The beach house night lingered in Nancy's chest for days. The softness in Adrian's eyes, the way he held her like she was more than a placeholder—it had all felt real.
So real that it scared her.
She was falling. Not carefully. Not slowly. She was falling for the man she'd once sworn to destroy.
But just when she let herself believe in him—
Everything shattered.
---
Two Days Later – Blackwood Tower
Nancy was in Adrian's office, dropping off files his assistant had left behind.
She wasn't snooping. She wasn't the jealous, paranoid type.
But when she passed his desk and saw a folder labeled "Confidential: Carter Family Holdings"—
She froze.
Carter. Her last name. Her family.
She opened it.
And her entire world shifted.
---
Inside the Folder
— A full report on her father's debts.
— The mortgage her parents couldn't pay.
— The anonymous "sponsor" who paid off their medical bills last year.
— A contract signed three months before the marriage, offering Adrian exclusive rights to purchase land from her father's small farming property.
Nancy's hand shook.
He didn't just marry her because of the grandmother's will.
He had used her. Bought out her family's survival. Ensured her desperation.
She wasn't a wife.
She was a calculated investment.
---
That Night – The Penthouse
Adrian walked in, unknowing.
She was waiting.
The file was on the table. Her face unreadable.
"You went through my things?" he asked, seeing it.
"I was dropping off papers. You left this out." Her voice was like glass—shiny, breakable, dangerous.
He ran a hand through his hair. "Nancy—"
"You knew," she cut in. "You knew how bad it was for my parents. You bought their freedom. You put my back against the wall and made sure I'd have no choice but to say yes to this contract."
He stepped closer. "I never planned to—"
"You orchestrated it, Adrian." Her voice cracked. "You made me think it was fate. But it was strategy."
Silence.
She backed away, shaking her head. "I let myself believe this was turning into something real. That you chose me."
"I did choose you."
"No. You trapped me."
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she blinked them away. "And I let you kiss me. Touch me. I let myself fall into this lie."
Adrian looked pained. "It wasn't a lie. Not all of it."
Nancy's chest heaved. "But the part that mattered—the reason you married me—was."
She grabbed her coat.
"Nancy, please—"
"Don't." Her voice was cold now. "Don't say anything else. Because tonight, I have to remember who I was before you broke me."
And with that, she walked out.
Leaving Adrian alone with the silence, the guilt…
And the truth that loving someone doesn't mean they'll ever forgive you.