“I want to file for divorce.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then, my lawyer sighed. “Miss Ellie… I’m afraid it’s not that simple. When you and Mr. Colton signed your marriage contract, a clause was included—divorce can only be granted if one party betrays the other, and there must be proof.”

I clenched the phone tighter. “I have the proof. I’m filing now.”

I didn’t wait for his response. Instead, I forwarded him the photos—Colton, half-naked, drunk, in bed with Shania. And not just once. Again and again, different angles, different nights, all taken by me for a moment like this.

“Process it immediately,” I said, then hung up.

I didn’t have time to fall apart again.

I called the agency next. “I want to cancel my identity here,” I told them.

There was a brief pause. “We can do that, Miss Ellie. But it will take ten days. You’ll need to wait.”

Ten days. Ten days to pretend like I hadn’t already left him in my heart. Ten days to smile, nod, and act like a loyal wife so he wouldn’t sense what I was planning.

Before heading home, I stopped by the hospital again. My brother was still unconscious, hooked up to machines, his face bruised, his arm in a cast. The doctors said it was a miracle he survived the fall—some trees had broken his descent.

He didn’t deserve this. He was just a teenager. He was the only family I had left.

I arranged for his transfer to a private facility in another country. Somewhere far, hidden, where Colton’s power wouldn’t reach. I made sure everything was clean, his name changed, his papers secure.

I won’t let Colton hurt him again. Not for that woman. Not for anyone.

By the time I arrived home, the sun was starting to set. The place looked like a palace—but it never felt like one. I walked up the marble staircase slowly, my fingers grazing the cold railing. Every step echoed with a memory I no longer wanted.

I started packing immediately. Not just clothes. I tore photos off the walls. Burned the love letters Colton used to write. Dumped jewelry into boxes without a second glance.

I found our wedding album shoved into the back of a drawer. My eyes locked on one photo—Colton smiling, holding my hand like he meant it. I stared at it for a long moment… then ripped it in half.

Why did I marry him?

I remembered the day vividly—five years ago. My family’s business had collapsed. My parents were sick. We were drowning in debt. And Colton, the rising CEO who once smiled at me during a business gala, suddenly proposed marriage.

“Let me take care of you,” he said. “I’ll pay everything. Just marry me.”

I thought it was a blessing. I thought maybe… just maybe… he saw something in me. I’d liked him from the moment I met him, after all. So I said yes—for my family. For my younger brother.

At first, it wasn’t bad.

He was gentle. Took me to Paris. Bought me designer gowns. Whispered sweet things under candlelight. And I, like a fool, fell harder every day.

Until Shania came back.

His first love.

That’s when things changed.

He started forgetting anniversaries. Making excuses. Then, he stopped coming home some nights. He made me into a housewife, a cook, a quiet background to his life—while Shania walked through the front door like she owned it.

She moaned his name loudly at night, knowing I could hear. I endured it all—because I believed love could fix it. Because I thought, if I stayed long enough, he would remember the girl he once brought flowers to.

But love doesn’t survive in cages.

And now I know—Colton was never a man worth loving.

I burned everything. Every trace of “us.” The flames licked the pages of our memories, turning them to ash. I watched in silence, no tears left.

When I stepped outside to toss the remains, the front door slammed open.

“Ellie!” Colton’s voice thundered through the hallway.

I froze.

His eyes were wild, his face flushed with fury. He stormed toward me and grabbed my arm.

“You bitch!” he spat. “You know what you did to Shania? You left her in Greece!”

“What?” I blinked, startled. “I told you—”

“She wasn’t even used to the heat! Now she has blisters and dry skin! Her skin!” His voice cracked, like that was the worst thing that could ever happen.

I stared at him in disbelief. “You’re angry because she has blisters?”

He sneered. “She suffered because of you! You sent her there!”

“I didn’t!” I screamed, trying to pull away. “She left on her own! I didn’t know anything about Greece!”

“You’re lying!” he roared. “She told me everything! How you pushed her away because you were jealous!”

Before I could say another word, he grabbed me and dragged me through the hallway.

“Colton, stop! What are you doing?”

“You need to learn a lesson,” he hissed. “A punishment for hurting my Shania.”

I kicked and screamed, but he was too strong. He yanked open the basement door and shoved me down the stairs. I hit the cold floor, pain shooting up my elbow.

The door slammed shut.

And then, silence.

Colton knew. He knew I had asthma. He knew the heat could trigger my attacks. He knew I was terrified of the dark.

He used to care. I remembered the time I got stuck in the elevator at his company’s tower. The lights went out. The air was thick. I was hyperventilating. Panicking.

And he didn’t hesitate. He broke protocol, demanded the power be rerouted just to get the doors open. He pulled me into his arms, whispering over and over, "You’re safe. I’ve got you. I’ll never let anything hurt you."

Lies.

Because now? Now he locked me in the basement. A place that reeked of mold and metal. No windows. No lights. Just endless black swallowing me whole.

All because of her.

My voice cracked as I called his name. Again. Again. Again.

But my cries just echoed, bouncing off cold walls and mocking me back. No one came. No one even answered.

My chest tightened.

Tears blurred my vision as I pressed my back against the damp floor, curling into myself. “How… how did we end up here?” I whispered into the silence. “Did I really… believe you loved me?”

Maybe I did. Maybe that was my biggest sin—believing in Colton.

But now the truth was louder than any of my screams: I was never his choice. Just a contract. A convenience. And when Shania returned, I became disposable.

Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.

I gasped, clawing at the air. It was too hot. Too heavy. My lungs tightened like they were being wrung out.

“Asthma,” I choked out. “P-please…”

I reached for the door. Crawled toward the stairs. “Help…”

Nothing. No voice. No footsteps. Just the growing roar in my ears and the throb in my head.

Then everything went black.

I woke to the soft beep of a heart monitor and the sterile scent of antiseptic. The lights were dim, but not dark. My body ached. I tried to move, but every inch of me pulsed with pain.

“You’re awake.” A nurse appeared beside me. Her voice was kind, but her expression… hesitant. “Don’t move too much, Miss Ellie. You’ve got some bruises. Insect bites too. And your breathing’s not fully stable yet.”

My lips were dry. “Wh-where… am I?”

“You’re in a private hospital. You were found unconscious in a basement. Sent here by… a butler, I believe.”

I blinked. “Not my husband Colton?”

She shook her head. “No. No visitors have come.”

No calls. No messages. Nothing.

My heart cracked.

He left me there to die.

That was it. The last straw. I was done waiting. Done hoping.

Later that afternoon, I called the airline. I booked the earliest flight out going to Germany where I also sent my brother hoping he would wake up anytime soon. Then I took care of myself. Ate. Took my meds. Showered with the IV still taped to my arm.

No one would do it for me.

That evening, I sat on the hospital bed, wrapped in a blanket, scrolling through the internet just to pass time. That’s when I saw it.

A video from an auction.

Colton beside Shania, bidding ridiculously high on every item she glanced at. Shania laughed as she kissed his cheeks. They were so sweet with each other.

“He’s definitely her sugar daddy.”

“No way, they look married.”

“Wait… isn’t that Colton Smith?”

“Is she his secret wife?”

My stomach twisted.

We never went public. Colton always said it was to protect me. "The media’s harsh," he claimed. "They’ll eat you alive."

But now it made sense. Maybe I was never meant to be introduced. A secret until Shania could return. Someone to warm his bed and fill the legal gap—until the woman he truly wanted could take her rightful place.

I tossed my phone aside, face buried in my pillow. I didn’t cry this time. I was too numb for tears. I closed my eyes, deciding I’d rest as much as I could. Ten days. I just needed to survive ten more days.

I thought sleep would numb me. But I was wrong.

I woke to sudden heat pressing against my ribs—too hot. Burning.

“Ahhh!” I screamed, jerking upright.

My eyes flew open.

Shania. Standing at the foot of my bed. Holding a heat pad against my side. Smirking like the devil herself.

“Oops,” she said sweetly. “Too hot for your weak lungs?”

I tried to pull away, but she clicked her tongue and leaned closer.

“Still clinging to life, huh? Honestly… are you planning to stay? Or do you want to just die already, so I can finally have my Colton without your pathetic shadow?”

I stared at her from the hospital bed, my body aching, lungs still recovering from the asthma attack. But nothing hurt more than her words—and the fact that she had the power to be here, standing above me like she had already won.

My voice was soft, but steady. “I don’t want to fight you.”

She scoffed, but I continued.

“You already won. He brought you back, didn’t he? He chose you. What else do you need?”

Shania’s smirk didn’t waver. “What else do I need?” She took a step closer, lowering her voice like she was whispering a secret. “I need you gone.”

She raised her hand, flaunting a sparkling ring I hadn’t seen before. It glinted under the hospital lights, intentionally positioned in front of my face.

“We’re getting married, Ellie. For real this time. No contracts. No business deals. Just love,” she said, her smile dripping with venom. “So pack whatever little pride you have left and leave. For good.”

I swallowed the bitterness pooling in my throat. “You don’t have to worry,” I said, holding her gaze. “I’m leaving. I just need a few more days.”

“Good.” Her voice sharpened. “Make sure you never come back.”

I nodded slowly. “Then make sure Colton doesn’t come looking for me.”

Shania’s laughter rang through the room, mocking and cruel. “Oh, dear,” she said with a chuckle. “He won’t. He didn’t even visit you, did he?”

My chest tightened, but I kept my face unreadable.

“Want proof?” she asked, reaching into her purse.

I didn’t answer, but she didn’t need permission. She pulled out her phone and pressed play.

Colton’s voice filtered into the room, low and irritated. “Ellie? She’s nothing. Just a bed warmer. A glorified nanny, really. I never loved her. She was just… convenient. You’re the one I truly love, Shania, forever. I’ll dispose of her soon. Don’t worry…”

My heart dropped, even though I already knew he would say that.

Shania tilted her head in mock sympathy. “Still want to believe he’s run after you like what he did to me?”

I clenched my jaw, tears stinging my eyes—but I refused to let them fall. I had cried enough for him.

“Just get lost,” I snapped, my voice breaking. “Stay away from me.”

But the door swung open before she could respond.

“What the hell did you just say to her?”

Colton’s voice thundered into the room.

I looked up—and there he was. His sharp jaw tense, his eyes cold and full of anger.

“She visited you while you were in this state, and that’s how you treat her?” he continued. “You should be thanking her—apologizing for what you did.”

I blinked at him. “Apologize?” I said in disbelief. “For what?”

Colton’s expression turned even darker. “Are you serious? It’s your fault she got hurt. You pushed her away from me. You’re the reason she got caught up in all that. If you hadn’t meddled, none of this would’ve happened.”

Something in me shattered right then. There wasn’t any misunderstanding left. He meant it.

I looked at him—really looked at him—and saw someone I didn’t recognize anymore.

“I don’t want to hear this,” I muttered. “Just get out. Both of you. I just want to rest.”

But Colton wasn’t done.

He marched toward me and grabbed my arm roughly.

“No, Ellie. You’re not resting.”

“Colton, stop—”

He pulled me up from the bed, uncaring of the IV attached to my hand or the sharp pain that surged through my side.

“Have you forgotten?” he hissed. “You’re supposed to be arranging my birthday party. It’s in two days, and you’re still lying here like some victim?”

“I am a victim,” I whispered, pain laced in every word.

He didn’t hear me. Or maybe he didn’t care.

“Get up. You’ve got things to do.”

I looked at the nurse for help, but she averted her eyes.

I wanted to scream, to collapse, to disappear—but I didn’t.

I stood. Slowly. My body trembled. My side ached. My heart bled.

But I stood. Just a few more days.