Chapter 49

That night, Lily’s sleep was restless. She dreamed of David—of him orchestrating every gesture, every contract, every word—not because of love, but only to humiliate her again. Lily jolted awake, her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. Her dream still lingered in the air, thick and heavy like a storm cloud that refused to drift away. In it, David had looked at her with that same sharp gaze, that half-smirk that always seemed to cut her down to size, and he had whispered words she didn’t want to hear. He hadn’t kissed her to claim her. He hadn’t pulled her close because he cared. No,he had done it to humiliate her. To remind her she would always be beneath him. Her fists tightened in the sheets. The worst part wasn’t the dream itself—it was how believable it felt. She sat up slowly, pushing her hair away from her face, trying to steady her breathing. For a moment, she pressed her palm against her racing heart, then shook her head as though that could chase away the fragments sti