Chapter 2

The engagement party was a spectacle of excess, a gaudy display of new money desperately trying to look old.

Held at a sprawling Dallas estate, the air was thick with the scent of too much perfume and the sound of forced laughter.

I walked in wearing the simple black dress I' d thrown into my bag, a stark contrast to the glittering gowns and jewels around me. No one noticed me. I was just another face in the crowd, a ghost from a life that had officially ended this morning.

Then I saw him.

Ethan was on a lavishly decorated stage, standing under a spotlight.

He looked impossibly handsome in his custom tuxedo, his posture rigid, his face a mask of polite misery.

Next to him stood Sabrina Chavez. The pictures I' d found online hadn' t done her justice.

She was short, with a sullen face and small, resentful eyes that scanned the crowd as if searching for someone to belittle.

She clung to Ethan' s arm, her diamond bracelet catching the light and flashing like a warning signal.

This was the woman he was marrying. This was the reason my world had been shattered.

The host, Sabrina' s father, a loud man with a booming voice and a Texas-sized ego, was giving a speech about the union of two great families, the merging of real estate and oil, the future of Dallas.

My gaze was locked on Ethan. He looked trapped, a beautiful animal in a gilded cage. As his future father-in-law droned on, his eyes swept over the audience, a flicker of desperation in them. For a moment, our eyes met.

Relief washed over his face, a raw, unguarded emotion that lasted only a second. It was quickly replaced by sheer panic. He knew I was here.

Just as the host finished and urged them to kiss, I started moving. I pushed through the clusters of gossiping guests, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs.

"Ethan!" I called out, my voice cutting through the polite applause.

He flinched. Sabrina' s head snapped in my direction, her perfectly painted lips twisting into a sneer.

"Don' t do this," I said, my voice shaking but clear as I got closer to the stage. "Don' t let them make you do this. Whatever it is, we can fix it."

Ethan' s face turned to ice. It was the same cold, distant look from the lawyer' s message. A look designed to kill hope.

"Who the hell is this?" Sabrina screeched, her voice shrill and grating. She looked me up and down with open contempt. "Security! Get this gold-digging leech out of my party!"

Two burly men in black suits started moving toward me.

"Wait," Ethan said, his voice dangerously low. He stepped down from the stage, his movements stiff. He walked right up to me, his eyes cold and hard. He was so close I could feel the warmth radiating from him, a cruel reminder of the night before.

"You need to leave," he said, his voice a harsh whisper only I could hear.

"No," I pleaded, reaching for his arm. "Ethan, please. Talk to me."

He jerked his arm away as if my touch burned him.

"I said, leave," he repeated, louder this time, for the benefit of the watching crowd.

Sabrina stomped over, her face red with fury. "Get your hands off my fiancé, you pathetic stalker!"

I ignored her, my eyes locked on Ethan' s. "I don' t believe you. I know you don' t want this."

"You know nothing," he snarled.

Then, as I reached for him again, he did something I never thought possible. He slapped me.

The sound echoed in the sudden silence of the ballroom. The sting on my cheek was nothing compared to the shock that jolted through me. The crowd gasped.

He leaned in close, his breath hot against my ear, his words a venomous whisper meant to save me. "I was never in love with you. I was with you because you were beautiful, poor, and easy to control. My wife can only be someone like Sabrina. Now get out of here before you make things worse for yourself."

Each word was a deliberate, calculated strike, designed to drive me away. To make me hate him. To protect me.

And in that horrific moment, I understood completely. He was terrified for me.

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