Chapter 3

"You will do as you're told, Scarlett," Mr. Hayes Sr. said, his voice dangerously low. His authority was absolute, and everyone in the room knew it.

"No!" Scarlett stood up so fast her chair scraped loudly against the floor. "I won't do it! I will never marry him!"

"You made a promise," her grandfather countered, his eyes like chips of ice. "You promised you would accept my arrangements if I continued to fund your lifestyle. I am holding you to that promise."

His words hung in the air, a reminder of the golden cage she lived in. For a moment, I saw a flash of fear in her eyes, but it was quickly consumed by her defiant rage.

As they argued, a memory surfaced in my mind, unbidden. A rainy afternoon a few months ago. I had been studying for a major exam, exhausted and stressed. Scarlett had walked in, unusually quiet. She'd sat down and just watched me, and after a while, she said, "You work too hard." It was the closest she had ever come to showing something that resembled concern. For a few minutes, we sat in silence, and it wasn't uncomfortable. It was a brief, fragile moment of peace in the constant storm of her moods. The memory was like a ghost, a reminder of a possibility that was never real, making the present moment feel even more bitter and hollow.

"I don't care about your money!" Scarlett screamed, her voice shaking with passion. She turned her wild eyes to Liam, who looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. "I love Liam! It's always been him! I'll marry him, not this... this nobody!"

She grabbed Liam's arm, her knuckles white. "Tell them, Liam! Tell them you love me too!"

Liam gently pulled his arm away. "Scarlett, we're step-siblings," he said softly, his voice full of pity. "That's all we'll ever be."

Her face crumpled. The rejection, so public and so final, broke something in her. The fight drained out of her, replaced by a chilling stillness.

In that moment of chaos, I saw my exit. This was it. My final chance to cut the cord.

I stood up. The whole table went silent, all eyes turning to me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small, velvet box Mr. Hayes had given me when the "engagement" began. I opened it and took out the ridiculously large diamond ring. I walked to the head of the table and placed it silently on the polished wood in front of Mr. Hayes Sr.

"I'm grateful for what you did for my mother," I said, my voice steady. "But I can't be a part of this family anymore. I quit."

I turned and walked out of the dining room without looking back. As I reached the doorway, I glanced over my shoulder. I saw Scarlett, her face streaked with tears, clinging to Liam's arm like a drowning woman. He stood stiffly, his face a mask of resignation. It was a pathetic, tragic scene, and I felt nothing but a profound sense of release.

I was halfway down the long, tree-lined driveway when two of Scarlett's bodyguards blocked my path. They were huge, imposing men who had always looked at me with contempt.

"Miss Hayes wants a word with you," one of them grunted.

"I have nothing to say to her," I replied, trying to walk around them.

The other one grabbed my arm, his grip like steel. "That wasn't a request."

Suddenly, Scarlett's car screeched to a halt beside us. She jumped out, her face twisted in a snarl of pure malice. The rejection from Liam had found a new target: me.

"You think you can just walk away?" she spat. "You think you can humiliate me in my own home and just leave?"

"This has nothing to do with you, Scarlett," I said tiredly. "This is over."

"It's over when I say it's over!" she shrieked. She nodded to the guards. "He tried to attack me. He's unstable."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

Before I could react, one guard punched me hard in the stomach. The air rushed out of my lungs, and I doubled over, gasping. The other guard grabbed me from behind, pinning my arms.

"You ruined everything!" Scarlett screamed, her face inches from mine. "Everything! You're going to pay for this."

She slapped me hard across the face. The sound cracked in the quiet night air. My head snapped to the side, my cheek stinging.

"You're nothing," she whispered, her voice filled with venom. "And I'm going to make sure the whole world knows it."

They threw me to the ground. As I lay there, trying to catch my breath, I saw the cold, calculated hatred in her eyes. This wasn't just a tantrum. This was a declaration of war. She wasn't just going to let me go. She was going to destroy me. And as I lay on the cold asphalt of the Hayes estate, I realized I was trapped in a nightmare far worse than I had ever imagined.