LOGINSarah looked up at the ceiling.
“Ten more minutes,” she said quietly. “Tell him he can come in after ten minutes.” Hanosa bowed slightly and left, closing the door behind her. When her footsteps faded, Sarah stayed still on the bed. It was an unspoken rule between her and Ronan—something never discussed, yet always followed. Whenever he returned home, he never came straight into her room without permission. He always had Hanosa ask when he could enter, and she always answered in minutes. It was almost ironic, because he didn’t need to do that. The room was his too. He could have walked in whenever he wanted. But maybe that was how they kept the only thing left of their marriage—distance. Sarah rose from the bed and walked to the bathroom to freshen up. Usually, whenever Ronan wanted to see her, she would put in a lot of effort to look perfect for him. She would wear her most beautiful dress, apply a soft, expensive perfume, style her hair, and put on a little makeup. Once, she had even tried to dress like Mia—copying her hair, her clothes, even the way she smiled in her photos. She had done it all in the foolish hope that Ronan would notice her again. She was hope that night would turn into something beautiful, and he would become the man he once was—warm, gentle, and attentive. But she was wrong. No matter how hard she tried, he never truly looked at her. So tonight, she didn’t try at all. After showering, Sarah wore a simple cream-colored satin pajama and wrapped her hair in a towel. As she dried it with a hair dryer, she glanced at the clock and saw that ten minutes had passed. Right on cue, the door opened quietly without another knock. Ronan entered as if he had every right to. Sarah sat at her vanity, facing the mirror. From the reflection, she saw him sitting at the end of the bed, posture straight, dressed in a white suit she had already seen on Mia’s I*******m account. A few seconds of silence passed before his voice broke it. “Tomorrow is Shenina’s birthday, right?” he asked flatly. Sarah replied softly, “Yes.” He nodded once, as if confirming something he already knew. Even though he had failed as a husband, Sarah couldn’t deny that Ronan was a good father. He never missed a single important moment in their daughter’s life. He was always there for their daughter's birthday, remembered every detail—her favorite toys, her favorite color, even her kindergarten activities. And in front of Shenina, he always made sure they looked fine together. Perhaps that was why Sarah had not filed for divorce yet. Beneath all the pain, Shenina was her first reason to stay, and the second one was because she has nothing yet in assets. Ronan looked at her through the mirror, expressionless and calm. “Shenina is already five,” he said suddenly. “It’s the right time to give her a sibling.” Sarah froze for a moment while applying her night cream, then looked at him through the mirror. “Should we?” she asked flatly. He nodded once. “Yes. You haven’t given me a son yet. We will program a baby boy.” She held her breath for a moment, then let out a bitter, almost silent laugh. She looked at her reflection, smoothing the remaining cream on the tip of her nose. “How could Shenina have a sibling,” she said calmly, “if her father never touches her mother?” “I will touch you starting tomorrow,” Ronan said without emotion. “Only to make you pregnant.” The words hit harder than any scream could. Sarah wanted to ask if that was all she was to him—a machine for bearing children. But her tongue refused to move. She was too tired to fight again and again. Ronan stood and walked toward the door. “Prepare yourself starting tomorrow,” he said, not looking back. “I will come to this room, and the doctor will start our program.” His hand was already on the doorknob when Sarah spoke. “Why not let your girlfriend give you a son?” she asked coldly. He stopped. Silence stretched for a few seconds before he slowly turned to her, his eyes sharp and filled with warning. “Remember who you are, Sarah,” he said firmly. “You have not fulfilled our family agreement to give me a son.” Sarah said nothing. Another reason his family had accepted her was because they wanted a male heir. A son born from her womb—a woman of noble blood meant higher status, greater honor, and more power among the elite. And she was nothing more than a tool to make that happen. Before closing the door, Ronan looked at her again, his tone almost mocking. “Oh, and one more thing,” he said. “Stop using your second account to check on Mia. Stop watching what I do.” Sarah couldn’t speak. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, her mind racing. But then a realization struck her. How did Ronan know she had been watching his girlfriend?Sarah stared at the glowing screen of her phone. The anonymous message still haunted her: “They won’t stop until they take everything. Watch your back. — A friend” She had received three more messages since that night. Each one contained small, precise warnings—details only someone close to Ronan’s circle would know. A cancelled supplier contract before she was officially notified. A suspicious payment Ronan made to a private investigator. The anonymous sender clearly had inside access. Two days later, Sarah decided she couldn’t wait any longer. She arranged a secret meeting through the burner phone Alex had given her. The reply came quickly: “Café behind the old train station. 10 PM. Come alone. I’ll find you.” Alex strongly opposed it, but Sarah insisted. “This person knows things that could help us stop Ronan for good. I have to take the risk.” That night, Sarah slipped out after Shenina was asleep. Hanosa promised to stay alert. The café was nearly empty, lit by dim yellow lig
Sarah’s blood ran cold as Ronan stepped into the dim light of the park. The mysterious woman beside her backed away, face pale with terror. Ronan’s men formed a loose circle, blocking any easy escape route. “Ronan,” Sarah said, forcing her voice to stay steady. “What is this?” Ronan smiled, the same cold smile that once controlled her life. “You really are predictable, Sarah. I knew dangling information about Shenina would pull you out here alone. No Alex. No security. Just you.” The woman tried to slip away but one of Ronan’s men grabbed her arm. “She works for my investigator,” Ronan explained casually. “I planted her to test you. And you failed. Meeting strangers at midnight? Not exactly the picture of a stable mother, is it?” Sarah’s mind raced. She clutched her phone in her coat pocket, thumb hovering over the emergency button Alex had installed. “This is illegal. Kidnapping. Intimidation.” Ronan laughed softly. “Who said anything about kidnapping? We’re just having a conver
Ronan Vexler was not a man who accepted defeat easily. A year after the divorce, when Lumina Designs began appearing in magazines and Sarah’s name was whispered in fashion circles with respect instead of pity, his resentment turned into calculated fury. He could tolerate her small success for now. What he could not tolerate was losing Shenina.One crisp autumn morning, Sarah received a thick envelope from Ronan’s lawyers. She opened it in her small studio office above the boutique, Shenina’s laughter echoing from the play area Hanosa had set up nearby. The letter was clear and cold. Ronan was filing for full custody. He claimed Sarah’s growing business left her unable to provide a stable home. He argued that Mia, now his fiancée, offered the perfect mother figure in the Vexler mansion. Shenina, he said, deserved the luxury and security only he could give.Sarah’s hands trembled as she read the documents. Attached were photos of her old bruises, twisted to suggest she was unstable, and
Over the next three months, Sarah lived a double life. On the surface, she remained the obedient wife in the Vexler household. She attended the charity gala on Ronan’s arm, smiling beside Mia who wore a dress that once belonged in Sarah’s dreams. She cooked Shenina’s favorite meals, endured Ronan’s cold commands, and pretended the small servant’s room was exactly where she wanted to sleep.But beneath it all, she moved with purpose. With Alex’s guidance and the burner phone, she documented every insult, every bruise, every threat. She recorded late-night arguments when Ronan stumbled into her room drunk and angry. She photographed the financial restrictions and saved every message where he threatened to take Shenina away. The private investigator Alex hired uncovered hidden accounts and patterns of emotional abuse.The day Sarah filed for divorce was the calmest day of her life. She waited until Ronan left for a week-long business trip with Mia. Accompanied by her new lawyer and Alex
Sarah pressed send. The message whooshed away, and for a second the world went silent. She stared at the screen until it dimmed, then quickly deleted the conversation and cleared her history. Her palms were sweaty. She lay back on the narrow bed, heart racing, wondering if she had just signed her own death warrant.Sleep came in fragments that night. Every creak in the old servant’s room made her flinch. She imagined Ronan bursting in, phone in hand, face twisted with rage. But morning arrived without incident. Hanosa brought breakfast as usual—fruit, vitamins, and a note from Ronan saying he would be out all day with Mia for “business.” Sarah almost laughed at the word. Business.She spent the morning sketching on her new tablet, losing herself in fabric textures and silhouettes. Each stroke felt like reclaiming a piece of her soul. By noon, a reply from Alex arrived on her main phone, disguised as a casual message from a fake contact named “Elena Designs.”“Glad to hear from you. Le
Sarah sat on the edge of her bed, her phone clutched tightly in both hands. The morning had passed in a blur after breakfast. She had gone through the motions—returning to her room, changing into a simple blouse and skirt, telling Hanosa she was going out to shop as Ronan had suggested. The maid had nodded with a small, knowing smile, as if the sudden generosity were perfectly normal.But Sarah knew better.The five thousand dollars sat in her account like a seed waiting to be planted. Not for a spa. Not for a dress. Ronan expected her to spend it on frivolous things, on the shallow indulgences of a kept wife. He wanted to see evidence of her obedience, a new handbag or a pair of shoes that would prove she had done exactly as he said.He would not understand what she truly needed.Sarah opened her phone and navigated to the bank app. Her thumb hovered over the screen. Five thousand dollars. It was more money than she had received at once in years. Her monthly allowance had been five
Sarah sat on the bedroom floor after Ronan left her alone. The door slammed shut, the sound echoing through the wide wing of the house. Her body shook violently, her lips were bleeding, her cheeks burned with swelling, and her left arm still ached from Ronan’s grip.She could only cry. Tears fell
In the cold guest room that felt far too large to be called a place of rest, Sarah sat on the edge of the bed with her back straight, even though her body felt broken from the inside. The bedside lamp glowed dimly, reflecting her shadow in a small mirror in the corner of the room. The face staring
Sarah straightened her back, even though the throbbing pain in her cheek still pulsed like waves that refused to recede. Her eyes met Ronan’s directly, as she tried to gather whatever courage she had left. “I don’t have any kind of relationship with him,” she said at last, her voice low yet firm.
Madam Vexler spoke again, her voice calm but filled with a carefully hidden threat. “So, this is what I want to talk to you about,” she said slowly. “If you do not want to be thrown out of this house and end up as a homeless woman out there, then simply obey your husband.” Sarah remained sitting







