Chapter 1: The Twentieth Strike
The first lash tore across my back before I understood that my husband truly meant to hurt me.
The twentieth left me on the marble floor of our mansion’s grand hall, my fingers trembling against the cold stone while drops of blood stained the place where I had once hosted charity galas and smiled beside Adrian Vale.
For three years, everyone believed Adrian had saved me.
They called me lucky.
They whispered that a powerful CEO had fallen in love with a quiet woman who came from nowhere.
Nobody knew the truth.
Nobody knew I had saved him first.
“Look at her,” Vanessa said softly.
Her voice was sweet. Almost gentle.
That made it worse.
She stood beside Adrian in a champagne-colored silk dress that cost more than most people’s yearly salary. A dress I had chosen for her months ago when I thought she was simply my husband’s assistant.
Before I discovered the hotel rooms.
Before I found the messages.
Before I learned that the woman I trusted was carrying my husband’s child.
“Still pretending she’s innocent,” Vanessa whispered.
Adrian tightened his grip around the riding crop.
My husband.
The man who once held my hand when I was afraid of thunderstorms.
The man who promised me, “No one will ever hurt you while I’m here.””
Now he was the one hurting me.
“You embarrassed Vanessa at dinner,” Adrian said coldly.
I lifted my head slowly. Every movement sent fire across my back.
“She told your board members I was barren,” I said.
Vanessa rolled her eyes.
“I said people were curious why a woman married to such a successful man couldn’t give him a child.””
My throat tightened.
“You told them I trapped you,” I whispered.
Adrian looked away for a moment.
Then he said the words I would never forget.
“Didn’t you?””
The pain from those words was worse than anything physical.
Because I had loved him.
I had defended him.
I had hidden my own identity so the world would respect him for what he built instead of knowing who stood behind him.
Vanessa crouched beside me, careful not to wrinkle her expensive dress.
“You should apologize,” she said.
I stared at her.
“For what?””
Her smile widened.
“For embarrassing me. For making Adrian choose between us.””
I laughed quietly, even though it hurt.
“You think he chose you?””
Vanessa’s expression hardened.
“He already did.””
Adrian threw a folder onto the floor beside my hand.
The papers spilled open.
Divorce documents.
My eyes moved across the first page.
“Adrian…”
“I’m done carrying dead weight,” he said.
My stomach dropped.
Then Vanessa placed a hand over her stomach.
“He’s going to be a father,” she announced.
Silence filled the room.
The huge crystal chandelier above us reflected against the marble floor, creating thousands of tiny lights.
It looked beautiful.
Almost peaceful.
But my entire world had just collapsed.
Adrian stepped closer.
“You have nothing left,” he said.
“No family. No money. No influence.””
He believed that.
That was the funniest part.
For three years, I allowed Adrian to believe I was ordinary.
I let him believe my last name meant nothing.
I let him believe the mysterious investments that saved his company came from luck.
Because I wanted a husband who loved me, not a man who bowed because of my father’s fortune.
Apparently, I had wanted the impossible.
Vanessa touched my cheek.
“Accept reality,” she whispered.
I looked at her.
Then I looked at Adrian.
And for the first time in three years, I stopped pretending.
My hand slowly moved toward my phone.
Adrian noticed.
He laughed.
“Calling the police?””
I unlocked the screen.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“Tell them your billionaire husband disciplined his wife.””
The word billionaire almost made me smile.
Almost.
Because he had no idea.
I pressed one name.
The only person I had avoided calling since the day I married Adrian.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Then a deep voice answered.
“Lillian?””
My eyes burned.
“Dad,” I whispered.
Adrian’s smile disappeared.
I looked directly at him.
“Just as you told me…”
I wiped the blood from my lip.
“…destroy his life.””
And on the other end of the phone, my father went silent.
May you like
Because he knew exactly who Adrian Vale was.
And he knew exactly what he was about to do.
