Chapter 2

I rushed downstairs just in time to see the demolition truck aimed squarely at the little house where Charles and I had lived for three years.

The place was barely worth a thing. The wooden walls were old and warped. The roof leaked every time it rained, and a corner of the kitchen window had long since broken off.

And yet it held the roses I had planted with my own hands, the pot Charles had burned black the first time he ever tried to cook for us, and the seven-dollar rings we had bought on the day we registered our marriage.

A bodyguard stepped into my path. "Ms. Rhine, Mr. Rivers has asked that you get in the car."

I pushed him aside. "Where is Charles?"

The leader of the group refused to meet my eyes. "Mr. Rivers is in a meeting at the head office."

The demolition truck revved its engine and began to roll forward.

I lunged past them and threw my arms around the iron bars of the courtyard gate. "Go ahead, I'd like to see you try."

The driver hesitated.

That was when Vivian stepped out of a black sedan, holding a parasol over her head. "Ms. Rhine, this land has been legally purchased by Rivers Group."

She held the documents out to me. The property transfer form bore Charles' signature.

I looked at the date. It was three days ago.

So he had planned all of this well in advance.

Vivian leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Charles said that keeping that old place would only make you restless."

I slapped her across the face.

She turned her head sharply, and her eyes reddened instantly.

The next second, the bodyguards grabbed me by the arms.

Then Charles' car came speeding up the driveway.

He had barely stepped out when Vivian pressed her hand to her cheek and threw herself into his arms. "Charles, I was only trying to help you sort things out here."

When Charles turned to look at me, I was already drenched from the rain, my hair clinging to my face like I had been dragged through a gutter and left for dead.

A flicker of pain passed through his eyes, but he quickly looked away.

"Sophia," he said, "get in the car."

I pointed at the house. "Go ahead. Push it down. See what happens."

His voice dropped to a low, even tone. "That place isn't safe. The press will trace it soon enough."

"Trace what?" I shot back. "The fact that you have a pregnant wife?"

Vivian's face turned white.

Charles stepped closer, his voice barely above a whisper now. "Our marriage certificate was never entered into the main system. Sophia, I used a fake name back then."

My ears started ringing.

Three years ago, in a run-down city hall in some small town, he had held my hand while we waited in line.

He told me his name was John Shore, just a broke man with nowhere to go.

I hadn't given him my real name either. We were both lying.

But the part where I loved him? That was real.

He leaned in. "That certificate has a legal flaw. Don't make a scene. You won't come out on top."

I laughed. "So you planned your escape route from day one."

His face went pale. "I had reasons."

Vivian tugged at his sleeve. "Charles, the reporters are already on their way."

Charles closed his eyes for a second. Then he said, "Do it."

The truck rammed into the wooden wall.

With a deafening crack, a picture frame fell and shattered against the floor.

I broke free from the bodyguards and threw myself toward the pieces.

Charles caught me from behind, his arms locking around me. "Sophia, don't look."

I bit his wrist as hard as I could. The taste of blood filled my mouth.

He groaned but didn't let go.

The house came down. Dust rose in a thick cloud, burying everything we had ever been to each other.

Amid the rubble, I spotted the small iron box where I kept the ring. The bulldozer's scoop had clawed it out from the debris.

The lid sprang open, and the sapphire ring rolled out into the mud.

Vivian got to it first.

She picked it up, glanced at it, and smiled. "Not bad taste, Ms. Rhine. It's a pretty good fake."

I lunged for her. She flicked her wrist, and the ring flew into the roadside drain.

The rain swept it away, and a moment later it was gone.

My nails dug so deep into my palms that I could feel the sting.

Charles' expression shifted slightly. "What was that?"

I looked him dead in the eye. "You just destroyed the only thing that might have saved your life."

He frowned.

A bodyguard pulled the car door open.

Charles lifted me into the vehicle and murmured, "You're going to the villa. The doctor will be waiting."

As the door was closing, I caught Vivian making a small gesture to the driver.

The car was not heading toward the seaside villa. It was heading for the Rivers family's private hospital.