Chapter 2

I knew, even before he spoke, that he was here for Sophie. He was always here for Sophie now.

I stood up straight and faced him, my own exhaustion a fragile shield against his fury. "What are you talking about, Daniel?"

I explained calmly that I had spent the entire day at the firm, working on the Henderson project schematics. My assistant, Chloe, could verify every minute.

"Don't lie to me!" he roared, grabbing a glass vase from a side table and hurling it against the wall. It shattered, the sound echoing the breaking of my last nerve.

He stalked towards me, backing me against the cold marble of the fireplace. He braced his hands on either side of my head, trapping me. His face was inches from mine.

"Sophie is in the hospital," he spat, his voice low and menacing. "She had a panic attack. She said you cornered her in the parking garage, threatened her, told her to stay away from me."

"What? That's insane. I haven't spoken to her outside of a meeting in weeks."

"She's a sensitive artist, Olivia! She's not like you! She can't handle this kind of pressure!"

Pain shot up my arm as his fingers dug into my skin. I tried to pull away, but his grip was like iron.

"I didn't do anything," I gasped, the words barely coming out.

"I don't have time for your games," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that was more terrifying than his shouting. "If you ever go near her again, I will destroy you. I'll tell Henderson you've been selling our designs to competitors. I will take full credit for the Dream Home, and I will make sure you never work as an architect in this city again."

The man I loved, the man I had planned my entire future with, was threatening to ruin my life over a lie told by his assistant.

The promise we made, the future we designed, it was all just a blueprint for my own destruction.

"You promised," I whispered, the words choked with a pain so deep it felt physical. "You promised we would build it together."

"Things change," he said, his eyes cold and empty. He shoved me away from him, hard.

I stumbled backward, my heel catching on the edge of a rug. I lost my balance and fell, the back of my head cracking against the sharp corner of the glass coffee table.

A starburst of pain exploded behind my eyes.

"Olivia!" Chloe screamed, rushing to my side.

I could hear her voice, but it sounded far away, as if through water. The last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me was Daniel. He just stood there, watching, his face completely blank.