Chapter 1

"Are you sure about this, Chloe?" Ethan' s voice came through the phone, a mix of hope and disbelief. "Marrying me?"

I looked out the window of my high-rise apartment, away from the sleek, minimalist furniture Mark had picked out.

"I' m sure, Ethan," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "But are you? I' m… I have baggage."

"Baggage?" He let out a soft laugh. "Chloe, I' ve loved you for ten years. I' ll take you with an entire fleet of cargo ships if I have to."

His warmth spread through me, a feeling I hadn' t realized I missed so much. It was a stark contrast to the coldness that had settled in my heart for months.

"Okay," I said, a real smile touching my lips for the first time in what felt like forever. "Let' s do it soon. I want to come home. We can go to the courthouse next week."

"Next week it is," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I' ll be waiting."

"I have to go," I whispered, just as the front door clicked open.

Mark Stone walked in, shrugging off his expensive coat. He looked every bit the powerful real estate developer he was, handsome and utterly confident. He saw me on the phone and his eyes narrowed.

"Who was that?" he asked, his tone casual but carrying an edge of command.

I felt a wave of disgust wash over me. It was a physical reaction now, my stomach turning every time he was near.

For seven years, I had loved this man. I was a talented architect, and he was the developer who made dreams into skylines. I thought we were a team, a power couple. A week ago, I found out I was just his plaything. He was engaged to Sophia Miller, a socialite whose picture was plastered all over the society pages.

"Just a friend from home," I said, ending the call and tossing my phone onto the sofa.

I tried to keep my face neutral, a mask I had perfected recently.

He walked over, his gaze sweeping over me. "Going back to that little town of yours? What' s even there?"

His contempt was obvious. To him, anything outside this glittering city was worthless, just like the people in it.

He dangled a key fob in front of my face. "A little gift. To make up for being so busy lately."

It was for a new Maserati. A shiny, expensive toy to keep me quiet. I took the keys without a word, my fingers cold against the metal.

He seemed pleased by my silence, misinterpreting it as compliance. He leaned in to kiss me, his hand moving to my waist.

I recoiled, pushing his hand away. "Don' t touch me."

The disgust was too strong to hide this time.

"What' s wrong with you?" he asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Still upset about that bracelet?"

He was talking about the diamond bracelet he had given Sophia, a gift he' d flaunted on social media. He thought I was just being jealous.

He grabbed my wrist, his grip tight. "Stop acting like a child, Chloe."

My anger flared. He was so arrogant, so certain of his control over me. He thought he could buy my forgiveness with a car after humiliating me.

Suddenly, the massive electronic billboard on the building across from us lit up. It was a picture of Mark and Sophia, smiling, with the words "Sophia, My Forever Love" written in glowing letters.

Mark saw it and a smug smile spread across his face. He pulled me toward the window, pressing me against the cold glass. His body was a weight against my back, trapping me.

"See that?" he whispered in my ear, his breath hot and unwelcome. "She' s the one I' m going to marry. But you… you can stay with me."

His words were a physical blow. He was rubbing my face in his betrayal, in my own foolishness.

"What am I to you, Mark?" I asked, my voice shaking with a pain so deep it felt like it would tear me apart.

He chuckled, a low, cruel sound. He pressed himself closer, his hand sliding down my stomach. "What do you think you are?"

"Get off me," I said, my voice dangerously low. "Have some self-respect."

I shoved him back with all my strength. He stumbled, surprised by my force. I immediately wiped the spot on my dress where his hand had been, as if trying to scrub away his filth.

He looked angry for a moment, then his expression shifted back to that infuriating smirk. "Playing hard to get now? It' s a little late for that."

He straightened his tie, looking down at me as if I were a piece of dirt on his shoe.

"Let' s be clear, Chloe," he said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Sophia will be my wife. It' s a business arrangement, good for both our families. But you… you' re the one I have fun with. You' ll be my mistress. I' ll take good care of you. You' ll have everything you want."

Everything I want. The words echoed in the silence, a cruel parody of all the promises he' d ever made.

My mind flashed back to last Tuesday. I had gone to his office to surprise him with a design award I' d won. His door was slightly ajar. I heard him talking to his best friend, Mr. Hayes.

I stopped, my hand on the doorknob, my happy announcement dying on my lips.

"You' re really going through with this wedding to Sophia?" Hayes had asked. "What about Chloe? Seven years is a long time, man."

I held my breath, waiting. This was it. This was the moment he would tell his friend that I was the one he truly loved, that Sophia was the mistake.

"Chloe?" Mark' s laugh was dismissive, cold. "She was a pastime. A fun distraction. You didn' t really think I' d marry an architect from some no-name town, did you?"

The floor felt like it had dropped out from under me.

"She' s a good girl, Mark," Hayes had said, a note of caution in his voice.

"She' s a great plaything," Mark had corrected him. "Obedient, talented, and she looks at me like I' m a god. It' s flattering. But her family has nothing. Sophia' s father can secure the biggest deal of my career. It' s not even a choice."

That was the moment my world shattered. Seven years of my life, of my love, erased in a single, brutal sentence. He had never loved me. He had only used me.