Chapter 1

The day marked seven years of their marriage, a marriage that felt more like a prison sentence. Sarah Miller stood in the kitchen of the grand house, the marble countertops cold under her hands. Outside, the world knew her husband, David Chen, as a genius, a rising star in the tech world whose company was about to go public. His face was on magazine covers, handsome and confident. But inside these walls, that face was a mask for something cold and cruel.

For seven years, Sarah had not slept in a bed. The floor of a small, bare guest room was her designated place. David had made that clear on their wedding night. "A murderer doesn't deserve comfort," he had said, his voice quiet but sharp. "You killed my sister. This is where you belong." And so, night after night, she slept on a thin mat, the cold of the hardwood floor seeping into her bones, a constant reminder of her worthlessness in his eyes. Every word he spoke to her was laced with contempt, every glance was a judgment. He blamed her for the death of his sister, Emily, and he had made it his mission to make her pay for it every single day.

Sarah looked at her reflection in the polished surface of the refrigerator. She saw a pale, thin woman with shadows under her eyes. She was a gifted architect, or at least she used to be. Her degree was packed away in a box in the attic, a relic from a life that felt like it belonged to someone else. Now, she was just a ghost in David' s perfect house, cooking his meals, cleaning his messes, and absorbing his silent, suffocating hatred. She often wondered what she had done to deserve this, but the question always circled back to the same dark day seven years ago.

But a secret hope warmed a small part of her heart. Tucked away in the lining of her oldest coat was a one-way train ticket. It was her escape. For two years, she had meticulously saved every penny she could find, skimming from the grocery money, picking up coins on the street, selling small, hand-drawn sketches online under a secret name. It was enough. The ticket was for a city far away, a place where no one knew her name or the weight of her past. She was ready.

Tonight, she would make her final move. She walked into David' s study, her heart beating a steady, determined rhythm. He was on a video call, smiling his brilliant public smile. She waited until he was finished. When he looked up, his face immediately hardened. She placed a document on his desk. Divorce papers. She had tried this before, so many times, but tonight was different. Tonight, she wasn't asking.

He picked up the papers, his expression unreadable. For the first time in years, he didn't tear them up or throw them in the fire. He just looked at her, a strange, flickering light in his dark eyes. It might have been regret, or maybe confusion. But whatever it was, it was seven years too late. The woman who had once loved him, who had hoped he would see her, was gone. In her place was someone who was finally ready to save herself.