Chapter 3 I WILL NOT BREAK

CAMILLE

The cold air hits my face as I pull Gavin outside, my fingers wrapped around his wrist, my heels clicking against the marble steps of The Plaza.

The paparazzi are still flashing their cameras behind us, their shouts muffled by the glass doors.

I don't stop until we're around the corner, hidden in the shadows of the building, away from the lights and the noise and the hundreds of eyes that just watched him kiss me like he owned me.

"What the hell was that?" I hiss, releasing his wrist and spinning to face him.

Gavin leans against the wall, his hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable. "What was what?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. The kiss and the performance. You just made a scene." I jab my finger toward the building.

"I had a plan. A private agreement. I was supposed to meet you, sign the contract, and then we were supposed to announce it together when I was ready. When I had a strategy. But you...you just walked in there and made a spectacle of everything."

He tilts his head. "You were about to be humiliated and no  one was coming forward. You were standing there with a champagne glass and a countdown, and everyone was watching you drown."

"I had it under control."

"You had nothing under control." His voice is calm, but there's an edge to it. "You were counting down to your own destruction. What was I supposed to do? Stand there and watch?"

I open my mouth to argue, but the words die in my throat. Because he's right. I was drowning. I was counting down to humiliation.

If he hadn't stepped forward, I would have been the joke of the Upper East Side. The daughter who tried to rebel and failed. The heiress who couldn't even give herself away.

"You still should have warned me," I say, but the fight is gone from my voice.

"I know."

He looks away, running his hand through his hair in a surprisingly human gesture...unguarded, almost nervous.

"I didn't plan it. I saw you up there, and I just... I moved. It was impulsive and I'm not usually impulsive."

I watch him. The way he won't meet my eyes. The way his jaw is tight. He looks like a child who's been caught doing something he shouldn't have done.

The great Gavin Easton, billionaire, corporate predator, reduced to a boy who acted on instinct and is now waiting to be punished.

I almost smiled but I cleared my throat instead.

"The deed is done," I said. "There's no point fighting about it now."

He looked back at me, his gray eyes searching my face. "So what's next?"

"I don't know yet." I crossed my arms. "I'll figure it out. But right now, I need to get Violet to her car. She's probably in shock."

He nods. "I'll be in touch."

I turned and walked back toward the Hall. I don't look back at him. But I feel his eyes on me the entire way.

--

Violet was waiting by the entrance, her face pale, and her hands trembled around her clutch. When she saw me, she rushed forward and grabbed my arm.

"Cam, what the hell just happened?"

"I'll explain later." I pull her toward the line of cars waiting at the curb. "Right now, you need to go home. Get some rest. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Are you okay? Did he-"

"I'm fine." I squeeze her hand. "Go. Please.", at me through the window. "Be careful, Cam. That man... he looks at you like you're his."

I don't respond. I just watch the car pull away, and then I turn and walk back toward the mansion.

***

The moment I step through the front door, the world explodes.

My father's hand connects with my cheek before I even see it coming. The slap is so hard that my head snaps to the side and my body follows. I hit the floor, my palms scraping against the marble, my vision swimming.

The entire room is still full of guests and staff. Everyone who stayed behind to watch the aftermath. And they're all watching me now, crumpled on the ground like a discarded doll.

Jacob stands behind my father, a smile on his face. A satisfied, cruel smile. He's the one who fueled this. He's the one who whispered in my father's ear while I was outside with Gavin. I can see it in his eyes.

Harold Vane is gone. I notice that first. He must have left in humiliation after I rejected him in front of everyone. Good. I hope he never shows his face again.

"You stupid, reckless girl," my father spits, standing over me. His face is purple with rage, his hands shaking. "You just destroyed everything. Everything I built. Everything I planned."

I push myself up, my cheek burning, my wrists aching. "I didn't destroy anything. You did. You tried to sell me to a monster."

"Don't you dare speak to me." He steps closer, and I flinch despite myself. "You are just like your mother. Emotional. Impulsive. Making decisions based on feelings instead of logic. I was right about her. And I was right about you."

"Don't talk about my mother."

"She ruined everything too," he continues, his voice rising. "She thought she could leave me. She thought she could take what was mine. And look where it got her."

I feel the tears prick at my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I refuse to give him that satisfaction.

"I should have known," he says, shaking his head. "I should have known you would betray me. You've always been a disappointment. Always."

"Don't stress Dad." Jacob steps forward, his smile still in place. "Let me handle her."

Before I can react, his hand connects with my face. The second slap is harder than the first. I stumble back, catching myself against the wall, my cheek throbbing, my ears ringing.

"Listen to father," Jacob says, his voice smooth and mocking. "He's trying to help you. You're making a fool of yourself. Ainsworths don't beg. Ainsworths don't make scenes. Ainsworths don't marry their father's enemies."

I look at him through the pain, and I see him clearly for the first time. He's not just a rival. He's not just a usurper. He's a monster. Just like my father. Just like Harold. They're all the same.

"This is your last chance," my father says. "Call off the engagement. Announce to the press that it was a mistake. A moment of weakness. You were overwhelmed. You made an error in judgment. And then you will marry Harold Vane, and you will do it with a smile on your face."

I stare at him. The man who raised me. The man who was supposed to protect me. The man who is now trying to force me into a marriage with a predator.

"No."

The word hangs in the air between us.

"What did you say?"

"I said no." I push myself off the wall, my body aching, my heart pounding. "I will not cancel the engagement. I will not apologize. I will not marry Harold Vane."

My father's face goes very still. "Then you will leave this house. Tonight. You are no longer my daughter. You are no longer an Ainsworth. You are nothing."

I look at him. I look at Jacob. I look at the room full of people who are watching me like I'm a car crash they can't look away from.

"Fine," I say. "I'll go."

I walk toward the stairs, my legs steady, my head high. I don't look back. I don't let them see the tears that are finally falling down my cheeks. I don't let them see how much this hurts.

I pack a small bag. Clothes and my notebook. The scar on my wrist throbs as I zip the bag closed.

I walk back downstairs. The crowd has thinned. My father is gone. Jacob is gone. Only the staff remains, watching me with pity in their eyes.

I walk out the front door.

---

I stand on the sidewalk, my bag in my hand, the cold wind biting at my face. I have nowhere to go. No one to call. I could call Violet. I could call Gavin. But I don't want to beg. I don't want to appear weak.

I think about my mother. Comatosed and Silenced. Trapped in a bed because she tried to leave. Because she tried to be free. And I make a decision.

I will not beg. I will not crumble. I will not let them win.

I will fight. I will burn and I will rise.