Chapter 5

The Roth mansion was blazing with lights. It was Doretta' s birthday.

I felt a bitter laugh bubble up inside me. In five years, Doretta had never once allowed me to attend a family party. I wasn't good enough. And now, on the day of our divorce, I was finally invited.

I tried to pull my hand away, but Chandler' s grip was unyielding.

"Kristyn arranged this," he said, his voice low. "She convinced Grandma to give you a chance. So be on your best behavior."

Kristyn' s doing. Of course. It was another setup.

He dragged me in front of the family matriarch.

"Happy birthday, Mrs. Roth," I mumbled, my eyes on the floor.

Doretta gave a thin, dismissive smile. "And what is your gift for me, Ava?"

I froze. A gift? Chandler had never mentioned it. I looked at him, a silent plea in my eyes. He looked just as surprised as I was. We had both forgotten.

Across the room, I saw Kristyn' s triumphant gaze. She had planned this humiliation perfectly.

I closed my eyes, a single tear escaping and tracing a cold path down my cheek.

The rest of the evening was a blur of pain. I stood silently in a corner, watching as Doretta showered Kristyn with affection. She praised her beauty, her family, her sophistication.

Then came the grand finale. Doretta took a ring from her own finger-a massive, antique diamond, the Roth family heirloom-and slid it onto Kristyn' s.

"From now on," Doretta announced to the room, "Kristyn is the true mistress of the Roth family."

All eyes turned to me. The legal Mrs. Roth.

"Do you have any objections, Ava?" Doretta asked, her voice dripping with malice.

I looked at Chandler. He was beaming at Kristyn, his eyes full of a love he had never shown me.

My heart shattered.

"No," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "No objections."

Doretta smiled, satisfied. She sent Chandler and Kristyn away on some flimsy pretext, then turned to me.

"Come with me," she said.

She led me upstairs to a cold, bare room. Two burly bodyguards stood waiting.

"Bring the family law," she commanded.

One of the men brought out a long, leather whip.

They forced me to my knees.

"Do you know why you' re here?" Doretta asked, her voice like chips of ice. "I never wanted you in this family. My grandson' s wife was always meant to be Kristyn. You were just a temporary solution, an organ farm."

She sneered. "And in five years, you haven' t even managed to produce an heir. You are useless. You deserve to be punished."

I tried to speak, to tell her about my health, about why I couldn' t have children. But the words wouldn' t come.

The whip cracked through the air.

It hit my back, a line of pure fire. A scream tore from my throat.

The second lash landed. The pain was blinding. I couldn' t breathe.

The third. I screamed Chandler' s name, a last, desperate hope that he would come and save me.

He didn' t.

I bit my lip until it bled, my body convulsing. Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision.

Through the haze of pain, I felt someone lift me. I smelled his scent, the familiar cologne he always wore.

"Chandler," I sobbed, clinging to him.

He gently closed my eyes with his hand, his touch surprisingly soft. But his words were daggers.

"Grandma is just teaching you a lesson, Ava. This is what you signed up for when you chose to marry me."