Chapter 4

I woke in a hospital bed, the antiseptic smell a familiar enemy. My head throbbed, and a dull ache pulsed through my left arm. It was encased in a cast, heavy and restrictive. Beside me, Ben lay in his own bed, his face pale, his leg elevated. He was awake, his eyes shadowed with pain, but he gave me a weak smile.

"Hey, sis," he whispered, his voice raspy. "You finally decided to join the party?"

I tried to smile back, but my lips felt stiff, my face still bruised. "I guess I couldn't let you have all the fun."

Just then, Edwardo' s assistant, a prim woman named Ms. Davies, entered the room. She carried a tablet, her expression neutral. "Mr. Steele sends his regards, Mrs. Steele. He wishes for you to know that the charges against Mr. Pena are still pending. He advises you to cooperate fully." She didn't even look at Ben.

My blood ran cold. "Cooperate? After he broke my arm and nearly killed my brother?"

She remained unperturbed. "Furthermore, Mr. Steele has instructed me to inform you that he will be moving to freeze the assets of Moreno Corp. if you fail to comply with his requests regarding Ms. Shields. He believes your family's financial stability is contingent upon your... good behavior."

My heart sank. My father's company. Our legacy. Edwardo wasn't just threatening Ben; he was threatening to dismantle everything we had left. The little hope I'd clung to, the faint possibility of justice, crumbled.

"What does he want?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"A full public retraction of any statements implying Ms. Shields fabricated her injuries. And a written apology, acknowledging your brother's culpability." She paused, her eyes finally meeting mine, a hint of pity in their depths. "He also suggests you consider the terms of your prenuptial agreement. Any legal challenge will be... costly."

I closed my eyes, a wave of despair washing over me. He had me. He had us all. Ben' s freedom, our family' s future, hung in the balance.

"Blair," Ben' s voice was soft, but firm. "Don't do it. Don't let him win."

I opened my eyes, looking at his broken body. "I have to, Ben. For you. For Dad's company."

He shook his head. "No. We'll find another way. We always do."

My gaze met his. Despite everything, his eyes held an unwavering belief in me. It was a lifeline in the crushing darkness. I took a deep breath, a flicker of my former resolve returning. "You're right. We always do."

Ben, my step-brother, had always been the wild card, the rebellious one. A brilliant ethical hacker, he hated the corporate world, preferring to spend his days fighting for digital justice. He was loud, opinionated, and fiercely loyal. Now, he lay broken, a victim of Edwardo' s vengeance. It was a stark reminder of the depth of Edwardo' s cruelty.

My father, in his desperation to save our family, had pushed me into this arranged marriage. He believed it was the only way to secure our future. He hadn't known about my secret crush on Edwardo, the foolish hope I harbored that I could be the one to melt the ice around his heart.

I remember the day I learned about Edwardo' s childhood trauma. It was through an old family friend, a distant relative of the Steeles. Edwardo had witnessed a horrific accident as a child, involving his mother and a contaminated environment. It had scarred him deeply, leading to his severe OCD and contamination phobia. I remember feeling a surge of empathy, a fierce protectiveness. I thought, if only I could reach him, if only I could heal him.

I even bought him a small, intricate locket once. It was meant to be a symbol of protection, a charm against the darkness. I had meticulously cleaned and sterilized it, believing it would be a safe, comforting touch. I placed it on his bedside table one night, a silent offering.

He found it the next morning. When I saw him, his face was contorted in a mask of pure revulsion. He picked it up with a gloved hand, rushed to the trash, and dropped it in, then scrubbed his hands with aggressive intensity. "Don't ever do that again, Blair," he had hissed. "Don't you dare leave your filth in my space."

I had just laughed then, a bitter, hollow sound. Filth. That's what I was to him. All my efforts, all my love, all my silent sacrifices, were just "filth."

Now, lying in this hospital bed, my arm aching, my brother crippled, I finally saw the grotesque absurdity of it all. My years of silent devotion, my foolish crush, my belief that I could change him. It was all a pathetic joke.

The next day, as soon as I was discharged, I returned to our mansion, the gilded cage that had been my prison. I walked through the empty halls, the silence heavier than ever. I went to my room, opening my closet. I needed to pack. To leave. But first, I needed something from Edwardo's study. The biometric crypto key Ben had mentioned. Cassie's necklace. It was my only leverage.

I found the necklace in a side drawer, a delicate silver chain with a small, ornate locket. It was expensive, undoubtedly. I felt a surge of cold fury. This was her lucky charm, the one he was willing to rush back into a burning building for. The one he was willing to frame my brother for.

My fingers brushed against the cool metal of the locket. It clicked open. Inside, a tiny, almost invisible chip was nestled. The crypto key. Ben was right. This was it.

As I turned to leave the study, a sound drifted from Edwardo's private sitting room. Laughter. His laughter. A sound I had rarely, if ever, heard in our marriage. A sound that was always reserved for others.

My feet moved on their own, drawn by a morbid curiosity. The door was ajar. I peered inside.

Edwardo was there, sitting on a plush sofa. Cassie was curled up beside him, her 'injured' arm draped casually over his shoulder. She looked perfectly fine, her face radiant, her eyes sparkling. They were sharing a bottle of expensive champagne, its bubbles reflecting the soft glow of the fireplace.

"Oh, Edwardo, you were so brilliant!" Cassie giggled, pressing a light kiss to his cheek. He didn't flinch. "Making Blair apologize like that. And exposing her brother for the criminal he is. You really are the best."

Edwardo smiled, a genuine, warm smile that sent a spike of fresh pain through my chest. "Anything for you, darling. You deserve to be protected. You deserve happiness." He raised his glass. "To us. To our future."

"To us!" Cassie chimed in, clinking her glass against his. "And to getting rid of that irritating Blair. Finally, we can be together, properly."

My world shattered. Again. The pain was so sharp, so suffocating, it stole my breath. This wasn't just a betrayal. It was a calculated, cruel mockery. My husband, celebrating with his mistress, mocking my suffering, all while my brother lay crippled in a hospital bed.

I stumbled back, a choked sob escaping my lips. The locket, the symbol of her power over him, suddenly felt like a burning coal in my hand. I clutched it tight, my nails biting into my palm, but the physical pain was nothing compared to the agony in my soul.

I turned and fled, blindly. I ran out of the mansion, into the pouring rain, the cold drops mixing with my hot tears. I ran until my lungs burned, until my legs screamed in protest, until I collapsed on the wet pavement, gasping for air.

The years of quiet devotion, the years of silent suffering, the years of foolish hope. They were all a lie. A grotesque, humiliating lie. Edwardo never loved me. He never would. He saw me as a means to an end, a convenient wife, a burden. And now, a contaminant, an enemy.

The rain washed over my face, blurring my vision, but the images in my mind were crystal clear: Edwardo's tender smile, Cassie's triumphant smirk, Ben's broken body. The promises he made to her. Always.

And then, another wave of nausea, stronger this time. I vomited into the gutter, the bitter taste a perfect mirror to my broken spirit. My hand instinctively went to my stomach. Two lines. A child. His child.

No.

I couldn't. I wouldn't. This child deserved more than a mother broken by a man who would never love her, and a father who despised its very existence. This child deserved a chance at a normal life. A life I could no longer give it.

My decision was made. The marriage would end. The pregnancy would end. I would erase every trace of Edwardo Steele from my life.

I spent the next few days in a haze of pain and cold determination. I made another appointment, this time for myself. For the abortion. For my freedom. My father' s company, Ben' s future, these were my new priorities. My own shattered heart would just have to mend itself.

On the day of my appointment, as I lay on the cold table, preparing for the procedure that would sever the last physical tie to Edwardo, my phone, which I had carefully hidden, vibrated. It was a new alert. A video. My private video. The one Edwardo had recorded of us, in some desperate attempt years ago to bring some intimacy to our sterile marriage. It was being broadcast live, publicly, at Cassie Shield' s birthday party. The party Edwardo had demanded I attend.

My body went numb. Not from the procedure, not from the impending grief, but from a fresh wave of humiliation so profound, it stole my breath. He was destroying me. Utterly, publicly, completely destroying me.