Chapter 2

Selena POV

I looked up into his handsome, furious face. I was panting heavily, cornered like prey. The stairwell door slammed shut above us, plunging us into dim, flickering fluorescent light.

There was nowhere left to run.

His grip on my shoulder burned through the thin fabric of my cardigan.

Ellis grabbed my arm in silence, his long strides forcing me to stumble after him as he dragged me off the landing.

He shoved open the heavy metal door of an abandoned hospital supply room and pushed me inside.

The door clicked shut behind us. It sounded exactly like a prison cell locking.

The room was cramped and dark, smelling of dust and stale rubbing alcohol. Ellis let go of my arm and took a deliberate step back, planting himself right in front of the only exit. His massive frame swallowed all the oxygen in the tiny space.

I pressed my back flat against the cold metal shelves.

My heart hammered against my ribs, loud and frantic.

I glared at him.

This was the man I secretly loved for years. This was the man who was supposed to protect me and our child from the rest of the world.

"I heard everything," I said. My voice shook, but I forced the words out with pure venom. "I am not agreeing to a C-section tomorrow."

Ellis exhaled sharply. He ran a hand through his dark hair, displacing a few strands. His jaw ticked with clear annoyance.

He stepped closer, invading my personal space until I had to tilt my head up to look at him.

"Jennifer's condition is getting worse," he said, his tone urgent and commanding. "The bone marrow transplant has to happen now. The doctor said it is safe to deliver at twenty-seven weeks. And your life..."

"Safe?" I let out a broken, crazy laugh, cutting him off completely.

"But our baby's lungs aren't ready!" I shouted, the raw panic bleeding into my voice. "He needs more time in my womb!"

"The hospital has the best incubators in the state," Ellis snapped, his patience wearing thin.

"The boy will survive. But Jennifer doesn't have time. I owe her my life, Selena. I am paying that debt tomorrow."

The sheer coldness in his deep blue eyes snapped something deep inside me. The years of playing the quiet, obedient wife.

The years of swallowing Jennifer's insults while she paraded his affection right in my face.

The years of making excuses for a man who would gladly cut me open to save another woman.

It all exploded.

I swung my hand and slapped him hard across the face.

Smack.

The sound echoed sharply in the small room. Ellis's head jerked to the side. A red mark instantly bloomed on his sharp, aristocratic cheekbone.

"I am your wife!" I screamed. Hot tears finally spilled over my cheeks, burning my skin. "I am the mother of your child! How could you be so cruel to me, just for her?"

Ellis turned his head back. The deep blue in his eyes turned completely black in the shadows.

In a flash, he grabbed both of my wrists and pinned them hard against the metal shelving above my head.

I gasped. His hard chest crashed against mine. He was pure heat and solid muscle.

I felt the heavy, angry thud of his heart against my ribs. His face leaned in, his nose brushing mine.

"Cruel?" Ellis hissed.

His voice was a low, biting growl that sent a shiver straight down my spine.

"Selena, let's not pretend this marriage was anything but a business deal. You signed the papers to save your bankrupt father."

I struggled, kicking my legs wildly. He shifted his weight seamlessly, pressing his thick thigh firmly between my knees.

He forced my legs apart and completely trapped my lower body. The friction and the absolute dominance of his posture made my breath hitch.

"You are my wife," Ellis whispered harshly. His gaze dropped to my trembling lips, then snapped back to my eyes.

"Are you looking for love, Selena? Love is a pathetic joke to a Mafia Don. It gets people killed. You were brought in to be my wife, and to pay the debt I owe Jennifer with your marrow. That was the deal."

His words sliced my heart into tiny pieces. My face twisted in sheer agony.

But I refused to let him break me completely.

I used every ounce of adrenaline in my veins and yanked my right wrist free from his hold.

"A year ago!" I shouted, my chest heaving against his. "The person who saved your life in that freezing lake... that was me!"

Ellis froze. His heavy body stilled completely against mine.

A memory flashed behind my eyes.

Last autumn, during a supposedly safe vacation, Ellis was ambushed by a rival gang.

They drove his car off the cliff. The icy water of the lake swallowed him. He was floating facedown.

I jumped in without a second thought.

My lungs burned as the freezing water dragged me down. I pulled his heavy, unconscious body to the rocky shore.

I scraped my knees bloody on the sharp stones. I ran barefoot to the main road to scream for help until a passing car stopped.

But when I got back, shivering and half-dead, Jennifer was there.

She was kneeling on the grass, holding his hand. She cried pretty tears as he woke up, flawlessly stealing my rescue.

I stared into his eyes now, begging him to see the truth. I needed him to know I wasn't just a business deal.

I was the woman who bled for him.

Instead, Ellis let out a dark, mocking laugh. He let go of my other wrist and stepped back. He looked at me like I was a piece of garbage on his shoe.

"You saved me?" Ellis sneered. His eyes were icy and unforgiving.

"You can't even swim, Selena. I've seen you panic in a shallow pool. What kind of lie is this? Is this just another cheap trick to get out of the surgery? You are sick. You would slander your dying sister just to save yourself."

He completely dismissed my words.

Something inside me died right then. The love, the foolish hope, the desperation. It all burned away, turning to cold ash.

I stood up straight. I wiped the tears from my face with the back of my hand. My voice stopped shaking.

"Think whatever you want," I said smoothly. I looked him dead in the eye, shielding my broken heart behind a wall of ice. "I want a divorce."

Ellis's fists clenched at his sides. The muscles in his jaw bulged. He stared at me, searching my face for a bluff. He found nothing but resolve.

"Fine," Ellis said coldly, adjusting his cuffs. "But we will only discuss it after you agree to the C-section."

"I won't let you, or anyone, hurt my baby and me," I said.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket. My hands were perfectly steady now. I dialed the only number I had kept hidden for years. I put the phone to my ear.

"Kingsley," I said clearly. My voice echoed in the tiny room. "It's Selena. Can you come pick me up? I'm sending you my location."

"I didn't want Ellis anymore!"

I lowered the phone and slid it back into my pocket. Ellis's eyes narrowed into deadly slits. The air in the room turned freezing cold.

"Who the hell is Kingsley?" Ellis demanded, taking a slow step toward me.