Bound by His Lies

Synopsis

A full year after the divorce, Phoebe Hamilton finally dared to leave the cramped apartment where she had been hiding and head for the airport. She had barely taken a breath of freedom before she saw him—Xander Sampson—already waiting. Beside him stood a man so badly tortured that he was almost unrecognizable. He said, "Phoebe, it's been a year. I finally found you." The bloodied man had once been her guard—the one who took her money and secretly let her escape. Phoebe closed her eyes in resignation. "Let him go. I'll come with you." Xander had her bound. What he pressed to her face, however, was a jagged shard of emerald. Xander said, "A year ago, you shattered the bracelet my mother left Alena, and you scarred her face. I can't take you back unless your face is ruined too." Phoebe's eyes flew open. "She poured gasoline on me. If I hadn't fought back, I would've burned alive!" Xander's gaze held a trace of regret. "I told you not to provoke her." Her mind reeled with one question—why? When Alena Bryant slapped her, Phoebe merely dodged and was thrown into the ancestral hall to kneel for three days and nights. When Alena fed her rotten fish broth, Phoebe threw up and was forced to survive on spoiled leftovers for a week. Even Alena's midnight medical emergency somehow became Phoebe's fault. He loved Alena—fine, Phoebe had left. But every time she tried to escape, he dragged her back, punished her, and humiliated her. The cruelest part? After every punishment, Xander would pull her into his arms, whispering, "The one I love is you. Be good. Once this is over, everything will be fine." Phoebe had searched for that love under a microscope and found nothing. Just like now, the cold shard pressed against her cheek. Xander said, "I'll find the best plastic surgeon. You won't be left with a mark." Pain flared, sharp and searing. Phoebe squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling. As darkness closed in, only one thought remained. She had to escape.