Chapter 4
The morning light filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows of our penthouse was usually soft, golden, and forgiving. Today, however, it felt sharp, illuminating dust motes dancing in the air like tiny, chaotic thoughts. I sat at the breakfast table, nursing a cup of Earl Grey, while Adrian stood by the island, buttoning his cuffs. The air between us was charged, not with our usual easy intimacy, but with the static of impending conflict.
Adrian’s phone lay on the marble countertop, set to speaker. Beside it sat Marcus Thompson, Adrian’s chief legal counsel and oldest friend, looking entirely too cheerful for 8:00 AM on a Tuesday. Marcus adjusted his glasses, his finger hovering over the ‘Accept’ button.
“He’s calling the main line again,” Marcus said, his voice dry. “Persistent little mosquito, isn’t he?”
Adrian didn’t smile. His eyes were dark, focused on the phone as if he could incinerate the caller through sheer force of will. “Let him speak. I want to hear the extent of his stupidity.”
Marcus tapped the screen. The connection crackled, and then Parker’s voice filled the kitchen—arrogant, loud, and blissfully unaware that he was speaking to the wolves.
“Finally,” Parker barked. “Look, I don’t have all day to navigate your automated system. I need to speak to whoever handles your domestic staff contracts. HR, Legal, whatever you call it.”
I felt a cold knot tighten in my stomach. He really believed it. He had twisted reality so thoroughly that in his mind, I was nothing more than a line item on a ledger.
“This is Marcus Thompson, Chief Legal Counsel for Rogers Enterprises,” Marcus replied, his tone smooth as polished glass. “To whom am I speaking?”
“Parker Webb. CEO of Webb International,” Parker announced, the title dripping with unearned self-importance. “I’m calling about one of your… assets. An employee named Emma Scott. I understand she’s currently contracted as a nanny or perhaps a surrogate for the Rogers family? Regardless, I’m looking to buy out her contract.”
Adrian’s hand stilled on his cufflink. His jaw set hard, a muscle feathering near his ear. I reached out and placed my hand over his, feeling the tension radiating off him in waves.
“Buy out her contract,” Marcus repeated, his voice flat.
“Exactly,” Parker said, sounding bored. “I’m willing to offer fifty thousand to cover whatever breach fees you have. She’s… let’s just say she’s better suited for other work. I’m doing you a favor, really. She’s damaged goods.”
Silence stretched in the kitchen, heavy and suffocating. The audacity was breathtaking. Fifty thousand dollars. That was the price he put on my dignity. That was what he thought I was worth.
Marcus looked at Adrian, raising an eyebrow. Adrian gave a nearly imperceptible nod.
“Mr. Webb,” Marcus said, his voice dropping an octave, losing all traces of warmth. “We have no employee by that name.”
“Don’t give me the runaround,” Parker snapped. “I’ve seen her with the kid. I know she’s on the payroll.”
“If you are referring to the wife of our CEO, Mr. Adrian Rogers,” Marcus continued, enunciating every syllable with lethal precision, “I suggest you cease this harassment immediately. Any further contact will be met with a restraining order so severe you’ll need a lawyer just to walk down Fifth Avenue.”
There was a pause on the other end. Then, a scoff. A laugh.
“Wife? Please,” Parker chuckled, the sound grating against my nerves. “That’s a good one. Nice negotiation tactic. Trying to drive up the price? Look, tell Rogers I’ll double it, but stop the charade. Emma Scott isn’t wife material for a man like that. She’s a rental.”
*Click.* Parker hung up.
Adrian picked up the phone and set it down gently, though I knew he wanted to crush it. He turned to me, his eyes burning with a fierce, protective heat.
“He doesn’t get to define you, Emma,” he said low and rough. “He’s a ghost. And ghosts disappear when you turn on the lights.”
***
The *Lumière* Gallery opening that evening was meant to be my sanctuary. The space was an industrial-chic cavern in Chelsea, filled with abstract sculptures and the low hum of polite conversation. I wore a backless emerald gown that clung to my frame like liquid armor, the rubies on my wrist catching the track lighting. This was my world now. I had curated this exhibit. I had chosen the artists. I belonged here.
I was speaking with a French sculptor about the texture of marble when a hand clamped onto my upper arm. It wasn’t a gentle touch. It was possession. It was violence.
“Found you,” a voice hissed in my ear.
I spun around, nearly losing my balance in my heels. Parker stood there, his face flushed, his eyes wild. He looked out of place among the avant-garde crowd, his suit too shiny, his energy too frantic.
“Parker, let go of me,” I said, trying to pry his fingers off my skin. People were starting to turn. The low hum of conversation faltered.
“Stop the act, Emma,” he growled, tightening his grip until it hurt. He tried to pull me toward the exit. “The game is over. I called your ‘boss.’ They’re playing hardball, but I’m not leaving without you. You’re coming with me now. You’re done being a trophy rental for these people.”
*Rental.* The word snapped something inside me. The fear that had been simmering in my gut for days evaporated, replaced by a white-hot flash of clarity.
I dug my heels into the polished concrete floor. I didn't pull away this time. I stepped into his space.
*Smack.*
The sound of my palm connecting with his cheek echoed through the gallery like a gunshot. The room went dead silent. Parker stumbled back, his hand flying to his face, shock replacing the arrogance in his eyes.
“I am not a rental, Parker,” I said, my voice ringing out, clear and steady, reaching every corner of the silent room. I gestured to the walls, to the art, to the crowd watching with bated breath. “I own this gallery.”
Parker blinked, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He looked around, suddenly seeing the way the staff deferred to me, the way the security guards were already moving in, not to remove me, but to protect me.
“You… what?” he whispered.
“Get him out,” I said to the head of security, my voice trembling not with fear, but with adrenaline.
Two large men in black suits flanked Parker instantly. He didn’t fight them. He just stared at me, his hand still clutching his stinging cheek, as the reality of his mistake began to crack the veneer of his delusion. But even as they dragged him toward the door, I saw the flicker in his eyes. He didn’t believe it. Not yet. He still thought it was a trick.
But as the heavy glass doors swung shut behind him, sealing him out of my world, I knew one thing for certain: the next time we met, there would be no glass to protect him from the truth.
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