Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I loved Bennett Mercer far too much, clinging to him like a dying tree desperate for spring rain.

Because I never truly walked away after his first betrayal, he grew bolder, bringing woman after woman into our home without restraint.

Every time it ended, whatever luxury gift he bought to pacify his mistress, he would buy me double.

"Clary, can you please stop making a scene next time?"

Then Sienna Drake showed up.

I had rescued her at a private charity lounge when she was in trouble, rushed her to the emergency room, and asked Bennett to watch over her while I paid the medical bills.

When I returned to the room, Sienna was weeping pathetically.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Mercer. If it were not for you, I would have been..."

Bennett consoled her with uncharacteristic gentleness.

"It is fine. It was the least I could do."

Before I could process what was happening, my phone buzzed with a text from Bennett.

"Clary, this girl is intriguing. Let me play with her for a bit, okay?"

Sienna proved to be entirely different from the dozens of women before her.

She refused his money, declined his luxury gifts, and turned down high-paying corporate jobs at Mercer Enterprises, insisting on working as a waitress instead.

She claimed Bennett had saved her life, so until she paid back every cent of that debt, she would reject all charity.

Even Bennett could not help complaining to me with a smug glint in his eyes.

"Sienna is really hard to crack."

"I have to jump through hoops just to get a single kiss from her."

His words sounded like a complaint, yet his gaze was overflowing with excitement.

A bitter ache tore through my chest, and I finally snapped.

"Bennett, do you not think you are treating her a little too well?"

Consumed by jealousy, I tracked Sienna down at her workplace and confronted her in front of everyone.

"I was the one who saved you that night! If you actually care about paying back a debt, get the hell away from my husband!"

Sienna looked at the spilled drinks on the floor, trembling violently, before whispering in a cold voice.

"I knew that from the very beginning."

"Did you honestly think I cared about paying back a debt?"

She stared at me, her lips curling into a mocking sneer.

Blood rushed to my head, and I raised my hand to slap the smug look off her face.

Before my palm could land, Bennett caught my wrist in a vice grip.

The man who always wore a playful smile looked down at me with terrifying cruelty in his eyes.

"Clary, you are misbehaving."

In that exact moment, the reality finally hit me.

It was time to end this nightmare.