CHAPTER 25

IT IS ALWAYS WITH MEN LIKE HIM...

Abigail shut the bedroom door quietly behind her, even though she wanted to slam it.

Her heart was still pounding from that dinner, from Luke’s closeness, the burn in his eyes, the way he had come so close and then just walked away like nothing had happened. She pressed her back against the door and let her head fall back with a dull thud against the wood.

Why did it always feel like she was the one bleeding in this fake marriage?

She crossed the room, arms wrapped around herself like she was holding her soul together, and slumped onto the edge of the bed. Her eyes fell on the black card still sitting on the nightstand from earlier that day his way of saying “you’re mine” without ever saying the words. It felt heavier now, like a chain instead of a privilege.

One year.

That was all this was supposed to be.

So why did it feel like she was already in too deep?

Tears pressed against her eyes, hot and sharp, but she blinked them back. She didn’t want to cry. Not for Luke. Not for the man who only knew how to give her half of himself before snatching it away.

She reached for her phone, her fingers shaking slightly, and scrolled through her contacts. There weren’t many names left. Most people had drifted away after the wedding, thinking she was suddenly too high up to talk to. Or too fake.

Except one.

She tapped the name: Maya.

It rang once. Twice.

“Hello?”

Abigail closed her eyes at the sound of her friend’s voice. “Maya…”

There was a beat of silence on the other end, then a rush of sound. “Abby? Oh my God. Are you okay? You just disappeared what the hell happened?”

Abigail let out a soft, shaky breath. “I’ve missed you.”

“Girl, don’t you dare make me cry,” Maya said, her voice cracking just slightly. “Talk to me. What’s going on? Are you safe?”

“Yes,” Abigail whispered. “I think so. I just... I needed to hear a real voice.”

Maya’s voice softened. “Is he hurting you?”

“No,” Abigail said quickly. “Not like that. It’s just... complicated.”

Maya sighed. “It always is with men like him. You looked like a stranger in the wedding pictures, Abby. You didn’t smile once. And now silence for months?”

“I couldn’t talk to anyone. Everything was controlled. I.. I don’t even know how I got here.”

“Then come back,” Maya said without hesitation. “Let me see you. Let’s get coffee. Or lunch. I don’t care. I just need to know you’re still... you.”

A lump rose in Abigail’s throat. “Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Maya agreed. “Pick the place. And if he sends a bodyguard to follow you, I’ll make him order my food.”

That drew a small laugh out of Abigail her, first real one in what felt like weeks.

“I’ll send the address in the morning,” she said. “Thank you, Maya.”

“Anytime. Don’t vanish on me again.”

“I won’t.”

They hung up, and Abigail sat there with the phone still in her hand, feeling like she could finally breathe again.

Someone still remembered her. Someone still saw her.

She rose slowly and walked into the bathroom. The night air had grown colder, and she shivered as she peeled off the tight emerald dress. The mirror didn’t lie she looked tired, older, like a part of her was being chipped away day by day.

But tomorrow, she’d see Maya. She’d remind herself who she used to be.

And maybe, just maybe, figure out if she could still be her.

Even in Luke’s world.

Abigail remained by the window long after the sun had dipped below the skyline. The city lights flickered to life beneath a darkening sky, but her thoughts were elsewhere caught between the past and the present, tangled in the quiet chaos Walter’s name had stirred inside her.

Walter.

It still didn’t sit right with her. The man who’d approached her at the party with calm charm and warm words. His voice had been steady, almost rehearsed like every compliment was laced with intent. And now, knowing what she did, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been a pawn even in that moment. That his smile had been a mask, and the way he looked at her had never been about her it was about Luke.

How long had Walter known? Had he known she was married to Luke when he approached? Had he already drawn lines in some invisible game, waiting for a move?

She hugged her arms tighter around herself, the glass cool against her forehead. Luke had told her the truth. It had taken courage she could see that in his eyes last night when he confessed it all. But that didn’t make her feel safer. It just made everything feel more fragile.

Her heart, her position in Luke’s world, their entire arrangement.

The idea that people were watching her, using her turned her stomach.

She needed a moment. A space outside of this gilded cage.

That’s when Maya came to mind again. A warmth bloomed behind her ribs, momentarily cutting through the dread. Maya, her loud, beautiful, fiercely loyal friend.

They had met on the first day of college orientation. Two girls stuck in the back row of an overpacked auditorium. Abigail had dropped her pen, and Maya had passed her a neon pink one with “stay dangerous” written in silver ink down the side.

“Use it like a sword,” Maya had said with a grin, eyes sharp and full of life.

They’d been inseparable from that moment. Maya always stood up for her, especially when people underestimated Abigail because of her quietness or her background. It was Maya who taught her how to fake confidence until it became real. How to walk into a room like she belonged even if her shoes were second-hand.

One memory in particular hit her like a breeze from a long-forgotten season. They had snuck out one night during their sophomore year broke curfew, jumped the back fence of the girls' dorm, and ended up lying under the stars on the old football field.

“I swear,” Maya had whispered, “you’re going to do something wild one day. Like fall in love with someone impossible. A secret billionaire or something.”

Abigail had laughed then full and free. “Right. Me? With a billionaire? That's very unimaginable Maya dear”

“Yep. I'm serious and I’ll be there to make sure he doesn’t mess with your heart.”

Abigail blinked hard, feeling the sting of tears. Maya had always known how to dream for her when she couldn’t dream for herself.

And now here she was living a reality that read more like fiction. Married to Luke Vandell. Protected by guards. Wrapped in silk. Given black cards and houses with more rooms than memories.

And Maya wasn’t there.

Not until now.

Abigail picked up her phone again and re-read Maya’s response after the call had ended:

You owe me big. And I miss you too. Let’s fix this. Name the place.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

Abigail: Tomorrow. Late lunch? No guards, no suits. Just us.

She sent it.

Then she sighed, rubbing at her forehead. Her body was exhausted but her mind spun endlessly. Walter, the gala, the masked danger. It was all too much. But remembering Maya felt like touching a part of herself that hadn’t been bruised.

She moved toward the bathroom, her bare feet brushing against the soft carpet. A shower. That’s what she needed now. A quiet moment to rinse off the weight of it all. Maybe, in the steam and silence, she’d find some clarity. Maybe she'd find the courage to ask herself what came after this contract what's life really holding in store for her…what could a life after this contract look like.

Because the girl Maya met on the football field was still inside her somewhere. And that girl had always known one thing for sure she wouldn’t let fear define her.

Not even now and never not even in her next life.