Chapter 2

Cleo Kline POV:

The grand ballroom of the Ingram estate was a symphony of silk, diamonds, and hollow smiles. Tonight was my 21st birthday gala. And, as everyone expected, my engagement announcement to Holden, along with the official transfer of my voting rights to him. He was late, of course. Always fashionably late, making his grand entrance. Dianne was with him, clinging to his arm, looking every inch the devoted partner.

They floated through the crowd, a golden couple, exchanging air kisses and dazzling smiles. Their hands intertwined, Dianne occasionally resting her head on his shoulder, a picture of innocent affection. I saw the knowing glances, the subtle nods of approval from the Ingram associates. Everyone knew. Holden and Dianne. The "secret" everyone was in on, except, apparently, me, the supposed fiancée.

The old Cleo would have felt a familiar ache in her chest. A tightening knot of jealousy and despair. She would have wanted to crawl into a corner and disappear, the humiliation a physical weight. She would have replayed every loving word Holden had ever whispered, trying to convince herself it was real, that Dianne was just a passing fancy.

But tonight, there was nothing. No ache. No knot. Just a cool, detached observation. Like watching a play unfold, a drama in which I was no longer a principal player, but a critic. I took a slow sip of champagne, the bubbles doing nothing to stir the calm in my heart.

Holden' s eyes met mine across the room. He must have expected to see me wilt, to see the pain, the defeat he was so accustomed to inflicting. But my gaze was steady, unimpressed. A flicker of something crossed his face – confusion, perhaps, quickly replaced by a smug smirk. He thought he knew me. He thought he' d broken me.

He leaned into Dianne, whispering something that made her laugh, a little too loudly. Then he straightened, holding her hand high, pulling her toward me. It was deliberate. A public display. A challenge. Look what you' ve lost, Cleo.

"Cleo, darling!" Holden' s voice boomed, cutting through the murmurs of the crowd. He stopped a few feet from me, close enough for me to smell his expensive cologne, the scent that once made my heart race. "You look... well, you look exactly as I expected." He smirked, his eyes raking over my simple, elegant gown, then down to my unadorned neck. No Ingram family jewels. No engagement ring. "Still playing the wallflower, I see. Some things never change, do they?"

Dianne giggled, then pressed her hand to her mouth, pretending to be shocked. "Holden! Don't be mean. Cleo just has her own... unique style." She turned to me, her eyes oozing fake sympathy. "But darling, don't you think it's a bit... understated for your gala? You know, the one where you're supposed to announce a very important decision?" Her gaze dropped pointedly to my left hand.

Another ripple of whispers. A few snickers. "Still waiting for a ring, poor thing." "She really thinks he'll marry her after all this?" The words, like tiny darts, pierced the air around me. They were designed to cut, to remind me of my place, my desperation.

A sudden wave of nausea washed over me. Not from their words, but from a phantom pain in my abdomen. A cold memory, sharp and vivid. The night I lost the baby. Holden was with Dianne. I remembered lying alone in that sterile hospital room, the nurses' hushed voices, the crushing emptiness. He hadn't even called. He'd been too busy with her. The memory was a scar, deep and ugly.

I took another breath, forcing the memory back into its cage. I needed to leave. I couldn't breathe in this gilded cage. I turned, intending to walk away, to find a quiet corner, anything to escape the suffocating air.

But Holden was faster. His hand shot out, grabbing my arm, his fingers digging into my skin. "Where do you think you're going, Cleo?" His voice was low, menacing. "The party's just starting. And we have a very important announcement to make. You can't just run off whenever things get a little... real." He pulled me closer, his grip bruising. "Still playing the shy, innocent girl? I know better. You're a lot tougher than you let on, aren't you? Always playing coy."

My arm throbbed from his grip. "Let go of me, Holden." My voice was calm, but the ice in it was unmistakable. "You have no right to touch me."

He laughed, a short, harsh sound. "Right? Cleo, I've had rights over you since you were old enough to cling to my leg. You're mine. Always have been." His eyes raked over my face, searching for the old, pliant Cleo. "You forget your place, little girl. You always wanted to be my wife, didn't you? To have the Ingram name. Even when you were just a charity case, living in our shadow."

Dianne, ever the dutiful sidekick, piped up, her voice dripping with mock concern. "Oh, Cleo, don't pretend. We all know how much you adore Holden. It's almost... obsessive. But you know he's always been about family, about legacy. And you, darling, are just a beautiful accessory to that." She smiled, a triumphant, cruel smile.

The crowd chuckled again. The humiliation was a roar in my ears. But it was no longer a roar that paralyzed me. It was a roar that fueled me.

"You're right, Dianne," I said, my voice echoing slightly in the sudden quiet. Every eye was on me. "I did want to be Holden's wife. For a long time." My gaze locked with Holden' s, unwavering. "But not anymore."

The silence returned, deeper, more profound than before. It felt like the entire room held its breath.

Then, a collective gasp. Followed by a burst of disbelieving laughter. "Did she just say no?" "She's finally lost it!" "Poor Holden. What a scene."

Holden' s face was a mask of disbelief, then a sneer. He dropped my arm as if touching something vile. "Oh, really, Cleo? And who exactly would you choose over me? Your little fantasy doesn't include the reality of the Ingram Corporation. Who else is there? Hazen? Don't be ridiculous." His voice dripped with scorn. He threw his head back and laughed, a loud, theatrical sound that invited the crowd to join him.

"You think he would want you?" Holden scoffed, his eyes narrowing. "Hazen is a monster, Cleo. A brute. He runs our dirty work, the parts the family wants hidden in the shadows. He has more scars than smiles. He's a wild animal, not a corporate CEO." He shuddered theatrically. "He'd break you. Probably accidentally, but still. He'd shatter that fragile little heart of yours into a thousand pieces. He' s all muscle and no finesse. He' s the kind of man who' d just as soon kill you as look at you." He laughed again, a harsh, mocking sound. "You'd be better off dead than to choose Hazen. He's a walking death wish."