“Don't worry. I've got you.“
He took care of everything. The surgery was a complete success.
But outside the operating room, I stepped back, pulling away from the hand he reached toward me.
That was when I learned the truth. He was the eldest son of the Vance family in Kingsport. Heir to one of the most powerful families in the country.
The kind of person someone like me could only admire from a distance, never touch.
Between us lay a chasm nothing could bridge.
I kept my head down, unable to meet his eyes.
“I'll pay back the surgery costs in installments.”
That single sentence turned Vincent's eyes red. He pulled me into his arms, pressing me against his chest, his warm breath grazing the side of my neck.
“I don't want your money. I want you.”
“Laura, I want you to repay this debt with a lifetime of happiness.“
The tenderness in his eyes nearly drowned me. I believed every word and nodded, convinced that the girl from nowhere had finally found her prince.
But aside from the identity he'd volunteered, I had no idea what else he might have kept hidden.
The air in the living room grew more suffocating by the second.
I couldn't stay a moment longer. Without so much as a goodbye, I turned and fled.
A servant caught up to me and pressed the check into my hand.
“Mrs. Vance wants you to keep it. When you've come to your senses, you'll find a use for it.“
My thoughts snapped back to the present. I closed my eyes.
Slowly, carefully, I smoothed out every crease on the surface of the check.
When I returned to my room, the wedding gown had already been delivered on Vincent's orders.
It hung in the center of the room, the overhead light catching every bead and thread until it glowed like something out of a fairy tale.
I reached out and touched it. The fabric was as soft as I'd imagined.
“Why not try it on?“
Vincent stood behind me. I didn't know when he'd come in. Fresh scratch marks trailed down his neck in ragged lines.
I lowered my gaze, avoiding his.
“I'm a little tired. Can we talk about it tomorrow?“
He leaned in and wrapped his arms around me. That familiar, cloying perfume clung to his clothes.
“Come with me to a banquet tomorrow evening. I'll have the driver pick you up in the afternoon.“
I had no reason to refuse.
The next day, we arrived.
The moment I stepped out of the car, countless eyes settled on me.
Provocative. Amused. Jealous.
A man looking for trouble sauntered up to me with a champagne flute in hand.
“Well, well. If it isn't the star graduate of the Vance family's little wife program.“
His gaze slid over me, slow and sticky, and every word out of his mouth carried a barb.
“Must've been your talents in the bedroom that won young Mr. Vance's heart!“
He reached for me, but the instant he spotted Vincent in the doorway, his hand jerked back as though he'd touched a live wire.
He stretched his lips into a grin and hurried over, all flattery.
“Mr. Vance, I didn't mean anything by it……“
Vincent didn't spare him a glance. He walked right past the man as if he didn't exist.
Then, in full view of every guest in the room, he stopped in front of me and held out a sheet of paper.
I took it and unfolded it. A prenatal exam report.
His tone was even, calm, as though he were commenting on the weather.
“I was too rough with her yesterday. She went to the hospital, and that's when they found out Bonnie's pregnant.”
“My fault, really.”
My chest tightened. For a split second I thought he was blaming himself, but then his voice shifted.
“I never planned on having a child before the wedding. The Vance family's firstborn was always supposed to come from you.”
“But now……”
Vincent reached up and traced his fingers along my cheek. The touch was gentle. The threat underneath it was not.
“It's still a Vance. So I'll let you decide what to do with it.”
My stomach lurched. My nails dug into my palms hard enough to draw blood.
