Chapter 4

Joseph had someone tie Tiana up as all the guests watched. "Irene, she offended you, so you can do whatever you want to vent," he said to Irene. "As long as it pleases you, anything goes. Don't worry about the consequences—I'll deal with the Jensen family." Irene looked at him with eyes that seemed jovial and yet somehow entirely emotionless. She asked, "Anything goes?" He nodded. She smiled and looked at Tiana. "Ana, I'm entering an international photography competition soon, and I think you'd make the perfect model. Can you work with me and let me shoot a set today?" A bad feeling rose in Tiana's chest. Irene continued, "But for this set… I need a naked model. If you don't want this, you can just apologize to me, and I'll tell Joseph to let you go." She sounded magnanimous, which was the version of her Tiana hated most. This was always how things had been back at the orphanage. Irene, who hadn't even been five years old then, would use her good-girl appearance to lie through her teeth to the adults, saying she'd witnessed Tiana stealing cookies from the cafeteria. Later, when they were adopted by the Walkers and Jensens, respectively, Irene would smile innocently and tell everyone that back in the orphanage, Tiana once kissed a boy just to get an egg. Things like this had happened too many times for Tiana to count. Initially, she tried to explain, but everyone around them always seemed to believe that Irene, with her demure appearance and good grades, told nothing but the truth. It was as if Tiana, who'd been born striking and seemed sharp, was a natural troublemaker. Tiana lifted her chin. As everyone watched, she said, "You want me to apologize? I only regret that my slap earlier didn't kill you, Irene. If you want to see me with my clothes off, you can check your newlywed husband's album. He has plenty of—" Joseph kicked her in the belly before she could finish. She had the air knocked out of her, and the pain made her swallow the rest of her sentence—that Joseph had plenty of photos of her naked. He didn't want Irene to say anything. He flicked a hand decisively. "Irene, you need a model, right? I'll have Tiana stripped. We'll stop when you've taken enough photos." His tone was vicious. "Besides, with Ms. Jensen's reputation… Jafton has never heard a good thing about her from when she turned 18 years old until now, when she's 25. We can strip her in public today and let everyone see just how 'charming' she thinks her body is!" Tiana tasted blood. She couldn't tell if it was from Joseph's slap or that kick. She swallowed her bloody spit and glared daggers at him, her gaze more vicious than his. "You do it, Mr. Quill. Show everyone the woman you've been sleeping with for seven years—" Another brutal backhand cut her off, turning her head with a crack and making the words choke in her throat. Her ears buzzed from the impact, and she let out a bitter laugh. Just last night, she'd clung to a fantasy that Joseph and Irene's marriage was just a family arrangement. She'd deluded herself into thinking she was Joseph's true love, that he would divorce Irene and keep his promise to marry her in a month. But what happened that day made the truth painfully clear. She was nothing but Joseph's plaything. He'd toyed with her for seven years. And now, on the eve of tossing her aside, he wanted to deliver the killing blow. Gasps rippled through the room as a huge black shadow lurched forward. Tiana looked up to see that the bookcase by the wall had lost its balance and was crashing down toward her. If it hit her squarely, she would end up crippled, even if she didn't die. Joseph instinctively reached out toward her as she sprawled helplessly on the floor. All he had to do was grab her, and he could yank her out of death's path. But just as his fingers brushed her collar, his hand veered. He pivoted and scooped Irene, who was some distance away from the falling bookcase, into his arms. The last shred of hope in Tiana's eyes vanished. She shut her eyes and waited for death to take her.