Chapter 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
7\u00a0<\/p>\n
My husband was getting married.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not somewhere else. Not in secret. In our house. With another woman. With my parents and his parents sitting in the front row, smiling like this was a blessing from heaven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was the first thing I saw after I tore myself out of a kidnapper\u2019s grip and ran home barefoot, bleeding, half dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among the guests, I saw him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Westley George.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man who chained me to a concrete floor. The man who broke my ribs when I cried too loud. The man who kept me for a full year and made sure I never forgot who owned my pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was sitting comfortably, sipping champagne, laughing with my in-laws like an old friend. Back then, the chain burned my ankle raw as he crouched in front of me, fingers lazy around the key.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep calling his name,\u201d Westley George said softly. \u201cYour husband? He will never save you. He handed you to me like an offering.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I spat blood and shook my head. \u201cYou\u2019re lying!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He laughed, \u201cHe loves your sister. Always has. You? You were convenient. Expendable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I did not believe him. I remembered David\u2019s hands at my waist, the way he kissed my forehead every night, the vows whispered like secrets. I clung to those memories like\u00a0<\/p>\n
scripture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Westley only smiled wider. \u201cHold on to that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will hurt more when you finally see the truth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My vision went white.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A year ago, my husband had been taken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
David Vanderbilt. Mafia boss of the east coast. Untouchable. Feared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They said he was kidnapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For our son. For the family. For the empire. I did not hesitate. I stepped forward and said take me instead. I thought I was being brave. I thought I was being a wife\u2026 I became the hostage. I became the bargaining chip. I became nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now my son?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/5 1.6%\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:03 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
My little boy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
87\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryle Vanderbilt was walking through the crowd with a tray too heavy for his thin arms. He bowed his head at every step, voice small and flat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease enjoy, sir.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, ma\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am sorry! I will be faster.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked like he was afraid to breathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like fear had been trained into his bones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I stumbled inside, the music stopped mid note. Every face turned. David was standing at the altar, ring in his hand. For half a second, his eyes widened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then his face went cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a wedding!\u201d he said sharply. \u201cWhatever nonsense you came to say can wait until tomorrow. Look at you. Dirty. Bloody. You stink. Leave now and do not ruin this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted him to ask where I had been. I wanted him to ask why I was shaking. I wanted him to ask who did this to me. Instead, he looked at me like I was trash dragged in from the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked past him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the woman in white.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roxanne.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My younger sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The girl I raised\u2026 The girl who cried in my arms when she was scared. The girl who called me sister like it meant something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She would not meet my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Westley laughed softly from his seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My mother\u2019s scream sliced through the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou disgusting girl! Where have you been hiding?! David treated you like a queen and you repay him by sleeping with criminals? You disappear for a year and still dare come back here? Have you no shame? Do you want our whole family to be laughed at?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cheated? Me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the word they chose? Huh. I almost laughed. My throat hurts too much. So this was the story\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then an arm wrapped around my shoulder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/5 2.4%\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:04 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
87\u00a0<\/p>\n
Westley leaned close, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise. His smile was polite.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice was low.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStill pretending we are strangers?\u201d he said. \u201cYou really never learn, baby. I taught you obedience every night. Do you want me to remind you again in front of everyone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My knees went weak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My body remembered before my mind did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whispers exploded around us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that\u2019s the man she ran off with.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo wonder Mr. Vanderbilt is remarrying. Any man would.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe comes from nothing. Look how low she fell.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHer mother worked this wedding like a maid. And her son is serving drinks. This whole family knows their place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
David strode over, jaw tight, eyes irritated like I was an inconvenience. \u201cDid you really have to come today?\u201d he snapped under his breath. \u201cI worked for a year on this. I wanted Roxanne to have a perfect wedding. Everything was finally peaceful. And you show up like this. Are you doing this on purpose?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just a wedding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was all it was to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not the year I spent bleeding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not the nights I was beaten until I passed out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not the days I was starved until I licked rotten food off the floor just to stay alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of it was just groundwork. A clean excuse. A pretty lie so he could stand here and marry my sister with everyone cheering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something inside me collapsed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked toward my son.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cR-ryle,\u201d I whispered. \u201cBaby, come with Mama. We are going home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked at me like I was a ghost. Then he dropped to his knees so fast the tray crashed to the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d he cried, shaking. \u201cI cannot leave. Please do not make me leave. I will stay. I will serve Mr. Vanderbilt and Ms. Cooper. I am loyal. I will work harder. Please do not punish me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He bowed his head and pressed his forehead to the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/5 3.2%\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:04 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt my heart tear open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My husband watched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My sister looked away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the man who destroyed me smiled like he owned everything I loved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
87\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:04 Wed, Jan 28\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prepare the divorce and ruin your husband by Mark Twain 1 Chapter 1\u00a0 7\u00a0 My husband was getting married.\u00a0 Not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-his-regret-my-victory-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23532\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}