chapter 3

Eloise Pov

I woke up to sunlight burning through my eyelids and my mouth tasting like bitter metal. My head throbbed and my whole body felt heavy like someone had filled my veins with cement.

For a few seconds I forgot everything. Then it all came rushing back.

I rolled onto my side and stared at the wall.

My phone sat on the nightstand where I'd left it. Still off. I wasn't ready to turn it back on yet.

The clock showed nine in the morning. Julian never came home last night.

Not that I expected him to.

My stomach growled but the thought of food made me nauseous. I needed to eat for the baby but I couldn't make myself move.

Instead I lay there and let my mind drift back to when things were different. When Julian used to look at me like I mattered.

Three years ago.

My father's office had smelled like leather and expensive cigars. He sat behind his massive desk with papers spread everywhere and his face was pale. Too pale.

"Eloise sit down."

I sat in the chair across from him and noticed how his hands shook when he reached for his water glass.

"Are you okay Dad?"

"I need to talk to you about something important." He didn't answer my question. "It's about your future."

"What about it?"

"I've made arrangements for your security." He folded his hands on the desk. "You're going to marry Julian Vale."

The words didn't make sense at first.

"What?"

"The Vale family has agreed to a union. It will secure both our families and protect you after I'm gone."

"After you're gone? Dad what are you talking about?"

His eyes looked tired. So tired.

"I'm sick Eloise. The doctors say I don't have much time left."

My whole world tilted.

"No. You're fine. You're just stressed from work."

"I'm dying." He said it so calmly like he was talking about the weather. "And when I'm gone you'll need protection. The business world isn't kind to young women alone."

"I don't need to get married for that."

"You do." He leaned forward. "The Vale family is powerful. Julian will take care of you. He'll keep you safe."

"But I don't even know him."

"You'll get to know him. He's a good man from a good family."

I wanted to argue but the look on my father's face stopped me. He looked desperate. Scared even.

"When?"

"The wedding is in three months."

Three months.

I met Julian two weeks later at a formal dinner between our families.

He was handsome. Tall with dark hair and sharp features. He smiled at me across the table and my mother leaned over to whisper "He's perfect for you."

But something felt off.

My father kept watching Julian's father with an expression I couldn't read. Not quite fear but close to it.

And my mother wouldn't meet my eyes all night.

After dinner Julian walked me through the garden behind the restaurant. The air was cool and I wrapped my arms around myself.

"So." He put his hands in his pockets. "This is awkward."

"Yeah."

"I guess we're supposed to fall in love now or something." He laughed but it didn't sound genuine.

"I guess."

"Look I know this isn't ideal." He stopped walking and turned to face me. "But we can make it work. My father says your father's company will merge with ours after the wedding. It's good for both families."

"Is that all this is? A business deal?"

"Isn't that what all marriages are in families like ours?" He stepped closer. "But that doesn't mean we can't be happy."

He touched my cheek and I felt nothing. No spark or connection.

But I smiled anyway because my father was dying and this was what he wanted.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Julian's smile widened. "So we're doing this?"

"We're doing this."

He kissed me then. It was soft and brief, completely empty.

I should have known right then that something was wrong.

The wedding happened exactly three months later like my father planned. He walked me down the aisle even though he could barely stand. His hand shook on my arm and I had to support most of his weight.

Julian waited at the altar in an expensive suit with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

My mother cried during the ceremony but they weren't happy tears.

After we said our vows and the officiant pronounced us husband and wife, Julian kissed me and I saw my father collapse in the front row.

He died two weeks later.

The funeral was huge, business partners, and celebrities. People I'd never met who claimed they loved my father.

Julian stood next to me with his hand on my lower back and played the role of supportive husband perfectly.

But at night when we were alone he barely touched me.

"I'm tired." He'd say and turn away.

Or "I have work in the morning."

Or nothing at all.

Six months into our marriage my mother pulled me aside at a family dinner.

"Are you happy?" She searched my face.

"Yes." I lied.

"Eloise." She gripped my hands. "Your father made me promise to take care of you. If something feels wrong you need to tell me."

"Nothing's wrong Mom."

But her eyes said she didn't believe me.

"The Vale family." She lowered her voice. "They're not what they seem. Your father knew that but he was desperate."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't explain it all now but please be careful." She squeezed my hands tighter. "And whatever you do don't let Bree give you anything without questioning it first."

"Mom you're scaring me."

"Good. You should be scared." She glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise."

But I didn't understand what she meant until it was too late.

Two months after that conversation my mother died in a car accident.

The police said her brakes failed. Mechanical error.

But I remembered the fear in her eyes when she warned me about the Vale family.

I remembered how my father's hands shook when he told me about the marriage arrangement.

I remembered the way Julian's father smiled at my father's funeral like he'd won something.

And I started to wonder if my parents' deaths were really accidents.

But by then I was already trapped.

Already married.

Now lying in bed staring at the wall I touched my stomach and felt the baby move.

My father had sold me to protect me.

My mother had tried to warn me.

And I'd ignored every sign because I was too naive to see the trap closing around me.

The marriage was never about love.

It was never about partnership.

It was about control.

And I'd walked right into it with my eyes closed.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand even though it was off.

No wait. It wasn't off, someone had turned it on.

I grabbed it and saw hundreds of notifications. Missed calls, messages and emails.

And one text from Julian sent an hour ago.

"Come to the Vale estate. We need to talk."

My hands started shaking again.

This wasn't a request.

It was a summons.

And I knew that whatever happened next was going to change everything.