Chapter 3: The Broken Shell

I opened my eyes slowly. The bright morning sun was shining happily through the large glass windows of the hotel suite. I stretched my legs under the soft white sheets. My body felt heavy, but in a very good way. Every single muscle ached from the wild, passionate night. I felt warm. I felt happy.

"Liam?" I called out to the empty room, a soft smile on my face.

There was no answer. The room was totally quiet. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. That was when I noticed my right hand. The deep cut from the broken glass was wrapped tightly in a piece of dark grey fabric. I held my hand up to the sunlight coming through the window. I frowned. The fabric was ripped, but it felt incredibly soft and highly expensive. It looked like it was torn straight from a custom-made silk shirt.

Liam never wore dark grey silk shirts. He hated silk. He only wore crisp white or light blue cotton shirts for his work.

"Maybe it was his jacket lining," I mumbled to myself out loud. "Or maybe he bought something new for our anniversary."

I shook my head, ignoring the tiny feeling of doubt growing in my chest. He came for me. He held me. He loved me last night. That was all that mattered right now. The way he touched me, the way he whispered in my ear—it felt completely different, but I was so sure we had finally fixed our broken marriage.

I got dressed quickly. I took a taxi back to our large mansion in the hills. The whole ride home, a huge smile was stuck firmly on my face. I felt alive. I felt deeply wanted for the first time in years.

I pushed the heavy front door open.

"Liam, I am home!" I called out happily. "I brought us fresh breakfast from the bakery!"

I walked into the massive living room. My smile froze instantly. The bakery bag slipped from my hand and hit the floor.

Liam was sitting on the expensive leather couch. He was holding a cup of hot coffee. He was wearing the exact same clothes he wore to work yesterday morning. And lying right next to him, with her bare legs resting over his lap, was Mia.

She was wearing one of Liam's oversized white button-down shirts. Only a few buttons were closed at the bottom. It hung loosely off her shoulder, showing dark red marks all over her neck and collarbone.

"What is she doing here?" I whispered.

"Keep your voice down," Liam snapped loudly, not even looking up from his phone screen. "She has a bad headache."

Mia stretched her arms above her head like a lazy cat. She turned her face toward Liam and dragged her finger slowly down his chest. Her lips curled into a satisfied, sleepy smile.

"Mmm, of course I have a headache." Mia purred, pressing her body closer to his. "After what you did to me last night, baby, I am surprised I can even walk. My whole body is sore."

She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him through her lashes. "You were so rough with me. I told you to slow down but you just kept going and going."

Liam smirked. He actually smirked. He squeezed her thigh and sipped his coffee like she just told him the weather forecast.

My stomach dropped to the floor.

"You were here all night?" I asked, my voice barely coming out.

Liam finally looked at me. His eyes were totally cold. "Yes, I was here all night. I told you yesterday I had absolutely no time for your stupid hotel games."

The whole world stopped spinning.

He was here. All night. With her. In our house. In our bed.

My mind flashed back to the hotel. The dark room. The heavy footsteps. The deep, rough voice. The smell of whiskey and cedarwood. The man who made me feel so incredibly good. The man I thought was my husband.

I looked down at the dark grey silk wrapped around my hand. If Liam was here with Mia, then who was the man in that dark hotel room?

Oh my God. The man last night was a complete stranger.

"Since you are finally home, go to the kitchen." Liam ordered sharply. "Make some breakfast for Mia. She is very hungry."

"You want me to cook for her?" My voice got louder. "After you slept with her in our house?"

Mia giggled softly. She sat up slowly, running a hand through her messy hair. She gave me a wicked, teasing smile.

"Come on, Jia." Mia's voice dripped with fake sweetness. "Don't be so dramatic. Just make some eggs and toast. You know Liam likes my body fed and happy. I need the energy for round two later."

"Shut up!" I hissed at her. I turned and glared at Liam. "I will not cook for your whore!"

Liam stood up so fast his coffee spilled all over the rug. He crossed the distance between us in two large steps.

Smack!

His large hand struck my cheek with brutal force. My head snapped hard to the side. The taste of warm copper filled my mouth as my teeth cut the inside of my cheek.

"Do not ever disrespect her like that again," Liam roared at me. His face was bright red with anger.

I held my burning cheek, staring at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. "I am your wife, Liam! How can you do this to me? How can you hit me for her?"

"You are just a name on a piece of paper," Liam sneered coldly, stepping closer to me. "You mean nothing to me. Do not forget who pays for your little sister's medical school. If you say one single word about me and Mia to anyone, I will completely destroy her scholarship. I will make sure she never becomes a doctor. Do you understand me?"

My heart shattered completely. He was using my younger sister against me. He knew she was the only family I had left in this world.

Mia walked up behind Liam and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her chin on his strong shoulder and looked at me with a nasty, mocking smirk.

"Look at you, Jia. You are so sad and pathetic," Mia teased softly, her eyes looking my body up and down with total disgust. "You tried so hard with your cheap hotel room and your ugly little outfits. But you still couldn't get him to come. Do you know why?"

"Don't speak to me," I cried, tears finally falling down my face.

"Because you are an empty shell," Mia mocked, laughing cruelly. "You are boring in bed. You are cold. You don't know how to please a real man. You can't even get pregnant after three long years! Why would Liam want a useless, dry woman when he can have me?"

She kissed Liam's neck, right on top of a fresh red bite mark.

"He likes it hot and tight, Jia," Mia whispered, but loudly enough for me to hear. "He likes it wild and messy. Everything you are not."

"Mia is right," Liam agreed, looking at me with cold, dead eyes. "You are useless as a wife."

Something inside my brain completely snapped.

I didn't think. I just moved.

I stepped forward, raised my hand, and slapped Mia as hard as I possibly could across her face.

Crack!

"Ah!" Mia screamed loudly. She fell backward onto the floor, holding her cheek in shock.

"Mia!" Liam yelled in total panic.

He turned to me, his eyes full of pure, burning hatred. He didn't just slap me this time. He raised his heavy arm and punched me hard across the jaw.

The force threw my body violently backward. My feet slipped on the floor. I fell hard. My head smashed directly into the sharp corner of the heavy marble console table behind me.

A loud, sickening crack echoed through the entire room.

White-hot pain exploded inside my skull. My vision flashed bright white, then went blurry and dark. I crashed onto the cold marble floor. Warm, thick blood instantly started leaking from the side of my head, pooling around my hair.

I groaned loudly, trying to push myself up, but my arms had absolutely no strength. The room was spinning wildly in dark circles.

Through my blurry vision, I saw Liam. He didn't even look at me bleeding on the floor. He dropped to his knees right beside Mia.

"Are you okay, baby?" Liam asked frantically, touching her face with so much care and worry. "Did she hurt you?"

"It hurts so much, Liam," Mia fake-cried, burying her face into his chest.

"I'm sorry, I've got you," he whispered softly, holding her tightly.

I lay there on the cold floor in my own blood, watching my husband hold another woman. I could not even cry anymore. The pain in my head was too strong.

Suddenly, the loud, sharp ringing of Liam's cell phone broke the quietness of the room.

Liam reached into his pants pocket and pulled the phone out. He looked at the screen. Instantly, all the color completely drained from his face. He went totally pale, like he had just seen a ghost.

He dropped Mia's hand and stood up quickly, his hands shaking slightly.

"Liam? What is wrong?" Mia asked, looking very confused.

"It's my older brother," Liam said, his voice dropping to a terrified, shaking whisper.

Marcus Collins. The most ruthless and powerful man in the entire country. The head of the Collins family.

"He is on his way here right now," Liam swallowed hard, staring at his phone screen in horror. "He is coming right now."