Chapter 1

Suzanne Trent was 18 when a drunk stranger violated her. She reported him to the police. Amid the crushing pressure and constant fear, she kept pushing forward with the case. Finally, he went to prison, despite his deep connections. The nightmare left a mark that didn't fade. For years afterward, whenever a man came too close, her body would betray her. She would start to shake, her stomach would turn, and sometimes she would throw up. She thought that was how her life was going to be. She believed she was ruined. She was tainted, and she'd never be able to love or live like a normal person again. Then, Spencer Price showed up. He was the head of Rivoria's wealthiest and most powerful family. He chose to pursue Suzanne anyway, even though she was an ordinary woman whom others had deemed to be impure and stained. Spencer respected Suzanne and treated her with care. Over time, he drew her out of the darkness she'd been trapped in. On the day he proposed, he dropped to one knee and said, "Suzie, give me the chance to take care of you for the rest of your life. I'll give you everything I have and mend every scar you're carrying." Suzanne believed him. She placed her broken heart in his hands and held nothing back. The wedding was extravagant and swept through Rivoria like news. People said Suzanne must've done something right to be loved by a man like Spencer, rising from a nobody to a wealthy wife in a single leap. Suzanne had believed it all along. She thought she was lucky, saved by a light she never expected after falling into the dark. That night, Spencer took her to a business dinner. She didn't do well in that kind of crowd, and after a while, she said she was tired and wanted to go home. Spencer had someone take her back and stayed to work the room himself. By the time Suzanne reached the parking lot, she realized she'd left her phone in the lounge. She went back for it, and as she passed a VIP room with the door half open, she heard a conversation inside. "It's been five years, Spencer. This revenge plan of yours should be done by now, right?" "Yeah." Spencer's voice was low and cool, as always, but it was flat in a way Suzanne had never heard. "I signed the divorce agreement a long time ago. In a few days, when she loves me most, I'll hand it to her and tell her the truth." "It's been five years already. You wrecked her hand in a staged car crash so she'd never play the piano she loved again. Then, when she was pregnant and waiting for the baby, you set up another accident and made her miscarry. "And for five whole years, you never touched her once. Every time she slept with you, you had Mace take your place. Spencer, you sure put in the work to avenge Isaac." Spencer's voice stayed flat, but every word was venomous. "She reported Isaac to the police and sent him to prison. A heart attack killed him in there. If it were just one life for another, that'd be too easy on her. "I want to take everything she treasured and make her fall straight into hell when she was happiest." "And after the divorce, you're gonna marry Imogen, huh? Your little favorite you've been keeping hidden all these years." Imogen Steele? She was the Steele family's eldest daughter. She was gentle and pretty, born into money. Suzanne had seen her at banquets before and noticed the complicated way she always looked at Spencer. Now, it made sense. Imogen was the one he truly loved. "Of course." Spencer's answer was short and sure. "Yeah, that tracks. If Isaac hadn't died in prison and you weren't out for revenge, you and Imogen would've been together a long time ago. But Mace..." The voice swung toward Mason Lowell, who was handsome in a way that felt almost aggressive, and the teasing turned sharp. "You took Spencer's place in Suzanne's bed for five years. Don't tell me you didn't catch feelings. You watched Spencer wreck a pretty little thing like her, and you didn't feel even a little sorry for her?" Mason's low laugh came from inside the room. It was careless, and it scraped raw at something in Suzanne. His voice carried its usual swagger and contempt. "Feel sorry for her? She was nothing but a leftover. "What was there to feel sorry about? I only did it all these years to help a buddy out. Otherwise, with all those women throwing themselves at me, you really think I wanted to sleep with her?" The words were like a slap that caused her ears to hurt. She staggered back a few steps and almost fell. She bit down on her lip until blood filled her mouth. Her nails dug into her palm, but she didn't feel it at all. The pain was in her chest, tearing and crushing her heart. It hurt so badly she could barely breathe or stay upright. The man she'd sent to prison was Spencer's younger brother, Isaac Price! That meant that everything Spencer had given Suzanne over the past five years had been fake. The love, the care, the rescue had all been part of a calculated and vicious revenge. Her husband was the brother of the man who'd ruined her. Spencer approached Suzanne and married her to destroy her. He ruined her hand so she'd never play the piano she'd dreamed of again. He killed her child and left her to live with that loss. He wouldn't even touch her as if she disgusted him. For five years, every night she climbed into bed, the man who held her, kissed her, and slept with her in the dark wasn't Spencer at all. It was his best friend, Mason. And she'd been a complete fool, caught in the tenderness Spencer built around her, believing she was the luckiest woman alive.