Rowan
"What are you about to do, Channel?" I barked, my voice rough with panic as I lunged forward and grabbed her by the waist, locking her in place before she could take that final step.
The sight of her standing at the edge of the bridge, ready to throw herself into the emptiness below, had sent my heart straight into my throat. Fear-raw, suffocating fear-gripped me so tightly I could barely breathe. When she refused to turn back, when she acted as though she couldn't hear me, I had no choice but to beg.
"Channel, please... get down from there. It's me-Rowan, your husband. I'm here to take you home." My voice cracked, betraying the storm inside me. "I believe you, Channel... just don't jump."
But she had lifted one leg, ready to step into nothingness, ignoring every word.
My entire body went rigid. My hands trembled uncontrollably, and before I could stop myself, I dropped to my knees right there on the bridge. People had gathered, watching, whispering, but I didn't care. Nothing mattered except her.
"Channel, please... don't do this." My hands pressed together as if in prayer. "I'll take you back. I'll bring you home. Just don't leave me like this. Don't leave me alone in this world... please."
My eyes burned red, my chest tightening with every passing second. The thought of watching her die-right in front of me-was unbearable. If she jumped... if she really did it...
I wouldn't survive the guilt.
Because deep down, I knew I had pushed her to this edge.
I had stripped her of everything-her dignity, her security, her place in my life-even when I knew she had nowhere else to go.
Her father was mentally unstable, locked away in a hospital with nothing to his name. Channel had always been alone, fighting life with bare hands. I still remember the first time I saw her-standing behind the counter of a small coffee shop, a tired but genuine smile on her face. She was twenty.
And I fell for her instantly.
My family hated her. To them, she was nothing-no status, no background, no value. They couldn't understand why I chose her. But I didn't care. At twenty-three, I was already the heir to Reynold's Group. At twenty-four, I married her.
I had everything-wealth, power, looks. I was the man every woman dreamed of. And yet, I chose Channel.
Everyone said she was lucky.
So what went wrong?
I gave her everything. Even when she couldn't give me a child, I never complained. I took care of her father, making sure he lacked nothing. I gave her cars and houses-two mansions-on her birthdays alone. My black card was hers to use without limits. We traveled, laughed... I stayed by her side.
Wasn't that enough?
Why did she still look elsewhere?
Why did she destroy everything we had and make me a fool in front of my own family?
"Fuck..." The curse slipped out, heavy with pain. My chest ached with a bitterness I couldn't contain.
I loved her. That was the truth.
And maybe that was my biggest weakness.
My family believed she had bewitched me, that no sane man would love her the way I did. They warned me-again and again-that she belonged to the slums and would one day return there.
I refused to listen.
She was a cheerful and beautiful lady.
She had male friends-too many, if I was being honest-but she told me they were harmless. She told me she had never been with any man before me.
I believed her.
Even when I saw her wrapped in another man's arms at that same coffee shop, I ignored the discomfort gnawing at me. Even when she spent nights away for "birthdays" and "reunions," I let it slide.
Love made me blind.
And now?
Now I looked back and saw every sign I had ignored.
Every lie I had swallowed.
It was almost laughable. A man like me-smart, powerful-reduced to a fool for three and a half years.
And the truth hit harder than anything else.
The hospital visits. The silent treatments. The excuses.
Abortions.
That was why she couldn't give me a child.
That was why everything never made sense.
My sister had been right all along.
My mother too.
As I laid her unconscious body on the bed after dragging her away from death, I stepped back and stared at her.
Something inside me shifted.
The love... twisted.
My fists clenched, veins tightening beneath my skin as anger surged through me. She looked fragile, innocent even, with tear stains marking her cheeks.
But I knew better now.
That face... that soft, helpless expression...
It was all an act.
A perfect lie.
A calculated performance.
She wanted to die so people would blame me. So I would carry the weight of her death forever.
But she failed.
And I wouldn't let her win.
I needed my hundred million dollars.
I knew she didn't have it. I had made sure of that. She had nothing left, no one to turn to. It was simple-pay or go to jail.
But prison wouldn't satisfy me.
No... I wanted more.
I wanted her to feel everything she had made me feel.
Slowly.
Painfully.
And if she couldn't pay... then she would repay me in another way.
My thoughts were interrupted when she stirred, a soft groan escaping her lips. She shifted on the bed, her brows furrowing like she was trapped in a nightmare.
After a while, she opened her eyes-only to shut them again as sunlight streamed through the curtains.
I didn't move.
I stood there, watching her like a predator watching its prey.
Waiting.
Finally, her eyes opened again, scanning the room before landing on me.
Confusion flashed across her face.
"What am I doing here, Rowan?" she asked.
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
"What are you doing in your husband's house?" I shot back coldly. "Or would you rather be in one of your sugar daddies' homes?"
Her expression hardened instantly.
"You're no longer my husband," she said, her voice low but steady. "You divorced me. You threw me out. Why didn't you just let me die? Do you want to kill me yourself?"
For a split second, something flickered inside me.
Pity.
But it was quickly swallowed by the storm raging within me.
"Yes, I divorced you," I replied, my tone turning dangerously calm. "But that doesn't mean you're free. You still owe me. And until that debt is paid... you belong to me."
Her eyes flashed with anger.
"How do you expect me to pay you if you keep me here?" she snapped. "Where do you think I'll get a hundred million dollars?"
A slow, chilling smile spread across my face.
"There's only one way," I said, my voice dropping to something darker.
Her breath hitched.
I leaned slightly closer, my gaze locking onto hers.
"By becoming my slave completely."
