Chapter 1

"You can't be serious, Mason!" Katarina Reed felt herself sway a little. Maybe she was becoming a bit lightheaded from shock. She put out her hand to touch the desk, hoping to steady herself, but then snatched it away. She’d be damned if she allowed herself to show any weakness; especially in front of him. “You’re breaking up with me?" 

Still seated on his thickly padded, comfortable office chair, Mason leaned back and steepled his fingers—a gesture she always hated, because it came across as pompous and pretentious. 

    

“Come now, Rina,” he said in tones that she figured were meant to be soothing, but only sounded patronizing. "I'm not breaking up with you, exactly. You know that."

"Then what are you saying?" She struggled to keep her tone even. She had been elated when he'd called her to visit his office. Now, she could feel the air around her suddenly growing cold, as she stared at him, awaiting for his reply. This was a joke. A slip of tongue. 

"I've long thought about this and—," he paused and raked his hands through his hair. "I don't think we're meant for each other, Rina." 

"Then Kailey is the one meant for you?" The name stuck in her throat, as it always did. Her stepsister, Kailey, wasn't anywhere near the top of her list of favorite people. 

Ever since Katarina's father had left her Mom, and moved in with his girlfriend—Beatrice, even before the ink on the divorce papers were dry—her new sibling, Kailey, had pitted herself in a competition against her in over everything. From stealing their father's love all to herself, to stealing her job as an assistant to a well-known company in Brooklyn. And now Mason. 

Katarina would be blind not to notice the way Kailey's eyes sparkled whenever she spoke about Mason, and how she had caught the both of them in a famous restaurant, smiling like two couples in love. 

"Kailey?" Mason sputtered in shock. "How—did you?" 

A bitter laugh escaped Katarina's lips and she averted her eyes, trying not to conjure the memory of how she had been suspecting this all along. But she had been blinded by the love and hope that Mason was the only man meant for her; the one who stood by her when she had no one, that she paid dead mind to it. 

"Does that even matter?" She snapped, anger rising within her. 

Mason stood up and walked around the table to face her. "Rina look—"

She took a step back before he could reach out to her, her eyes flashing with hurt and betrayal. "Don't come closer, or else I'll pluck your eyes out and feed them to the dogs," she growled, and he remained still, his gaze fixed on her.

"I knew you were going to react this way," he paused and flicked his eyes upwards as if asking the heavens for patience, and then said, "I tried. But I couldn't keep up anymore. I got tired. I mean you're pretty, but Lord, you're so damn boring. You can't even kiss right and won't let me touch you. How the hell did you expect me to cope? Kailey showed up and gave me what you couldn't. So you shouldn't blame me. It's practically your fault," he said cruelly. 

Katarina flinched, cut to the quick by his cruelty. There was a sliver of truth to that, she thought bitterly. She wasn't a fan of sex. She had never pictured giving herself to Mason even though she loved him. But she had tried to satisfy him by giving him the best she could offer which was kissing. But, 'boring'? Really?

"Fûck you, bastard!" She cursed through gritted teeth. Without waiting on a response, she spun around and walked out of his office. 

Out in the parking lot, the tears she had been trying to control, spill out from her eyes. She quickly wiped it off. This was what Kailey wanted from her anyways. Her tears. And she wouldn't give her that satisfaction. 

With the little strength she had left in her, she headed for her home. And just like she had predicted, Kailey was seated in the living room, painting her manicured nails. 

The only thing Katarina wanted to do at that moment was to grip Kailey by the head and slam it against the wall. But she couldn't. Swiveling to her left, she was heading to her room when Kailey's voice stopped her. 

"Did he tell you?" Kailey asked, staring at Katarina's back figure with a smirk on her face.

Katarina ignored her and continued making her way to her room. Of course Kailey wasn't the one to give up easily. 

"He's a good fucker," she smacked her tongue. "But I heard you never got to taste his cock." 

Katarina curled her first in a tight knot and turned to face Kailey with rage coursing through her whole being. "At least I ain't some shameless bitch like you!" She spat. 

Kailey's eyes turned red instantly. "What did you just say?" She growled. 

"You're a bitch! A whore!" Katarina said in a fearless tone. "Why? Are you gonna report me to Father just like you've always done? So he can throw me out, is that it?" 

To Katarina's greatest surprise, Kailey wasn't retaliating which felt odd. Kailey wasn't the kind to give up easily. Then, she saw the smirk on Kailey's face, and she turned to see her Father and stepmother behind her. 

"Father—," her voice faltered as she stared at the man who had once loved and cherished her before. 

"So this is what you go around doing? Sleeping around with your sister's boyfriend?" Magnus bellowed. 

"What?" Katarina blinked in confusion. Then she caught Kailey smiling widely which only meant one thing. She had informed her parents. 

"I knew she was a useless, filthy tramp the moment I laid eyes on her," Beatrice spat, her venomous words piercing Katarina's heart. "She's just like her mother, a desperate, diseased whore."

Katarina's eyes burned with tears as memories of her mother flooded her mind. Her poor mother, who had died of heart disease just months after her divorce from Katarina's father. After that, Katarina had no choice but to stay with her father, enduring Beatrice's constant yelling and maltreatment. Her father, Magnus, remained oblivious, never intervening as Beatrice brutalized her. He'd watch, unmoved, as Katarina was beaten and locked away, pretending nothing was amiss.

"My mom is not a whore," Katarina whispered, her voice trembling with rage and sadness. She could endure anything, but not Beatrice's vicious lies about her mother.

"Say another word, and I'll lock you in your room, you filthy slut!" Beatrice snarled, her face twisted with malice. Kailey smiled to herself, satisfied with the chaos she had stirred.

"Father!" She pouted and ran to Magnus, holding him by the arm. "Just because I told Kailey I'm pregnant for Mason, she called me a whore!" 

Pregnant. The word resounded in Katarina's ears a million times. Kailey was pregnant, and it belonged to no other man but Mason. Her eyes widened in horror as her heart sank, plummeting into an icy abyss. The room around her began to blur, colors bleeding together like watercolors in the rain. 

"You're pregnant?" That was Beatrice who asked the question. 

"Yes, Mother. I'm pregnant for Mason," Kailey declared loudly, her gaze locking with Katarina's. "Four weeks gone." 

"Then what are we waiting for? We should get you both married!" Magnus declared loudly, his eyes filled with admiration. "I can't believe I'd be a grandfather in a few months!" 

Warm laughter filled the house, a stark contrast to the icy loneliness that gripped Katarina's heart. She felt like an outsider, a burden they tolerated rather than loved. The painful truth hit her: she wasn't needed here anymore. The realization stung, but it was nothing new. She'd long known her presence was a weight they carried, not a joy they shared.

Yet, she'd stayed, anchored by the love of one person. But now, even that was gone. The man she loved had been torn from her life, leaving her with nothing to cling to. The torments she'd endured for so long became unbearable. It was time to break free.

With tears trickling down her cheeks, she retraced her steps and walked out of the house. Nobody noticed her leaving. Nobody cared. 

Darkness shrouded the sky, but Katarina's turmoil blinded her to it. She wandered aimlessly, tears streaming down her face.

Her footsteps had barely carried her far when a group of hulking men emerged from the shadows, cigars clenched between their teeth. 

Katarina's steps halted as fear clawed at her chest, and she spun around, dashing back in the opposite direction.

But her escape was short-lived. A brutal hand yanked her backward, slapping over her mouth to stifle her screams. A hot breath whispered against her ear, making her skin crawl. "You're a long way from home, little girl," the man sneered. "So shut up and play along."

Katarina's mind went numb with terror. She was trapped, helpless, and at their mercy.

And then, a chilling thought crept into her mind, echoing through her very soul:

Was this the end?