Chapter 1

New Orleans, the Garden District.

The late autumn air was damp and cold, a chill that moved past the wrought-iron gates and settled deep in my bones.

I sat in my wheelchair next to the unlit fireplace, the coldness in the room matching the coldness in my heart.

The headline on my phone burned my eyes.

[Tech Mogul Asher Thorne Throws Lavish $20 Million Gala for Rising Nashville Star Savannah Cole.]

In the video, Savannah was on a private jet, watching a custom firework show over the Mississippi River. Her smile was sickly sweet.

Asher' s arm was around her shoulder. He looked at her like she was the only thing in the world.

They looked like a power couple.

The comments were a flood of praise.

"Asher' s got a thing for his old Tulane classmate, huh? So romantic."

"A ten-year age gap with a powerful older man? Living the dream. I' m obsessed…"

"Ugh, that washed-up ballerina Elara Vance is still trying to cling to Asher. Doesn' t she know her time is over?"

The words cut into me.

My hands, which had been sketching a new dance, went still. A hard cough shook my body, and I tasted blood in my mouth.

Maria, my housekeeper, ran over with a tissue and water.

After my coughing stopped, Maria couldn' t hide her anger. "These people are sheep. They believe anything they see online without knowing the truth."

"If it weren' t for your legs, you' d be the one at the Orpheum, not her. Savannah only got that role because you coached her! Why does she get everything that was yours?"

I stared at the unfinished sketch, my eyes empty.

Maria' s heart hurt for me, and she spoke more boldly.

"So what if Savannah is younger? When you were her age, you were a thousand times more beautiful. I don' t know what she did to Mr. Thorne to make him treat you like this. The media calls you a desperate hanger-on, a gold-digger, and he never says a word. Why are you still designing this dance for him?"

Rain started to fall, making streaks on the tall French windows.

I held the pencil, remembering last year. Asher had asked me to create this dance.

He wanted a dance just for us, our love story, for our anniversary gala.

It was supposed to be about our unbreakable bond, a love that would last forever.

I had agreed immediately.

But now, seeing Asher with Savannah, their bodies so close…

Tears filled my eyes. I gripped the pencil until it snapped in my hand.

The library door flew open.

I smelled his expensive cologne and bourbon before I saw him.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of my wheelchair. My sketchbook and pencils fell to the floor.

Asher stood over me in a tailored suit, his handsome face twisted with rage. "Elara Vance, who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to torment Savannah?"

He grabbed my chin, his eyes burning.

"The press is just speculating. She didn't tell them to write those things. Why are you taking it out on her?"

"You, of all people, should know how important physical health is to a singer. But you deliberately made her wait outside in the rain for an hour, faking an illness so you wouldn' t have to see her. How did you become so malicious?"

I remembered that day. My throat felt tight. "I wasn' t well. I told her to go home, but she insisted on waiting."

He twisted my words into an excuse.

He shoved me away, his disgust clear. "At least make your lies believable."

"I know you feel neglected. But I' ve celebrated countless opening nights with you. This was just one gala for Savannah. What are you so upset about?"

His voice turned colder. "Do you think just because you' re Mrs. Thorne, you can act untouchable?"

I stumbled, my weak legs collapsing under me. The sharp corner of the coffee table cut my shin. Blood started to run down my leg.

I barely felt it. I just stared at Asher.

For the last two years, whenever Savannah had a problem, I was blamed.

I had argued, screamed, explained. I had tried everything.

Now, I was just tired. So tired.

My nails dug into my palms. "Asher, have you no heart? I am your wife."

Before I could finish, he grabbed my injured leg. He squeezed it hard, and fresh blood soaked through my pants.

"Heartless? Savannah caught a cold in that rain and she' s still sick! If I were truly heartless, I' d throw you out in this storm to keep her company until she recovers!"

The blood stained the white rug.

Asher looked down at me with pure disgust.

He saw a manipulator, not the graceful woman he married.

"If you ever bother Savannah again, I swear, you will never leave this house again."

He stormed out. He didn' t look back.

Maria, who had been hiding, rushed out with tears in her eyes to call a doctor.

The blood on my leg started to dry.

I whispered to the empty room, "He forgot…"

He forgot his proposal, when he knelt and promised me:

The world can change, Elara, but my love for you never will. I' ll never stray, never falter.

He forgot his wedding vows, when he promised to give me the world.

And he forgot what I told him, a long time ago.

If you ever betray my love, Asher, I will walk away and disappear from your life so completely, you' ll wonder if I ever existed at all…