Chapter 3

I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, barely recognizing the woman looking back at me. My eyes were rimmed red, my cheeks hollow from stress. Behind the locked door, I could still hear the chatter and laughter from Ryan's dinner party—the one I'd spent all day preparing for, only to be relegated to serving drinks and clearing plates like hired help.

My hands trembled as I gripped the edge of the sink. This morning, Madison had worn my favorite silk blouse to breakfast without asking, and Ryan had complimented how much better it looked on her. Tonight, Jake had mockingly called me 'the help' when I'd brought out the appetizers, and Ryan had laughed the loudest.

"More wine, Sarah!" Ryan's voice boomed from the dining room, followed by Madison's tinkling laughter.

Something inside me finally snapped. Seven years of love, sacrifice, and loyalty had been reduced to this—serving the man who was supposed to love me and the woman carrying his child. The child I was expected to help raise.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, staring at the screen for a long moment before opening my contacts. I scrolled past the names of friends I'd lost touch with over the years—friends Ryan had deemed 'not good enough' for his rising social status. At the very bottom, under 'C,' was a contact I hadn't called in over a year: 'Dad.'

My finger hovered over his name. Calling him meant admitting defeat. It meant acknowledging that my rebellion, my desperate attempt to prove I could make it on my own terms, had failed spectacularly. It meant returning to the world I'd fled—a world of wealth, power, and arranged marriages.

A tear slipped down my cheek as I pressed the call button, turning on the faucet to mask my voice.

"Sarah?" My father's voice was sharp, alert despite the late hour in New York. "Is everything alright?"

I tried to speak, but a sob escaped instead. I covered my mouth, terrified that someone might hear.

"Sarah?" Now there was concern in his tone—the closest thing to emotion Charles Mitchell ever displayed. "What's happened?"

"I'm ready to come home," I whispered, the words burning my throat like acid. "You were right. About everything."

There was a brief silence. No 'I told you so,' no lecture about wasted time. Just a deep exhale.

"The jet will be ready whenever you need it," he said simply. "Eleanor will contact you in the morning."

"Thank you," I managed, wiping away tears. "But Dad... I need to do this my way."

"Of course." Another pause. "Sarah, are you safe?"

The question caught me off guard. In seven years, he'd never asked about my wellbeing—only my decisions.

"Yes," I said. "Just... broken."

"We'll fix that," he replied, his tone shifting to the decisive one I recognized from boardroom discussions. "Eleanor will handle everything. You're a Mitchell. Remember that."

The line went dead, and I leaned against the cool tile wall, a strange calm washing over me. Within hours, I knew my father's machine would be in motion—accounts accessed, assets liquidated, arrangements made. Eleanor Vance, his formidable executive assistant, would execute everything with surgical precision.

A sharp knock on the bathroom door made me jump.

"Sarah!" Ryan's voice was impatient. "What the hell are you doing in there? We need dessert served."

I splashed cold water on my face, erasing the evidence of my tears. "Coming," I called, my voice steady despite the storm inside me.

As I unlocked the door, I caught my reflection one last time. Something had changed in my eyes—a cold determination replacing the defeated emptiness. I wasn't just leaving; I was taking back everything Ryan had stolen from me, piece by piece.

Starting tomorrow, I would become the perfect, submissive girlfriend they expected—while systematically dismantling the life we'd built. By the time they realized what was happening, I would be gone.

I plastered on a smile and stepped out to serve dessert to the man who thought he owned me, counting the days until he would learn just how wrong he was.