Chapter 3

The first thing I did after being discharged was visit Augustus Ortiz. Kason's father was a formidable man, even in retirement. He lived in the old Ortiz family mansion, a place of quiet, old-world elegance that always felt more like a museum than a home.

He received me in his study, a room filled with leather-bound books and the scent of expensive cigars. He looked surprised to see me.

"Alicia, my dear. I thought you were still recovering."

"I'm much better, Mr. Ortiz," I said, my voice steady. "I came here to ask you for something."

I took a deep breath. "I want to call off the engagement."

Augustus stared at me, his sharp eyes widening in shock. "Call it off? Why? Did Kason do something?"

I couldn't bring myself to tell him the whole, ugly truth. He was a man of honor. Learning that his son had been systematically torturing me to repay a debt would destroy him. And besides, it was my battle to fight.

"No," I lied. "It's me. Kason is a good man, but we're not right for each other. I've realized I don't love him the way a wife should."

I looked him in the eye, trying to convey sincerity. "My father will be released from prison in a few months. I plan to take him and start a new life, just the two of us. It's better this way."

Augustus looked at me, his expression a mixture of confusion and sadness. He had orchestrated this marriage out of a sense of guilt and responsibility. He truly believed it was the best thing for me.

After a long silence, he sighed, a deep, weary sound. "If this is what you truly want, Alicia, I will not stand in your way."

Relief washed over me, so potent it almost made me weak.

"Thank you, Mr. Ortiz."

"I'll have my lawyer draw up the papers," he said, his voice heavy. "And I'll transfer a sum of money to you. A dowry, of sorts. To help you and your father start over."

"That's not necessary-" I started, but he held up a hand.

"It is. It's the least I can do."

Just then, the study door opened and Kason walked in. He stopped short when he saw me.

"Alicia? What are you doing here?"

Before his father could speak, I answered, my voice bright and casual. "Just visiting your father, Kason. I was feeling better and wanted to get out of the house."

Kason looked from me to his father, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes, but he let it go. "I came to pick you up. Dad, we'll be staying for dinner."

Dinner was an excruciatingly tense affair. Kason, playing the part of the dutiful fiancé, sat beside me, cutting my food, placing it on my plate. Each careful, practiced movement was a reminder of his deception. It used to make my heart flutter. Now, it just made me feel sick.

"Now that Alicia is recovering, we can finally set a new date for the wedding," Kason announced to his father, his arm resting on the back of my chair.

Augustus opened his mouth to speak, likely to reveal my decision, but at that exact moment, Kason's phone buzzed.

He glanced at the screen. The change in his expression was instantaneous. His carefully constructed mask of calm concern dissolved into genuine panic.

It was a text from Jaye. I saw her name flash on the screen. It was accompanied by a photo of a bleeding wrist.

"I have to go," Kason said, jumping to his feet.

"Kason, what's wrong?" Augustus asked, alarmed.

"It's an emergency at the hospital," Kason lied, his eyes already on the door. He was already dialing his phone. "Jaye? Are you okay? Don't move, I'm on my way!"

He rushed out without a backward glance, leaving a stunned silence in his wake. I sat there, staring at the perfectly cut piece of steak on my plate, a cold knot forming in my stomach. He had left me, his "recovering" fiancée, for her. Again.

I left the Ortiz mansion shortly after, the promise of freedom a small, flickering light in the vast darkness of my heart.

The next day, I visited my father. The prison was a bleak, oppressive place. Seeing him in the visitor's room, pale and thin in his grey uniform, broke my heart all over again.

"Alicia," he said, his face lighting up when he saw me. "You look tired. Is Kason treating you well?"

I forced a smile. "He's wonderful, Dad. Just busy with work."

He nodded, relieved. "Good, good. That's all I want. For you to be happy." He sighed. "I'm sorry I'll miss the wedding. Again."

The lie felt like acid on my tongue. "We'll wait for you, Dad. I told Kason we won't get married until you're out." I reached across the table and took his hand. "When you get out, we're going to leave this city. We'll go somewhere warm, by the sea. Just you and me."

A tear slipped down his cheek. "That sounds nice, my girl."

I returned to the sterile, empty house I shared with Kason. I packed a small bag, taking only my personal belongings. I left behind all the clothes, the jewelry, the life he had bought for me.

He didn't come home that night.

He returned the next morning, looking tired but content.

"There's a charity gala tonight," he said, loosening his tie. "You need to come with me."

It wasn't a request. It was an order. I was his show pony, the symbol of his family's "honor."

I numbly got ready. As we walked to the car, I instinctively moved to the passenger side.

"Not there," he said, his voice sharp. "Jaye is coming with us. She needs the legroom for her... her condition."

I stared at him, my mind blank. My own leg was still in a cast. He had forgotten. Or he didn't care.

"Fine," I said, my voice flat. I climbed into the back seat.

Jaye arrived a moment later, sliding into the front seat with a triumphant smile. "Thanks for waiting, Kason. Alicia, so good of you to come."

The car ride was torture. They talked and laughed, their voices a low, intimate murmur. I felt like a stranger, an intruder in their perfect little world.

The gala was a glittering affair, full of a city's elite. Kason introduced me as his fiancée, his hand a heavy weight on my arm. But his attention, his pride, was all for Jaye. "This is Dr. Jaye Hinton," he'd say, his voice glowing. "My most promising resident."

I couldn't breathe. I excused myself, needing air. I found a deserted balcony overlooking the city lights. I stood there for a long time, just breathing.

When I finally went back inside, I saw them. They were in a dark, secluded corner of the ballroom. Kason had Jaye pressed against the wall, his mouth devouring hers. His hands were tangled in her hair, his body flush against hers.

It was raw, desperate, and full of a passion he had never, ever shown me.

My world, which I thought had already been shattered, broke into even smaller pieces. I followed them, a ghost in my own life, as they slipped out a side door and into a private suite upstairs.