Chapter 1 No.1

The rain did not just fall; it assaulted the glass.

Vivian Sterling stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of the master bedroom in the Kensington estate, her reflection a pale ghost against the darkness outside. The antique clock on the wall, a wedding gift from her mother-in-law that ticked louder than a heartbeat, struck two in the morning.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

It was the sound of her life wasting away.

Twin beams of light sliced through the storm, illuminating the long, winding driveway. The gravel crunched under heavy tires. He was home.

Vivian closed her eyes for a single second. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the sterile, conditioned air of the room, and when she exhaled, she was no longer Vivi the woman. She was Vivian Kensington, the wife. Her facial muscles, trained over three years of rigorous discipline, shifted into a soft, welcoming smile. It was a mask made of flesh and bone, but it felt as heavy as iron.

The front door slammed downstairs. Heavy footsteps echoed on the marble stairs.

The bedroom door swung open.

Julian Kensington brought the storm in with him. His suit was damp, his hair disheveled, and the smell of expensive scotch clung to him like a second skin. He didn't look at her. He never really looked at her anymore. To him, she was just a fixture in the room, like the clock or the curtains.

"You're still up," he muttered, shrugging off his suit jacket. He held it out without turning his head, expecting her to be there.

She was always there.

Vivian stepped forward, her bare feet silent on the plush carpet. She took the jacket. The fabric was cold and damp against her fingertips.

"It was storming," she said softly. "I couldn't sleep."

"I had a late meeting. Don't ask." Julian loosened his tie, his movements jerky and impatient.

Vivian turned to hang the jacket on the valet stand. That was when she saw it.

It was a single strand of hair.

It was caught on the dark wool of his collar, glowing like a filament of gold wire under the recessed lighting. It was long. Much longer than hers. And it was blonde. Vivian's hair was a deep, rich chestnut.

Her breath hitched in her throat, a tiny, fractured sound that the rain swallowed.

She leaned in closer, just an inch. The scent hit her then. It wasn't just scotch and rain. Underneath the masculine notes, there was something cloying. Something sweet. Vanilla and heavy musk.

Midnight Rose.

It was a perfume she knew. She had seen the bottle in magazines. It was young, aggressive, and desperate for attention.

Bile rose in her throat, hot and acidic. Her stomach twisted into a knot so tight it was physically painful. Her fingers trembled as she plucked the golden hair from the collar. It felt like holding a razor blade.

"Vivian? Water," Julian commanded from the other side of the room.

She dropped the hair into the pocket of her silk robe. "Coming."

Her voice was steady. How was her voice so steady when her world was collapsing?

She poured a glass of water from the crystal carafe on the nightstand. Her hands shook, the water rippling in the glass. She forced her grip to tighten until her knuckles turned white.

Julian was already heading into the bathroom. He tossed his phone on the bedside table. It landed screen-up.

Vivian set the water down. She shouldn't look. She knew she shouldn't look.

The screen lit up.

A notification.

Candy: You left your cufflinks on my nightstand. I'm already missing you.

The room spun. The floor felt like it was tilting beneath her feet. Vivian stared at the name. Candy. It sounded like a joke. It sounded like a punchline to a tragedy she didn't know she was starring in.

The bathroom shower turned on, the rush of water drowning out the silence.

Vivian didn't cry. She couldn't. The shock was too absolute, freezing her tears before they could form. She moved with the precision of a robot. She picked up her own phone, unlocked it, and hovered it over Julian's screen.

Click.

She took a photo of the message. Then she took a photo of the timestamp.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small, clear plastic bags she kept for her jewelry. She dropped the long blonde hair inside and sealed it.

Her heart was hammering against her ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage. Thump. Thump. Thump. It was so loud she was sure Julian could hear it over the shower.

She walked into the walk-in closet, her sanctuary. She knelt by the safe hidden behind a row of winter coats. Her fingers flew over the keypad. Inside, nestled between her passport and her birth certificate, was a laptop she hadn't used in months.

She opened it. The blue light of the screen illuminated her pale face.

She navigated to a secure cloud server she had named Project Liberty. She uploaded the photo of the text message. She logged the date and time of the hair discovery.

Then, she opened an email draft addressed to Harper Hayes.

Harper was the most vicious divorce attorney in the city. She was a shark in Louboutins.

Vivian typed, her fingers cold and stiff.

Subject: Activation.

Body: I have the proof. Initiate Plan B.

She hit send.

The shower turned off.

Vivian slammed the laptop shut, shoved it back into the safe, and locked it. She stood up, smoothing down her silk robe. She caught her reflection in the full-length mirror.

She looked the same. That was the most terrifying part. She looked exactly like the dutiful, submissive wife Julian thought he owned. But behind her eyes, something had died. And something else had been born.

She walked back into the bedroom just as Julian emerged, a towel wrapped around his waist. Steam billowed out behind him.

"Did you lay out my pajamas?" he asked, not looking at her.

"On the chair," Vivian said.

He dropped the towel and pulled on the silk bottoms. He climbed into bed, turning his back to her immediately.

"Lights," he grunted.

Vivian turned off the lamp. Darkness flooded the room, heavy and suffocating. She climbed into her side of the bed, staying as close to the edge as possible without falling off.

Julian shifted. His arm came around her waist.

Vivian froze. Every muscle in her body went rigid. His skin felt like burning iron against her side. The smell of his soap couldn't mask the phantom scent of Midnight Rose that lingered in her memory.

"Come here," he mumbled, sleepily.

"I... I have a headache, Julian," she whispered. "I think I'm coming down with something."

He grunted, annoyed, and withdrew his arm. "Fine. Just don't get me sick."

Within minutes, his breathing evened out into a snore.

Vivian lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling. She could feel the ghost of the ring on her finger. She slid it off, holding the heavy diamond in her palm. It felt cold. It felt like a shackle.

She placed it on the nightstand. Then, after a long moment, she picked it up and slid it back on.

Not yet.

She needed more. She needed everything.

Outside, the storm raged on, but the storm inside Vivian was just beginning.