Chapter 3

The cat purred under my touch, a small, warm comfort in the cold reality of my new life. As I stood up, the ring Bennet had just placed on my finger, heavy and ostentatious, slipped right off and clattered onto the stone pathway.

I picked it up. It was far too big for me. My finger was a size six. This felt like at least a seven.

A bitter smile touched my lips. In his grand, theatrical gesture, he hadn't even remembered my ring size. Or perhaps, this ring was never meant for me at all.

I looked at the intricate design. There was a tiny, almost invisible button on the side. The button for the GPS tracker, I assumed. But the message he'd received, the specific ringtone, the sudden need to leave... a new, terrible thought occurred to me.

My finger trembled as I pressed the button.

It wasn't a tracker. It was a receiver.

Gianna' s voice, thick with fake tears, filled my ear. "...and I have this terrible headache, Bennet. The doctor said it might be depression. It' s all because I miss you so much."

My blood ran cold.

"I know, I know," Bennet' s voice soothed, the same tone he used on me when I had nightmares. "But please, darling, be a good girl. Go back and spend time with Harper. She' s been so fragile since the accident."

The audacity of it. He was with me, giving me a manor, and she was complaining he wasn't with her.

"But I want to be with you!" Gianna wailed. "I don' t want to be locked up in that cabin anymore. Can' t I come out? Just for a little while?"

"Alright, alright," Bennet sighed, his voice a mixture of exasperation and affection. "I' ll take you out for a bit. Just be patient."

I heard the distinct whir of a helicopter starting up. The same one that had brought me here. He was leaving me in my new "haven" to go console his other wife.

I remembered all the times he' d used that helicopter to cheer me up after a bad day, flying us over the city lights. He' d hold me and whisper, "I'll always be here to get you through the hard times, Harper."

The irony was a physical pain. He was the hard times. He was the source of all my suffering.

I looked up and saw the helicopter rise into the air, not flying back toward the city, but banking sharply and landing less than a mile away. I walked to the edge of the property, my feet moving through the perfect, manicured lawn. From a rise in the landscape, I could see it.

Another estate. Identical to mine. A mirror image of Harper's Haven.

The receiver in my hand crackled to life again.

"Oh, Bennet, it' s beautiful!" Gianna' s voice was full of genuine delight. "You got me one too!"

"Of course," Bennet said. "This is your anniversary gift. 'Gianna' s Paradise.' I' ll spend the rest of the day with you here."

My phone buzzed. A text from Bennet.

"So sorry, my love. Client meeting is running long. I' ll be thinking of you every second. Make yourself at home."

I stared at the screen, at his casual, effortless lie. He could build two identical mansions, shower two women with identical lavish gifts, but he could only truly be with one of them at a time. And his choice, again and again, was her.

I was the secret. The other woman in my own marriage.

A wave of humiliation washed over me. I felt cheap, foolish, and utterly alone.

But then, the feeling was replaced by something else. A flicker of relief.

This charade, this painful, degrading life, was almost over.

I turned my back on the two mansions and walked back toward the house he had built for me. I wiped the tears from my eyes. I wouldn' t cry for him anymore.

I spent the rest of the day in the studio he' d designed for me, a perfect replica of my old workspace. But instead of sketching buildings, I was refining my escape plan.

The pain of his betrayal had sparked something in me. An idea for a new design, one born from wreckage and resilience. A structure that was both broken and beautiful, that found strength in its own fractures.

I worked for hours, losing myself in the lines and angles. When I finally finished the initial sketch, I stretched, my hand accidentally brushing against the ring I' d placed on the desk.

I hesitated, then pressed the button again.

"...but I can' t stand it, Bennet!" Gianna was sobbing again. "Hiding like this, while she gets to be by your side in public. I want to be the one on your arm. I want everyone to know I' m your wife!"

My breath hitched. Her greed was boundless. She wasn' t content with having him. She wanted to destroy me completely.

I held my breath, waiting for Bennet' s response. A small, stupid part of me still hoped he had a line he wouldn' t cross. He wouldn' t dare bring her into our public life. He wouldn' t humiliate me like that.

There was a long silence on the other end.

Then, Bennet' s voice, low and decisive.

"Okay."

Just that one word.

Okay.

The sound tore through the last remaining thread of hope in my heart. It felt like he had reached into my chest and ripped it apart with his bare hands.