Chapter 1

One year with David Chen. It felt like a lifetime of peace after the storm that was Jake Peterson.

I thought I was finally safe. I thought I had found someone who truly saw me.

I was wrong.

My relationship with Jake had ended abruptly. It was a classic small-town tragedy. His high school sweetheart, Emily Carter, returned, and suddenly I, his long-term girlfriend, was just a friend. He didn't even have the decency to say it to my face, he just faded away, his time filled with her nostalgic smiles and feigned helplessness.

I was heartbroken. That' s when David appeared, a constant, gentle presence. He was a tech entrepreneur, kind and attentive, and he told me he had admired me for years. He was the calm after the storm, the man who picked up the pieces Jake had left behind. I fell for him, and I fell hard.

For our first anniversary, I wanted to do something special. David was a huge comic book nerd, and I' d spent months tracking down a rare vintage issue he' d mentioned once. I finally found it at a private collector's shop two towns over. The owner told me it was part of a larger collection being sold from a private art studio David owned downtown, a place he used for "quiet inspiration." He gave me the address and a key, saying David had left instructions that I was allowed access anytime.

I felt a surge of love for him. He trusted me completely.

The studio was on the top floor of an old brick building. It was spacious and filled with natural light, but strangely empty. There were no canvases, no sculptures, just a single door at the far end of the room, closed and locked. I assumed the comics were in there. I used the key the collector gave me.

The door swung open, and the air grew still.

This wasn't a storage room. It was a shrine.

The walls were covered, from floor to ceiling, with portraits. All of them were of the same woman.

Emily Carter.

There were paintings of her smiling, her laughing, her looking wistfully out a window. Sketches of her hands, her eyes, her profile. They were obsessive, detailed, and beautiful. My heart started to pound, a slow, heavy drum against my ribs.

On a large wooden desk in the center of the room sat a single, leather-bound box. My hand trembled as I reached for it. It wasn't locked.

Inside, nestled on black velvet, were hundreds of letters. They were all addressed to Emily, written in David' s neat, precise handwriting.

I picked one up. The date was from seven years ago.

My dearest Emily,

I saw you with Jake today. He doesn't deserve you. He will never make you as happy as I can. But I will be patient. I will wait. I will do anything to see you happy.

I dropped it as if it were on fire. My breath caught in my throat. I grabbed another, this one dated a year and a half ago, just before Emily came back to town.

Emily, my love,

The final piece is in place. I've become close with his current girlfriend, Sarah. She's a sweet girl, but naive. She'll be the perfect tool. Once Jake is free, he will finally see that you were the one for him all along. I will orchestrate their breakup, and in his moment of weakness, you can be there for him. I will make sure of it. All I ask is that you are happy. Your happiness is my own.

The letters blurred together through the tears welling in my eyes. Another one, from just a few months into our own relationship.

It's working perfectly. Sarah trusts me completely. She tells me everything, all her pain over Jake. I comfort her, hold her, and all the while, I am clearing the path for you. Jake and you are spending more time together, I see it. It hurts to see you with him, but it is a worthy sacrifice. This seven-year pursuit will soon be over.

Seven years.

Seven years of planning.

My relationship, my heartbreak, my trust-it was all just a calculated move in his sick game. I wasn't a person to him. I was a pawn. I was the obstacle he needed to remove so the woman he truly loved could get back with my ex-boyfriend.

The pain was sharp and absolute. It was worse than Jake' s betrayal. This was a violation. My entire year of healing and happiness was a lie, constructed by a master manipulator.

I sank to the floor, the letters scattered around me. The rare comic book I had bought for him felt like a joke in my purse. I felt used, dirty, and impossibly stupid.

For a long time, I just sat there, numb. Then, a cold, hard resolve settled in my chest. I would not be a victim in his story. I would not let him have the satisfaction of breaking me.

I pulled out my phone, my fingers moving with a steadiness that surprised me. I scrolled through my contacts until I found my father' s number. My parents, prominent figures in their industry, had always been protective. They had once suggested an arranged marriage with the son of a business partner in New York, an idea I had laughed at. I was an independent woman who believed in love.

Now, it seemed like the only sane option. An escape. A transaction, clean and free of the manipulative rot that had infested my life.

I pressed the call button.

"Sarah? Is everything alright, sweetheart?" my mother answered, her warm voice a stark contrast to the cold reality of the room I was in.

I took a deep breath, forcing my own voice to remain level. I couldn't let them hear the shatter in my voice.

"Mom. Everything is fine."

A lie.

"I'm calling about... about that thing you and Dad mentioned a while ago. The arrangement. With the Blackwood family."

There was a silence on the other end. I could picture her exchanging a look with my father.

"Are you sure, Sarah? We never wanted to pressure you."

"I'm sure," I said, my voice firm. "I've thought about it. It' s a good decision. For the family, for business... for me. I want to do it."

I needed a way out. I would take any door that led away from here.

"Okay, honey. Okay. We'll make the call," she said, her voice laced with a concern I couldn't bear to address. "We love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

I hung up the phone and let out a shaky breath. I had just signed my life away, but it felt like the first real choice I had made in a year. I felt a strange sense of control.

Just then, the outer door of the studio opened.

"Sarah? You in here, baby?"

It was David. His cheerful voice echoed in the large, empty space.

My blood ran cold.

He was here. And I was in his secret room, surrounded by the proof of his monstrous deception. His footsteps grew closer, and I saw his shadow fall across the doorway.

"I brought dinner," he said, his voice full of the fake affection I had mistaken for love. "I thought we could-"

He stopped. He saw me on the floor. He saw the open box, the scattered letters, and the portraits of Emily on the walls. The smile vanished from his face.

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