Chapter 4

The penthouse kitchen gleamed in the morning light, all stainless steel and marble countertops. I moved through the familiar space with practiced ease, preparing a light breakfast for Alexander before his morning meetings. The routine was so ingrained after ten years that my body followed it automatically while my mind wandered elsewhere—to fireworks that weren't for me, to a pink diamond on another woman's finger, to the growing realization that I was merely a beautiful possession in Alexander's collection.

The sound of heels clicking against marble pulled me from my thoughts. Charlotte stood in the doorway, her golden hair perfectly…