Chapter 2

I expected Lawrence to fight for our marriage. What I didn't expect was the cold, calculating way he refused to let me go.

"Divorce is not an option," he said, his voice eerily calm as he stood in our bedroom doorway. It had been three days since I'd discovered the photograph, three days of me sleeping in the guest room while he maintained his perfect façade at work.

"It's not up to you," I replied, zipping my suitcase closed. "I've already contacted Joaquin about selling my shares."

Lawrence's expression hardened. "You'll regret trying to leave me, Olivia."

"Is that a threat?"

"It's a promise." He stepped closer, his cologne—the one I'd given him for our anniversary—making my stomach turn. "You have no idea what I'm capable of."

I should have been frightened. Instead, anger burned through me like wildfire. "Get out of my way, Lawrence."

He didn't move. Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out my wallet, flipping it open to reveal my empty card slots. "I've taken the liberty of canceling your credit cards. For your protection, of course."

"For my protection?" I snatched my wallet back, indignation rising in my chest.

"And I've installed an app on your phone." He nodded toward my device on the nightstand. "Just to keep track of who you're contacting. Again, for your safety."

I lunged for my phone, but he was faster, snatching it away. "You can have it back when you're thinking clearly."

"Lawrence, this is illegal. You can't keep me prisoner."

His smile didn't reach his eyes. "Who says I'm keeping you prisoner? You're free to go anywhere you want. Just know that I have ways of making you cooperate."

I watched him leave, my hands shaking with rage and fear. The man I'd shared a bed with for ten years was a stranger—a dangerous stranger who was now monitoring my every move.

* * *

Two days later, I heard the front door open while I was sorting through financial documents in the study. Lawrence's voice echoed through the hallway, followed by a woman's laughter and the sound of children's footsteps.

My blood froze. I knew exactly who he'd brought home.

I stepped into the hallway just as Lawrence ushered them in—Emerie Parker, her dark hair gleaming under our chandelier, and two children who stared at me with open hostility.

"Olivia," Lawrence announced with false cheerfulness, "I'd like you to meet Emerie properly, and our children—James and Lily."

The boy—James—was tall for his age, with Lawrence's unmistakable dimples. The girl—Lily—had her father's eyes and her mother's dark hair.

"This is the fake wife," Lily whispered loudly to her brother, who nodded solemnly.

"Children," Emerie said without genuine reproach, "be nice to Olivia. She's... family now."

"Family?" I echoed, unable to process what was happening.

"Yes, family," Lawrence confirmed, placing his arm around Emerie's waist. "We're going to be one big blended family now. Emerie and the children will be moving in permanently."

"You can't be serious," I whispered, my vision blurring with tears I refused to shed in front of them.

"Deadly serious," he replied. "The children need their father, and Emerie needs her partner. And you..." His eyes hardened. "You need to accept reality."

* * *

I retreated to the guest room, unable to watch as Emerie began unpacking her belongings in our master bedroom. But even there, I couldn't escape the sounds of her taking over my life—opening and closing drawers, rearranging furniture, humming contentedly as she settled in.

An hour later, I emerged to find her in my walk-in closet, hanging her clothes beside mine.

"Oh, Olivia," she said with false sweetness, "I hope you don't mind. Lawrence said I could use this side."

I stood frozen as she casually pushed my dresses aside to make room for her own.

"You know," she continued, fingering the fabric of my favorite designer gown, "Lawrence never really loved you. You were just... convenient. A placeholder until the children were old enough to understand."

Her words cut deeper than any knife could have. "Get out of my closet."

"This is my home now," she replied, her smile sharp as glass. "Just like Lawrence is my husband in every way that matters."

As she brushed past me, triumph gleaming in her eyes, I realized with sickening clarity that this was only the beginning of their plan to erase me completely from Lawrence's life—and possibly from existence altogether.