Chapter 2

By the time I'd slapped Amber twice across the face, Marcus finally snapped out of it.

He seized my wrist. The pain told me he was using every ounce of his strength.

To say it didn't hurt would be a lie.

I'd defied my parents to marry this man. Went on a hunger strike until they relented.

To prove to them that I'd married well, I'd lived with him in a cramped basement apartment -- sweltering in summer, freezing in winter.

In those early days of scraping and hustling, we had no money. For half a month straight, we survived on bread and water.

I never complained. I stood by him through every miserable day.

I begged my father to let him manage a subsidiary of Ashford Corporation.

And he delivered. Within a year, he'd established himself at the company.

During that same year, I stayed home trying to conceive. The medications, the injections -- I'd lost count of them all.

"Let go of my sweetheart. Or I'll post your private photos online."

That word -- sweetheart -- so tender, so intimate -- cut through me like a blade.

My voice trembled. "You'd expose my privacy over a mistress?"

Marcus's eyes shifted, unable to hold mine.

"Amber isn't a mistress."

I scoffed. "If she's not a mistress, then what? The love of your life?"

A deliberate whimper from Amber, and the words tumbled out of Marcus before he could stop them: "Yes. She's the one I love most."

Tears burned behind my eyes.

He'd said those exact words to me once.

After countless nights tangled together, he'd whisper in my ear that I was the only one he'd ever love.

"Aren't you afraid of karma? Of dying a miserable death?"

I asked quietly.

Marcus staggered.

He'd once sworn that if he ever betrayed our marriage, he deserved exactly that.

Amber let out a disdainful huff.

"What man doesn't say sweet nothings after sex? Marcus already promised that he'd put everything in my name -- his way of making me and the baby feel safe. Oh, and he also said you're a dead fish in bed. Totally boring."

She clapped a hand over her mouth in mock surprise.

Her eyes went wide and innocent as she looked up at Marcus.

"Oops, Marcus, I'm sorry -- I just say whatever comes to mind. You're not mad, are you?"

Marcus rested his hand on her head and gave it an affectionate rub.

"You only told the truth. How could I be mad at you?"

I let go.

While Marcus cradled Amber in his arms, cooing softly, I wound up with everything I had and slapped him across the face.

That slap knocked every last shred of foolish love right out of me.

Marcus's expression twisted into something vicious.

Before he could speak, Amber's hands shot out and shoved me hard.

I stumbled backward. I might have caught my balance, but Amber stuck her foot out and tripped me.

When I fell, the corner of the desk caught my head.

Blood blurred my vision.

Marcus hesitated -- just for a moment -- then helped me onto the sofa.

He tossed the first-aid kit in front of me.

"She is just my secretary. Why do you insist on stooping to her level? Show a little grace. As long as you behave, nobody's going to take the title of Mrs. Thorne from you."

Amber stood there looking like a scolded child, her lip quivering as she gazed up at Marcus.

"Marcus, maybe I shouldn't be here at all. Maybe... maybe I should just get rid of the baby."

Marcus pulled her into his arms immediately.

"Don't be silly, sweetheart."

Watching the two of them in their tender little tableau, a sharp pain twisted through my chest.

I grabbed one of Marcus's prized golf clubs -- the one he'd paid a fortune for -- and brought it down on the mahogany desk.

Apparently terrified that Amber might get hurt, Marcus clutched her tight against him.

A cold fury settled deep in my bones. My hands didn't stop.

Not until I'd destroyed everything on that desk did I finally collapse onto the sofa, spent.

"Are you done?"

Marcus's voice was ice.

I laughed.

I leveled the golf club at Amber, still nestled in his arms.

Marcus instinctively shielded her with his body. That image -- his first thought to protect her -- sent a fresh ache through my heart.

I drew a deep breath and summoned every ounce of the heiress I used to be.

"Take your trash and get the hell out of my sight."

The word trash struck a nerve.

Marcus rose to his feet.

"This is my office. You destroyed my property. Vivienne, you've gone too far this time."

Too far?

I laughed coldly.

I raised the golf club.

It connected squarely with Marcus's shin.

He crumpled, one knee hitting the floor in front of me.

I aimed the club between his legs.

"I can go a lot further."

Marcus's hands flew to cover himself.

A flicker of genuine terror crossed his eyes.

"Have you... lost your mind?"

I stood, towering over him, and spat in his face.

Then I picked up the phone and called the security team.

"Send two people to the CEO's office."

Two guards arrived quickly. But instead of approaching Marcus, they walked toward me.

Amber smirked.

"Oh, Miss Ashford, you miscalculated. My brother Ryan runs the security team. They answer to me."

She turned to the two guards.

"Remove this corporate spy who broke into the CEO's office and attempted to steal company secrets."

I looked at Marcus.

"You're letting her pull this?"

Marcus limped to his feet.

He pointed at the wreckage covering the floor. "There's your evidence of corporate espionage right there. Vivienne, I'll give you one more chance. Apologize to Amber right now and promise you'll never show your face here again, and I'll let this slide. Besides..."

"Amber has never wanted to be Mrs. Thorne. So as long as you go home and play the good little housewife, the title is yours to keep."

My pupils contracted.

"Marcus. Are you sure about that?"

Marcus smiled.

"Vivienne, I'm the CEO now. And let's be honest -- your parents are getting old. They're not in any position to do much of anything. One word from me, and I can have you hauled away by the authorities. A few years locked up -- that's all it would take. Just one word."

I smiled back.

"Marcus, you seem to have forgotten what I'm capable of."

Marcus froze.