Chapter 3

Ellie POV

When the physical therapist warned me the limp might be permanent, I didn't flinch.

I told him I didn't mind. It was a reminder that I had survived the fall.

The elevator accident in my new apartment building had occurred two weeks after the divorce. A mechanical failure. A three-story freefall. A shattered ankle, and a concussion that left my world spinning for days.

Marcus hadn't called. Obviously.

But tonight, I had to stand tall.

The Architecture & Design Charity Gala. It was the season's biggest event, and my parents had insisted I attend. Hiding, they argued, would look like defeat.

I donned a backless emerald dress that bared the new scar on my shoulder. I wasn't hiding anything anymore.

I entered the ballroom, leaning lightly on a cane I had designed myself-sleek, black, modern.

The whispers began the moment the tip hit the floor.

I spotted them across the room. They were impossible to miss.

Marcus wore a tuxedo, looking sharper than a blade. Izzy clung to his arm like a barnacle in sequins.

They were holding court, laughing, drinking in the attention.

A group of my old college friends intercepted me near the bar.

"Ellie!" Sarah squealed, her eyes darting instantly to my cane. "We heard about the... everything. Are you okay?"

"I'm more than okay," I said, my voice steady. "I'm free."

They exchanged uneasy glances.

"But Marcus... he was so devoted," Sarah said, rewriting history in real-time. "Remember the picnic he planned for your graduation?"

I smiled, a cold thing. "The picnic Izzy organized and he simply paid for? Yes, I remember."

Sarah choked on her champagne.

I felt the weight of a gaze. I turned.

Marcus was watching. He wasn't looking at my face. He was staring at the cane. His brow was furrowed-not with concern, but with confusion. As if my injury were a mere inconvenience to his visual landscape.

Izzy caught him looking. She whispered something in his ear and pulled him tighter.

Then the host took the stage.

"Welcome to the game of the night!" he boomed. "The Love Quiz!"

The spotlight swept the room. With sinking dread, I knew exactly where it would land.

It settled on Izzy.

She feigned surprise, a hand flying to her mouth, eyes sparkling with malice.

She accepted the microphone.

"I have a question," she purred, her voice amplified across the hushed hall. She pivoted directly toward me.

"For Ellie."

The room went deadly quiet.

"Ellie," she said, smiling brightly. "Since you know Marcus so well... tell us. What does he love most about me? Or do you even have a say anymore?"

It was crude. A public humiliation designed to break me.

I saw Marcus stiffen. He looked at me, waiting. He expected tears. He expected me to flee. He wanted to see if he still held the leash.

I took a slow sip of water. I didn't ask for the microphone. I simply raised my voice, clear and steady.

"I have no idea."

I paused, letting the silence stretch until it was taut.

"Mr. Thorne's preferences are no longer my concern. I don't study history, Isabelle. I build the future."

A ripple of shock tore through the crowd. I had called him Mr. Thorne. I had erased him.

Marcus's face darkened to a deep crimson. His ego, fragile as glass, had just been shattered.

He snatched the microphone from Izzy.

He didn't speak. Instead, he seized her face and kissed her.

It wasn't romantic. It was aggressive-a performance meant to act as a slap to my face.

He pulled back, breathless, and glared right at me.

"She is my queen," he announced, his voice shaking with suppressed rage. "And you are nothing."

The crowd gasped. It was too much. Too raw.

I didn't look away. I didn't cry.

I just raised my glass in a mock toast, drained the rest of my water, and turned my back on him.