One

Chapter One

The Price of Survival

I was arranging my three-year-old son’s clothes when Orion returned home.

The moment I saw his face, I knew something was wrong.

My husband wasn’t someone who wore his emotions openly, but I had been with him long enough to recognize when something troubled him. His shoulders were stiff, his expression unusually grim, and he didn’t even acknowledge the little smile I offered him as he walked through the door.

I put the tiny shirt in my hands aside.

“What’s wrong, Orion?”

He closed the door behind him.

“Have you been watching the news?”

I shook my head.

“No. I was busy with our son’s things. Why? What happened?”

He dragged a hand over his face before looking at me.

“Things are getting worse, Kate.”

I stared at him.

“What things?”

“The government has issued another warning. They’re telling people to prepare for a major disaster. Food supplies are running low, hospitals are overwhelmed, and some areas are already experiencing power failures. They’re saying the electricity supply might become unreliable everywhere.”

My heart skipped.

“What?”

“They’re advising people to stock up on food, water, medicine, and other necessities while they still can.”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

We had heard rumors about the impending apocalypse for weeks. People had been talking about strange infections, violent incidents in neighboring cities, and mysterious deaths that hospitals could no longer explain. The government had dismissed most reports as exaggerated, but the situation had become increasingly difficult to ignore.

Still, hearing Orion confirm that things were getting worse made my stomach tighten.

“What are we going to do?” I asked.

“We need to prepare,” he replied.

“Then let’s start now.” I rose from the couch, already thinking about what we needed. “We can buy rice, beans, canned food, bottled water, and whatever medicine we can get. We should also get batteries and rechargeable lamps. If the power goes out, we can’t afford to be unprepared.”

I turned toward the kitchen, mentally calculating how much money we had saved.

“We don’t have to buy everything at once. We can start with the essentials and—”

“Kate.”

I stopped. Something about the way he said my name made me turn around.

Orion looked at me for several seconds before forcing a small smile.

“I think we’re lucky.”

I frowned.

“Lucky?”

“Yes.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to explain, but he only sighed.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

A strange feeling settled in my stomach.

“What is it?”

“I met King Albert today.”

For a moment, I wondered whether I had heard him correctly.

King Albert was the ruler of the largest fortified city in the country, a man whose name appeared in almost every conversation about the apocalypse. His territory had enormous walls, private security forces, stocked hospitals, and enough resources to keep its citizens alive long after the rest of the world collapsed.

But he was also a man people feared.

Women disappeared after entering his private residence, and those who returned rarely spoke about what had happened to them. Some said he had no conscience. Others claimed he was incapable of loving anyone.

I had never met him, and I had no desire to.

“What does King Albert have to do with us?” I asked cautiously.

Orion pulled out a chair and sat down.

“He made me an offer. If you agree to stay with him, he’ll provide everything our son and I need. Food, medicine, security, and a place inside the city. We won’t have to worry about the apocalypse or where our next meal will come from.”

I stared at him.

For a few seconds, his words refused to make sense.

Then I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.

“Stay with him?”

“Yes.”

I continued staring at him, waiting for him to laugh and tell me he was joking, but he didn’t.

I slowly lowered myself onto the couch.

“What exactly do you mean by staying with him?”

Orion shifted in his chair.

“You would live in his residence. Cook for him, take care of some household chores, and make sure he has what he needs.”

I searched his face.

“No, that’s not all, is it?”

He hesitated.

“Well, there might be a little bed activity, too.”

My mouth fell open.

“Orion!”

“This is what you can do to save our son.”

I looked at the man I had loved and trusted, struggling to recognize him.

“You want me to sleep with another man so you can survive?”

“I’m trying to protect our family!”

“No! You’re trying to save yourself!” My voice cracked. “You know what people say about King Albert. You know how cruel he is and what happens to the women he takes into his residence. How can you ask me to do this?”

“What choice do we have, Kate?”

“We can find another way!”

“There is no other way.”

I shook my head, tears gathering in my eyes.

“I am your wife, Orion. How can you even consider handing me over to another man?”

He looked away. That single gesture hurt more than any answer he could have given me.

Then he spoke.

“I’ve already accepted his offer.”

The room went silent.

I felt as though someone had struck me across the face.

“You what?”

“I made the arrangement this afternoon. His men will come for you.”

I shot to my feet.

“No. No, you can’t do this to me!”

Before he could answer, a deafening crash came from somewhere outside.

A woman screamed outside.

Then another scream followed, louder and closer than the first.

Orion rushed toward the window.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

He looked outside, and all the color drained from his face.

“The apocalypse has begun, Kate.”

The lights went out, and darkness swallowed the house.

My heart hammered as screams filled the street. Something smashed against a nearby vehicle, followed by the sound of people running and shouting for help.

“Mummy!”

My three-year-old son’s frightened cry came from the living room.

Before I could ask another question, Orion pulled the door open and shoved me outside.

I stumbled onto the porch, barely managing to keep my balance.

“Orion!”

He stepped back into the house.

For one brief moment, I thought he was going to follow me outside.

Instead, he slammed the door in my face.

The lock clicked immediately.

I froze.

He had locked me out.

My husband was inside with our three-year-old son, and he had deliberately left me outside while the world fell apart around us.

“Orion?”

I grabbed the handle and tried to open the door.

It wouldn’t move.

“Orion, open the door!”

I pounded against it with both hands.

“What are you doing? Let me in!”

I could hear our son crying inside.

“Mummy! Mummy!”

My heart shattered.

“Please, Orion! Our son is crying! Let me in!”

I kept knocking, tears streaming down my face.

“Orion, please! I’m your wife!”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t open the door.

He didn’t even come close enough to tell me to go away.

I could hear movement inside, and our son continued crying for me, but Orion remained indifferent to my pleas.

Outside, screams echoed through the neighborhood. Something smashed against a nearby vehicle, followed by the terrifying sound of an infected person snarling. The smell of smoke drifted through the air as flames began rising from a building across the street.

The apocalypse was happening all around us, yet Orion didn’t care what happened to me.

He had already secured his own survival and our son’s. As far as he was concerned, his responsibility toward me was over.

I slid down against the locked door, my legs too weak to support me.

“Why, Orion?” I whispered through my tears.

“How could you do this to me?”

I had loved him. I had trusted him. I had built my life around him, believing that whatever happened, we would face it together.

But when the moment came, he had chosen to save himself by sacrificing me.

I covered my mouth to silence my sobs.

I didn’t know how long I sat there crying. The world outside was growing more dangerous by the second, and I had nowhere to go.

Then I heard footsteps.

Heavy footsteps approaching through the chaos.

I slowly lifted my head.

Several armed men were moving down the street, their weapons raised as they pushed through the panicking crowd. Their uniforms bore a symbol I recognized immediately.

The royal insignia.

My blood ran cold.

Behind them, a black vehicle came to a stop.

The door opened.

A tall man stepped out, dressed in a long black coat. He looked completely unfazed by the destruction around him. While people screamed and ran for their lives, he walked forward with the calm authority of someone who had never needed to fear anything.

Then his gaze settled on me.

I stopped breathing.

King Albert, the man my husband had sold me to.

He was here.

I scrambled to my feet and desperately grabbed the door handle again, as though the locked door might somehow open if I tried hard enough.

“Orion! Please!”

Nothing.

I turned back toward the king.

He was walking directly toward me, his cold expression giving nothing away.

I shook my head, tears blurring my vision.

“No… please…”

He continued approaching.

I backed against the door, trembling from head to toe. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no one willing to help me.

My husband had locked me out.

The world was collapsing.

And the most feared man in the country was coming to claim me.

As King Albert drew closer, I pressed myself against the door and pleaded desperately.

“Please, don’t take me… please!”