Chapter 2
I did not know how I walked out of the ballroom without tearing the succession agreement in half.
Perhaps I did know.
If I had screamed or broken down in front of them, Roman would have decided I was ruled by emotion. I refused to let him see the woman beneath the perfect makeup, because none of them had ever understood who that woman was.
When I first entered a Voss council meeting seven years ago, the elders assumed I was a beautiful actress Roman had married on impulse. They never learned that I organized the transaction records they found impossible to untangle. They never knew how many wars I prevented months before Roman realized they were coming.
Tonight, their expressions had shifted from dismissal to pity.
"Vivian."
Roman followed me into the glass corridor.
I stopped without turning.
"We need to talk," Roman said.
Snow moved beyond the windows like ash.
"I thought we already did."
He came closer. The scent of cedar clung to him, the scent that had once made me feel safe after the worst nights of our marriage.
Now it felt like a cruel joke.
"This isn't what you think," Roman said.
I faced him.
"Then tell me what it is."
He went quiet.
"You have looked at me for seven years," I said, "and you still believe I should simply accept this."
Roman's jaw tightened.
"I did not betray our marriage."
For a moment, I could only stare.
Then I laughed.
"Your child with another woman isn't betrayal?"
I gestured toward the ballroom.
"She is wearing the symbol of my family, and you removed my name from yours. What would you call it?"
"That ring is more complicated than you realize."
"Do you know what it means?"
Roman did not answer.
He had taken a Moretti symbol and handed it to another woman without understanding what he was giving away.
"Do you remember what tonight is?" I asked.
"Of course I do."
"No, Roman. You don't."
I held his gaze.
"For seven years, I stood beside you until everyone believed you could not lose."
Music floated in from the ballroom. The Voss family was still celebrating my husband's power, his unborn heir, and the woman who would give him the future he wanted.
Roman reached for me.
I stepped back.
His hand stopped in midair.
It was the first time I had ever refused his touch.
"Are you leaving me?" he asked.
The question was almost absurd.
"I reached this point because you made the decision for me," I said. "Tonight you told everyone I no longer belong here."
Applause rose from the ballroom.
Isabella appeared at the top of the curved staircase, one hand resting protectively over her stomach.
"Roman," Isabella called. "The elders want to know when the succession arrangement will be formally announced."
Every person in the room heard her.
Roman looked up.
"Tomorrow."
One word ended seven years.
"Good," I said.
"Vivian..."
"Don't worry."
I removed my wedding ring.
On the day Roman placed it on my finger, he told me that as long as I wore it, I would be the only mistress of the Voss family.
I laid it on the table.
The quiet metallic click silenced the ballroom.
"What are you doing?" Roman asked.
"Ending a marriage only one of us took seriously."
His expression darkened.
"You're upset. This is not the time to make a decision."
He still believed I was merely hurt. That I would calm down, forgive him, and return to my assigned place.
I turned toward the front doors.
"Vivian."
I stopped.
Roman's voice had dropped to something almost raw.
"Would you really leave me?"
I kept my back to him.
"You are free to choose her. But you don't get to choose to hurt me and still demand that I stay."
I opened the doors.
Cold wind swept snow across my shoulders.
My phone vibrated before I reached the steps.
The message came from an unknown number.
IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE, DO NOT TRUST ROMAN VOSS.
A second message appeared.
THE PEOPLE WHO DESTROYED THE MORETTI FAMILY SEVEN YEARS AGO MAY BE STANDING BESIDE YOU.
I closed my hand around the phone.
For the first time, I wondered how much the man I had loved for seven years truly knew.