Chapter 1

My husband, the world-renowned photographer Evan Briggs, told the world I was his muse. For ten years, I was the silent architect of his empire, the perfect wife who managed his life so he could create his art. He claimed he kept my beauty just for himself, a privilege no one else could see.

On our anniversary, I found his secret studio. It wasn't my beauty he was capturing. It was hers. Thousands of explicit photos of a model named Dahlia, a collection spanning a decade. The last picture was dated that very morning.

When I confronted him, he called me emotional and chose her.

But his ultimate betrayal came at his gallery opening. Dahlia had me drugged and assaulted while men took humiliating photos.

All while Evan was in the next room with her, ignoring my screams.

He didn't just betray me. He abandoned me to the wolves.

Lying in a hospital bed, I realized the man I married was a monster. And I wasn't just going to divorce him. I was going to burn his entire world to the ground.

Chapter 1

My husband, Evan Briggs, the world-renowned art photographer, stood on stage accepting yet another award. His name echoed through the grand hall, a sound as familiar as my own heartbeat. He smiled, that perfect, practiced smile, and the crowd roared. I watched him from my seat, a proud wife, a hidden partner in his empire. For years, I' d managed his business, his schedule, his public image. I was the architect of his fame, and he was the face of my devotion.

There was always a strange tension between us, a silent chord vibrating just beneath the surface of our perfect life. It was a discord I' d learned to ignore, a tiny static in the otherwise harmonious symphony of our marriage. Tonight, it felt louder. Tonight, the whispers of unease in my gut were almost screams.

He gripped the microphone, his eyes scanning the glittering audience until they landed on me. He paused, the spotlight clinging to his chiseled features. "And to my muse," he began, his voice dropping to a theatrical whisper that still carried to every corner of the room, "my beautiful wife, Erin. You are my greatest inspiration, my one true love. The world doesn't get to see your beauty through my lens. That's a privilege I keep just for myself."

A collective sigh swept through the room. Women dabbed their eyes. Men nodded in admiration. He made it sound like the most romantic thing in the world. He made it sound like a vow, a sacred promise. I forced a smile, my cheeks aching. My heart, however, felt a tiny crack widen. I' d heard those words a hundred times. Each time, they felt a little more like a cage, a little less like a compliment.

Tomorrow was our tenth wedding anniversary. Ten years. A decade built on this very foundation of public adoration and private distance. I had planned a quiet evening, just us. I' d even bought a new dress, something soft and flowing, hopeful for a moment of genuine connection.

"Evan," I said the next morning, as he poured his second cup of coffee. The sun streamed into our spotless kitchen, highlighting the dust motes dancing in the air. "For our anniversary... I was thinking."

He grunted, scrolling through his phone. "Yes, love?" His tone was distracted.

"I was thinking," I continued, my voice gaining a hopeful lilt, "maybe you could photograph me. Just for us. Like you always say, 'keep my beauty for yourself.' A private session. No one else would ever see them."

He stopped scrolling. His eyes, usually sharp and intense, were clouded with something I couldn't quite place. Not affection. Not even irritation. Just... blankness.

"Erin," he said, his voice flat. "You know I don't mix business with pleasure. My art is my art. Our life is our life. They are separate."

My smile faltered. "But you said... last night, you said I was your muse. That you kept my beauty for yourself."

He sighed, a long, exasperated sound. "That's a figure of speech, Erin. A romantic notion for the public. You know how these things work." He took a sip of his coffee, avoiding my gaze. "Besides, I'm working on something big. Something important. I can't be distracted by... personal projects."

My heart sank to my stomach, a cold, heavy stone. "Personal projects? That's what our anniversary photoshoot would be? A distraction?"

He stood up, pushing his chair back with a scrape that grated on my nerves. "Look, I have a meeting. Let's not make a big deal out of this, okay? We can order takeout tonight. That' s special, right?"

He grabbed his keys, the expensive leather of his briefcase creaking as he swung it off the counter. He was already halfway out the door, his words a dismissive afterthought.

"Evan, please," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Just one photo. A real one."

He stopped, his back to me. "No, Erin. I said no." His voice was sharper now, a distinct edge of annoyance. "I don't photograph you. I never have. That's our thing." He didn't wait for a response. The door clicked shut, leaving me standing alone in the silent, sunlit kitchen.

Disappointment wasn't a strong enough word. It was a deep, stinging ache. I had let myself hope, foolishly. I had believed his public declarations, his poetic words. I had bought into the fairytale he sold to the world, and to me.

I wandered aimlessly through the house, the silence amplifying the thrumming pain in my chest. He never photographs me. That's our thing. His words echoed, hollow and cruel. But it wasn't our thing. It was his thing. His rule. His control.

My gaze drifted to the framed photograph on the mantelpiece, a portrait of me taken by a friend years ago. Evan had always admired it, always said it captured my essence. He just never wanted to capture it himself.

A thought, cold and unsettling, flickered in my mind. Evan had always been secretive about his "personal studio" downtown. A space he leased, supposedly for experimental projects too raw for his main studio. He rarely spoke of it, and I had never been there. He always said it was a sterile, purely artistic space, no place for a wife.

What if it wasn' t?

That cold curiosity, born of a decade of suppressed questions, began to gnaw at me. I found the spare key in his desk drawer, tucked beneath a stack of old bills. It felt almost too easy. My hands trembled as I drove, the engine humming a nervous tune on the quiet anniversary morning.

The building was nondescript, a forgotten brick facade on a side street. The key slid into the lock, a quiet click echoing in the empty hallway. The studio inside was darker, dustier than I expected. Not sterile. Not purely artistic. It felt...lived in. But not by Evan and me.

My eyes scanned the room, landing on a large, heavy oak chest in the corner. It looked out of place, almost like a piece of furniture meant to be hidden in plain sight. My fingers brushed against the rough wood, a faint scent of chemicals and something else... a sweet, cloying perfume.

I lifted the lid. Inside, tucked away beneath layers of black velvet, were dozens of photo albums. Not just albums, but thick, leather-bound books, meticulously organized. My heart hammered against my ribs.

I pulled one out, the spine embossed with a single word: "Dahlia."

My breath hitched. Dahlia Allen. The model. The influencer. The one whose rise to fame had mysteriously coincided with Evan' s recent, darker, more edgy work. He always claimed she was just another subject, a face for his art.

I opened the first album, my fingers fumbling with the heavy pages. The images inside were a punch to the gut. Not just photos, but explicit, raw, almost brutal depictions of Dahlia. Poses that pushed boundaries. Expressions that were both vulnerable and defiant. This wasn't professional art. This was obsession. Each page turned was a fresh wound, a new wave of nausea. There were hundreds, thousands of them. Some were labeled with dates, spanning years, right up to last week. The project wasn't just recent; it had been a continuous, secret endeavor.

The Dahlia Project. The title was chilling, a stark contrast to his public declarations about me. He claimed he kept my beauty for himself, yet he meticulously cataloged every inch of hers. Every raw emotion, every seductive curve. For years.

The last photo in the last album hit me the hardest. It was a close-up of Dahlia's face, her eyes half-closed, a smirk playing on her lips. And on the bottom corner, scrawled in Evan's unmistakable hand, was a date. This morning.

My entire world tilted. The air left my lungs. He had been with her. This morning. On our anniversary. The same morning he had coldly refused to photograph me, claiming he was too busy, too dedicated to his "art." He wasn't too busy. He was with her.

A cold fury, unlike anything I had ever known, began to simmer beneath the shock. It wasn' t just a betrayal. It was a meticulously crafted lie, a second life he had built and hidden, brick by painful brick.

The studio door creaked open behind me. "Erin? What are you doing here?"

Evan. His voice was laced with surprise, then a flicker of something that looked like fear. He stood framed in the doorway, the harsh light from the hall silhouetting his figure. His face was pale.

I didn't turn around. I couldn't. My eyes were still fixed on the last photo, the date mocking me. "You said you didn' t mix business with pleasure, Evan," I said, my voice shockingly calm, a flat monotone I barely recognized as my own. My hands, still holding the heavy album, trembled uncontrollably. "You said I was your muse, that my beauty was just for you."

He took a step forward, his shadow falling over me. "Erin, it's not what you think. This is... art. Experimental. Nothing more." He tried to sound authoritative, but his voice cracked.

I finally turned, the album still clutched to my chest like a shield. My eyes met his, and I saw a desperate scramble in their depths. "Art?" I echoed, a bitter laugh escaping my throat. "Is this art, Evan? Or is this just a monument to your lies? To her?" I thrust the album towards him, the cover displaying Dahlia' s name.

He flinched back as if burned. "Erin, listen to me. This is a misunderstanding. Dahlia is a professional. This is purely for artistic exploration. You know I'm always pushing boundaries." He started to move towards me, his hands outstretched, as if to calm a frightened animal. "My relationship with you is real. This is just... work."

"Work?" My voice finally broke. "Work, Evan? On our anniversary? The morning you told me you were too busy for me, too busy for us? You were here, with her, creating this?" My gaze swept around the room, taking in the evidence of his deception. "You made a mockery of every word you ever said to me. Every public declaration. Every whispered promise."

He tried to grab the album from my hands. "Don't be dramatic, Erin. You're overreacting. This is what artists do. We explore. We create. You, of all people, should understand that." His tone shifted, becoming condescending, dismissive. The fear was gone, replaced by his usual arrogance. This was pure gaslighting, a tactic I knew all too well.

"Overreacting?" I stared at him, truly seeing him for the first time. The man I loved, the man I had built a life with, was a complete stranger. "You stood on stage last night, Evan, telling the world I was your muse, that you kept my beauty for yourself. And all this time, you had this secret, explicit collection of another woman. You photographed her every raw emotion, every intimate detail. You even dated them, Evan. Right up to this morning."

He actually scoffed. "And what does that prove, Erin? That I'm a dedicated artist? That I'm willing to push artistic boundaries? You're being irrational. You're jealous. This is exactly why I keep my work separate from our personal life. You' re too emotional to understand."

"Emotional?" A cold, hard laugh escaped me. "My emotions are a direct result of your deliberate deceit, Evan. Your lies. Your betrayal." The words were like shards of ice, cutting through the thin veneer of his excuses.

I remembered all the times he had dismissed my feelings, twisted my words, made me doubt my own sanity. You're too sensitive, Erin. You're imagining things. It's just a friendly text. You know how models are, always clinging. Every single lie, every casual dismissal, now clicked into place, forming a horrifying mosaic of his true character.

"Do you even love me?" The question, one I had dared not voice in years, hung heavy in the air. It was a desperate plea, a final test. "Or was I just part of the facade? The perfect wife for the perfect artist?"

He hesitated, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. Was it guilt? Regret? Or just annoyance at being caught? "Of course I love you, Erin," he said, too quickly, too smoothly. "You're my wife. You're my anchor. This... this is just art. It means nothing."

The shrill ring of his phone cut through his empty words. It was on the table, beside his camera bag. His eyes darted to it, then to me. The name "Dahlia" flashed brightly on the screen. My blood ran cold again.

His face drained of color. He snatched the phone. "I... I have to take this. It's important for the gallery."

"The gallery?" I whispered, my voice raw. "You're going to her, aren't you? Right now."

He avoided my gaze, his fingers already fumbling with the phone. "It's a business meeting, Erin. You're being unreasonable." He turned, already halfway out the studio door, already retreating into his carefully constructed web of lies.

"Evan?" I called out, a desperate, final attempt. He paused, his hand on the doorknob. "Happy anniversary."

He froze. His shoulders slumped for a brief second, then he straightened, pushed the door open, and walked out. The click of the lock reverberated through the empty studio. He hadn't just forgotten our anniversary. He had forgotten me.

I stood surrounded by the evidence of his betrayal, the air heavy with the scent of chemicals and Dahlia' s perfume. My phone buzzed in my pocket. A text from Hudson, my childhood friend, reminding me he'd booked a table at our favorite restaurant for a quiet anniversary dinner, just in case Evan "forgot." A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

I pulled out my phone, my fingers flying across the screen. My birthday was tomorrow. I typed out a message, my resolve hardening with every word.

"Evan. This isn't just art. This is a lie. And I'm done. Don't bother coming home." I pressed send.

I closed my eyes, the chilling silence of the studio filling my ears. Tomorrow, I would finally turn the page on this chapter of my life. A new page, free from his lies, free from his control. But tonight, I had to survive.