Chapter 3

As expected, that night, Edward finally came home after disappearing for days.

Abigail hadn't seen her father in so long that she let go of my hand right away and ran straight into his arms.

They played in the living room while I hid in the kitchen with the housekeeper, pretending to help her.

There wasn't much I could actually do—just rinse some vegetables or pass her a bowl.

Most of the time, I just stood there staring into space.

The housekeeper glanced at me and sighed, "Mrs. Collins, Mr. Collins really does care about you. Even though he wasn't home these past few days, he called every night to check on things. Why do you always seem so afraid of him?"

Afraid? That word had carved itself into my bones ever since I ended up with Edward.

I still remembered the first time I tried to run after the wedding.

With one phone call from Edward, my ex-boyfriend lost the job he worked so hard to get.

The second time I ran, he fired the house manager who had worked for the family for ten years—just because the man failed to keep me inside.

The third time, my brother's fiancée suddenly changed her mind about the wedding. She found someone "better". Edward made sure of it.

When he dragged me back that time, I cried and asked him why he couldn't just let me go.

Edward raised his glass, savoring the fear on my face as he smiled, "Molly, anything you care about means nothing to me. You can't win against me."

Later, I finally understood.

Every time I bared my claws at him, he didn't hurt me. He hurt the people around me.

He knew exactly how many things I loved, how many ties I couldn't cut.

Any one of them was enough to pull me back into the dark.

"Didn't want to see me? That's why you're hiding in here?" Edward's voice drifted in from the kitchen doorway.

He stood there holding a delighted Abigail, looking at me with lazy curiosity.

In front of her, I always tried to keep up the illusion of a happy home.

I forced a small, helpless smile and said, "No. I'm just helping."

I reached out to take Abigail.

Edward leaned down and pressed a kiss to my cheek before handing her over.

Then he murmured in a low, teasing voice, "Molly, were you jealous the other day when you saw me with Chloe?"

Of everything he could've asked after coming home, I didn't expect that.

The first thing Edward cared about when he walked through the door wasn't that I had stepped on his foot.

It was asking me something completely pointless instead.

I didn't answer him.

But later that night, after Abigail fell asleep and Edward stepped out of the shower looking far too pleased with himself, I finally spoke. "Edward, you two can be together. You don't have to test me. I won't get jealous."

I only ever got jealous over someone I loved.

And he didn't deserve that.

Edward's hum caught in his throat.

He grabbed me suddenly, dragged me down onto the bed, and pinned me beneath him.

"Molly, do you even have a heart?" He gripped my chin, his eyes turning red again, like he was fighting something inside himself.

He snapped, "I have another woman. I make your life miserable. I won't let you leave me. And after all this, you still can't tell what I'm trying to do?

"If you cared about me even a little, if you paid just the slightest bit of attention, you would've figured it out by now!"

His fist slammed down beside me. The mattress shook, and so did I.

After a long moment, he suddenly let go—like all the strength drained out of him—and lay on the other side of the bed.

Then he started laughing.

His phone rang over the sound of that laughter, echoing through the room.

He didn't pick it up.

He just kept laughing, and in the corner of his eye, I thought I saw the glint of tears.

It had to be my imagination.

Was Edward crying?

The ringtone kept going, over and over. I got up.

On my way out, I glanced at the phone Edward had knocked to the floor earlier.

Chloe was calling.

I hesitated for a moment, then stopped and said quietly, "She's looking for you."

We both knew exactly who "she" meant.

Edward snapped back to himself and motioned for me to bring the phone over.

But when I handed it to him, he grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let go.

Chloe's voice spilled out through the speaker. "Edward, did you forget you're supposed to meet my parents today? Why aren't you here yet?"

I kept my head down.

After a long stretch of silence, I urged softly, "You should get going. You don't want Ms. Austin's parents getting the wrong impression."

Edward let out a low, bitter laugh and started changing right in front of me.

Before he left, he stood at the door and looked back, cold and sharp. "Chloe is my woman. Her family is my family. Molly, you don't actually think you matter more than she does, do you?

"Know your place. My life isn't yours to manage."