noticed the way his eyes darkened whenever another man so much as looked at me. The jealousy. The anger. The obsession.

The breaking point came when he introduced me to the world as Mrs. Geoffanie Harlow.

That night, I saw his true nature.

We were at a gala—another event where I had to smile and play the role of the perfect wife. I was used to being stared at; I had once been a beauty queen, after all. But I didn’t expect Bryant to take it so… personally.

He saw every glance, every lingering look from businessmen and socialites alike. And he hated it.

"You enjoy the attention, don’t you?" His voice was low, dangerous, as he pinned me against the wall of our bedroom later that night.

I swallowed hard. "Bryant, you’re overreacting."

His jaw clenched. "Am I?"

That’s when I knew—I needed to understand exactly who I had married.

And so, I followed him.

That night, when Bryant left the house, I hid in the backseat of his car. My heart pounded as the vehicle moved, the city lights flashing through the tinted windows.

After nearly an hour, we arrived at a warehouse.

Bryant stepped out, his movements calculated and confident. I waited a few seconds before slipping out, keeping to the shadows.

And then, I saw it.

A man—a reporter.

I recognized him instantly. He had been at the gala earlier, staring at me a little too long.

Now, he was on the ground, bloodied and beaten.

Bryant’s men stood around him, mercilessly landing blow after blow.

My stomach churned.

This was about me.

This man was being tortured because he had dared to look at me.

I couldn’t stay silent.

"Stop!" My voice echoed through the warehouse as I stepped forward. "Bryant, stop this!"

The men froze, their fists mid-air.

Bryant turned slowly. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes burned with something terrifying. "What the hell are you doing here, Geoffanie?"

My breathing was ragged. "You… you can’t do this."

His jaw twitched. "Go back to the car."

I shook my head. "Not until you stop this."

His patience snapped. "You think I’ll let another man look at what’s mine?" His voice was sharp, cutting through the tension. "You think I’ll let them admire you like some prize?"

Before I could reply, a sharp, searing pain tore through my abdomen.

I gasped, clutching my stomach.

Bryant’s expression changed instantly. "Geoffanie?"

A wave of nausea hit me. The pain was unbearable.

His arms were around me before I collapsed. "Get the car!" he barked at his men.

Everything blurred.

The last thing I saw was Bryant’s face—his mask of control replaced by something I had never seen before.

Panic.

Fear.

Regret.

When I woke up, the hospital room was dim. My body felt weak, empty.

Bryant sat beside my bed, his face pale, his eyes red. He had been crying.

My throat was dry, my voice hoarse. "Bryant… what happened?"

His hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath, but it shook.

And then, he shattered.

"The baby," he choked out, his voice barely above a whisper. "The baby… didn’t make it."

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

Tears welled in his eyes, pure devastation etched into his face. His shoulders trembled, his grip tightening on the edge of the bed as if he was holding himself together by a thread.

"I—I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I couldn't… I couldn't do anything."

I woke up to the soft rustling of sheets, my fingers instinctively reaching out, only to grasp the emptiness beside me. Bryant was gone.

In his place stood Nurse Angela, her warm eyes filled with something I couldn't quite decipher. Pity? Concern? I pushed myself up, my voice rasping from disuse. "Where is he?"

She hesitated before shaking her head. "I don’t know."

Something about her expression told me she was lying, but I didn’t press. Maybe I was too drained, too disoriented to care.

Days passed, and I was discharged from the hospital. But instead of returning to the vast halls of the mansion, Bryant had me locked in the basement. It was dark, damp, and windowless, the silence broken only by the occasional footsteps of the guards outside.

At first, I thought I’d be left to rot there, but then Angela started visiting me. She came in secret, always checking over her shoulder before slipping inside with a tray of food or a blanket. She was the only person who spoke to me, the only one who treated me like a human being.

One night, as she placed a cup of tea in front of me, her voice dropped to a whisper. "I have a way to get you out."

I stared at her, stunned.

"I took the keys from one of the guards," she explained. "I... I seduced him and slipped something in his drink."

I swallowed hard. "Angela, if Bryant finds out—"

"He won’t," she interrupted. "But we don’t have much time. You need to go now."

Without another word, she unlocked my cuffs and led me up a narrow stairway. My heart pounded as we reached the main floor. Every shadow, every creak of the wooden panels, sent chills down my spine.

We snuck through the hallways, avoiding the guards stationed by the entrance. Angela had studied their shifts, knew exactly when they’d step away for a break. When we reached the back gate, she pointed toward the tall, steel fence.

"Climb over it," she urged.

I hesitated for only a second before gripping the cold metal and hauling myself up. The sharp edges of the fence cut into my palms, but I ignored the pain. When I landed on the other side, I turned back to her.

"Thank you," I whispered.

She smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes. "Run."

And I did.

The night swallowed me whole as I sprinted toward the dense forest behind the mansion. Twigs snapped under my feet, branches scraped my arms, but I kept going. The air smelled of damp earth and pine, the darkness pressing in from all sides.

Then I hit a dead end.

A steep cliff stretched out before me, its jagged rocks disappearing into the abyss below. My breath came in ragged gasps as I spun around, searching for another way out. But there was none.

Panic clawed at my throat.

I needed to hide.

Spotting a small cave nestled within the cliffside, I hurried inside. The space was tight, barely big enough to crouch in. The damp walls pressed against my back as I tried to steady my breathing.

Then I heard it.

A hiss.

My body stiffened as I turned my head slowly. My stomach twisted when I saw the dark, coiling figure beside me. A snake.

A scream ripped from my throat, and before I could stop myself, I bolted out of the cave.

And that was my mistake.

A shadow loomed over me.

I barely had time to react before a hand tangled in my hair, yanking me backward. I gasped, pain exploding through my scalp as I was forced onto the damp grass.

Bryant towered over me, his eyes burning with fury and something else. Something darker.

"You really thought you could run from me?" he sneered, pinning me beneath his weight. His grip tightened, fingers digging into my wrists as his breath fanned over my face.

But his voice... it was a bit different. Even his stance was.

I struggled, but he was too strong.

"You're mine," he growled, pressing his lips to my neck. "And I'll make sure you never forget it."

Tears burned my eyes as I thrashed beneath him, but it was useless. My strength was nothing compared to his. I wanted to scream, but my voice caught in my throat.

Then—

A gunshot.

Bryant's body jerked, his eyes widening in shock before blood bloomed across his chest.

His grip slackened.

I shoved him off me, my hands trembling as I scrambled away. My gaze darted toward the source of the shot.

A man stood a few feet away, a gun still raised in his hand. His dark eyes met mine, unreadable, unwavering.

He stepped closer, lowering his weapon. "Are you alright?"

I could barely nod. My mind was reeling, my body still shaking from the adrenaline.

The stranger knelt beside Bryant’s motionless body and pressed two fingers against his throat. Then he exhaled sharply. "He’s dead."

I stared at him, my breaths coming in shallow gasps. "Who are you?"

"Armani Hector," he said simply. "Angela’s brother."

Angela.

I clutched my chest, relief and confusion washing over me in equal measure. "She sent you?"

He nodded. "She begged me to save you. And now, we need to get out of here before his men find us."

I didn't argue.

Armani led me through the forest, his movements swift and calculated. He knew exactly where to go, avoiding every possible patrol until we reached an abandoned road. A black car was waiting for us.

For weeks, I stayed hidden in his apartment, recovering from everything I had endured. Armani provided me with new clothes, food, and—most importantly—safety.

One day, as I was staring out the window, he finally spoke the words that shattered my fragile sense of peace.

"Angela’s dead."

I spun to face him, my stomach plummeting. "No... no, she—"

"Bryant found out she helped you escape," he said grimly. "He had her shot."

Tears blurred my vision. I clutched the windowsill, my chest tightening with grief. Angela... the only person who had truly cared for me... was gone.

But before I could fully process the loss, Armani turned on the television. My blood ran cold.

Bryant was on the screen.

Alive.

He was giving an interview, his expression solemn as he spoke to the reporters.

"My wife has been kidnapped," he announced. "And I am offering a large reward to anyone who finds her."

I staggered back, shaking my head. "That’s... impossible. I saw him die. You shot him."

Armani’s jaw clenched.

"Then tell me," he said darkly, his voice laced with something ominous. "Why does the man I shot have no scars? No bullet wound?"

My breath hitched.

And then—

The realization struck me like a lightning bolt.

It wasn’t Bryant who had died.

It was his twin.