Chapter 2

I didn't see Eve for the rest of the night. When I returned to the party, she was gone, and so was Kason. I knew what that meant. She was punishing me for walking out, showing me that she had other, more entertaining options. The old me would have been tormented by it. The new me felt nothing but a quiet resolve.

I went home to our sterile, silent penthouse overlooking Central Park. Every piece of furniture was chosen by her, every painting on the wall approved by her. There was nothing of me here. It was her space, and I was just a temporary resident.

A storm was rolling in, the sky turning a dark, bruised purple. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the rain begin to fall, feeling as empty as the apartment around me. I had hoped, foolishly, that she might come home. That some part of her still cared enough to confront me.

The disappointment was a familiar ache.

It was past midnight when I heard the front door click open. I turned, my heart giving a stupid, traitorous leap.

Eve stood in the doorway, drenched from the rain. She dropped her keys on the marble entryway table and walked towards me, a slow, deliberate stride.

"You left," she said, her voice low.

"I needed air."

She came closer, close enough that I could smell the rain on her coat and something else... Kason's cologne. A sharp, cloying scent that made my stomach turn.

She reached out and traced a finger down my cheek, her touch surprisingly gentle. It was a rare, calculated gesture, part of the cycle of abuse. Push me away, then pull me back in with a flicker of affection.

"Did you miss me?" she asked, her eyes searching mine for the usual desperation.

"Do you love me, Eve?" I asked, the words leaving my lips before I could stop them. It was the one question I always wanted to ask but never dared.

She didn't hesitate. "Of course, I do, Bennet. More than anything."

The lie was so smooth, so practiced. For a moment, I almost believed her. I leaned in, my own desperate hope rising, and tried to kiss her.

She let me get close, let my lips almost touch hers, and then she turned her head away.

"No," she whispered, a familiar coldness in her voice. "You know the rules."

The rejection was a physical blow. I pulled back, the last bit of warmth in me extinguished. Her hands were on my shoulders, and as she pushed me away gently, her coat fell open.

There, on the pale skin of her neck, was a dark, angry-looking hickey.

It wasn't just a mark; it was a brand. A message. He can touch me. You can't.

The last ember of hope inside me died. It was over. It had been over for years, but I had been too broken to see it.

I stepped away from her, a chasm opening between us. I slept in the guest room that night, the first time I had ever done so. The bed was cold, the sheets unfamiliar. It felt like sleeping in a stranger' s house.

The next morning, the doorbell rang. I was in the kitchen, making coffee, when Eve answered it.

It was Kason Cooley, standing there with a suitcase in each hand and a smug grin on his face.

"Eve, darling," he said, loud enough for me to hear. "I hope you don't mind. I decided to move in for a while. It' ll be so much cozier."

I looked at Eve, expecting her to send him away. To show some flicker of respect for our home, for me.

She just smiled. "Of course. Make yourself at home."

She didn't even glance in my direction.

I tried to say something, to tell Kason to get out. But the words caught in my throat. What was the point? I was a guest here too.

Eve finally turned to me, her eyes daring me to react. "Aren't you going to welcome our guest, Bennet?"

I looked at her, at the triumphant cruelty in her eyes. She wanted a fight. She wanted me to be jealous, to scream, to prove I still cared.

I was too tired to give her what she wanted.

"You'll have to leave soon," I said, my voice quiet but firm.

Eve's smile faltered. "What did you say?"

"Both of you," I said, turning to walk out of the room. "It won't be for long."

I left her standing there, a look of genuine shock on her beautiful, monstrous face.