Four Loveless Years, One Unforgettable Goodbye

The bedroom lights glowed faintly, throwing long shadows across the room. On the plush bed, Willa Fletcher's wrists were pinned above her head, her breath hitching with pain.

A tremor ran through her as her husband, Bryan Scott, thrust into her.

Desperate, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck, wordlessly begging him to be gentle.

Through the haze of tears, she saw his expression remain cold and unyielding, offering not even a flicker of softness.

When it was finally over, Willa lay drained and motionless, her body limp as a discarded doll. Sleep claimed her before she could even think about cleaning up.

By morning, she woke to find the other side of the bed empty. Alyssa Higgins, the housekeeper, informed her that Bryan had already left.

Catching sight of the dark bruises marring Willa's skin, Alyssa's face twisted with distress. "Mr. Scott should have been gentle with you," she muttered.

Without waiting for an answer, she darted off to fetch some ointment.

Left alone, Willa stood motionless, her gaze drifting over the dark marks that trailed across her arms. A sharp ache coiled in her chest, bitterness welling up until it choked her.

The night before replayed in her mind. She had visited Bryan's grandfather, Cody Scott, at the Scott Mansion. A servant had handed her a glass of water, and a sudden, unnatural heat had surged through her veins soon after.

On the drive back, the chauffeur had veered off the main road, steering into a shadowed stretch of empty lanes.

Panic had clawed at her as she fired off a message to Bryan—only to receive silence in return.

If the crash had not jolted the car to a stop, she might have ended up spending the night with another man. Her reputation would have been ruined beyond repair, leaving a permanent stain on the Scott family's name.

When she finally stumbled back to the villa, drained and trembling, Bryan sat at his desk, calmly immersed in an online meeting. He didn't even glance in her direction.

For four years of marriage, he showed no concern for her. He didn't bother asking why she was home late.

Something inside her fractured. Stripped of restraint, she let her clothes fall away and pressed herself against him, her trembling fingers circling his neck in a desperate attempt to reclaim his attention. The change in her was startling—wild, feverish, driven by something that wasn't entirely her own will.

Bryan's reaction was swift. With a flicker of irritation and desire, he ended the call and caught her by the waist, sending papers fluttering as he pushed her down on the desk.

Their bodies tangled through the night in a blur of heat and pain, but when dawn broke, he was gone.

Willa suspected the glass of water she'd accepted at Scott Mansion had been laced with an aphrodisiac—a plot to create a scandal and get her kicked out of the Scott family.

Her marriage to Bryan was never about