On my wedding day, my childhood sweetheart, a self-proclaimed bachelor for life, came to crash it. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he told me, with unnerving seriousness, that he was the one I should be marrying. So I left everyone and everything behind to run away with him. But the moment we were outside, he let go of my hand, a lazy, mocking smile spreading across his face. "I told you she'd come with me," he called out to his friends. "You all lost the bet. Pay up." In that single moment, I became the laughingstock of the entire city. That night, my fiancé, Julian Vance, had his right hand shattered by my would-be husband’s men. He issued a warning: anyone who dared to whisper my name would suffer the same fate. Everyone said Julian was obsessed with me, that he would have me no matter what, even after I had so publicly humiliated him. Until the day after our rescheduled wedding. A woman showed up at our door, a small child in her arms. "If Julian's grandfather hadn't sworn to only let him inherit the family fortune if he married you," she sneered, "why else would he agree to marry damaged goods and play the fool?" "We were legally married three years ago. So, if you know what's good for you, you'll get the hell out." I had them both bound and gagged within the hour. With the barrel of my gun pressed against the woman's temple, I looked at Julian as he rushed in. "Her, or you," I said, my voice flat. "Choose." "Scarlett, if you have a problem, take it up with me! Rachel and the boy are innocent!" Julian stared at me, his eyes burning, as the black-suited guards behind him fanned out, surrounding me. Rachel was sobbing hysterically. "Julian, save me! This psycho is going to kill me and our son!" Her shrill voice grated on my nerves. I tapped her temple with the muzzle of the gun and threw the marriage certificate in Julian's face. "Innocent? Then explain this." I let out a cold laugh. "Making the head of the Thorne family your mistress... you've got nerve, Julian. More than your parents ever did." A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes before he settled on a placating tone. "You were so... traditional before the wedding, you wouldn't let me touch you. She was just a way to blow off steam. The kid was an accident. I swear, she'll never bother you again." "So you want me to just... live peacefully alongside her?" A bloody smile twisted my lips as I clicked off the safety. "An insult to the Thorne family is paid in blood." "So, who is it going to be? You? Or her and that bastard child?" I saw the flicker of pained indecision on his cold, handsome face, and I knew. The scales in his heart were already tipping toward them. Suddenly, Rachel thrashed against her ropes. "You won't hurt him!" she screamed. Years of training kicked in. I drew a concealed dagger as I kicked the back of her knee. She stumbled forward, right into the blade's path. A raw, piercing scream tore from her throat as a deep gash opened on her cheek. "Rachel!" Julian's eyes went red with fury. Without a moment's hesitation, he drew his own gun and fired. I dodged, the bullet grazing my arm, and watched as he scooped Rachel into his arms and disappeared. The fire in my arm was a searing reminder of a promise he’d made when he was sixteen. "Scarlett, my gun will never be pointed at you. It will only ever answer to your command, and it will only ever be pointed at your enemies." "Ma'am?" my most trusted aide, Marcus, asked quietly. "Should I go after them?" Go after them? My eyes were chips of ice. "Contact our board," I said, my voice glacial. "The billion-dollar joint venture with the Vance Corporation... the Thorne family is pulling out. Effective immediately." The next day, the public announcement was made. Without our tech and capital, the Vance Corporation's stock plummeted, hitting rock bottom by noon. Julian called, his voice tight with rage. "Scarlett, are you out of your mind? Pulling out now will cripple both our companies! Are you really going to burn everything down over a tantrum?" I tossed a handful of food into the koi pond, a dangerous smile playing on my lips as the fish thrashed and fought. "I told you, Julian. An insult to the Thorne family is paid in blood." "Out of respect for your grandfather, I'll give you two options. Divorce her, or watch the Vance Corporation go bankrupt. Choose." I could hear his ragged breathing on the other end of the line before he slammed the phone down. Thirty minutes later, a picture of a signed divorce decree arrived on my phone. I instructed my board to reinstate the partnership. Marcus handed me a towel to dry my hands. "Ma'am," he said softly, "you're still soft on him." I pulled my hand back, a flicker of loneliness in my voice. "I don't have much family left." Julian moved Rachel and their son to a private Vance family hospital, terrified I would go after them. I had no intention of stooping to her level, but I hadn't counted on her being stupid enough to provoke me again. She found my number and sent me a picture, a taunt. [Scarlett, Julian never loved you!] [All that talk in the press about his undying devotion? It was all an act to fool your parents! Now that your father's dead, he doesn't have to pretend anymore!] [He's hired the best doctors and therapists to help me recover. One of the therapists was so arrogant, though, refused to even treat me!] [Julian said he's going to have both her hands broken!] I stared at the photo. My dearest friend, Amy, was on the floor, her face bruised and her hands a bloody mess. A volcanic rage erupted in my chest. My family is small, and I protect them with my life. Julian knew this. He knew Amy was my weakness, and he had dared to touch her. A crazed light flickered in my eyes. I had been too reasonable these past few years. He had forgotten that I was, at my core, a monster. I took my men and stormed the private hospital. I kicked down the door to her room and, before Rachel could even scream, I grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against the wall. "Did you forget how to spell the word 'death'?" I snarled. "Did you really think Julian could protect you?" Her face was a mask of blood, but her eyes were triumphant. "So what if you're an heiress? You're still just a barren hen who can't even lay an egg!" "You really think he divorced me to marry you? Pathetic!" "You're a miserable, unwanted creature!" My mind went blank. I staggered back, the world dissolving around me, and I was sixteen again. It was supposed to be a fun night out. Julian had snuck me away from my bodyguards. But we were ambushed, kidnapped, and thrown into a filthy warehouse. In the darkness, we planned our escape. To give him a chance to get help, I created a diversion, drawing the kidnappers away from him. They caught me. They beat me until I was a bloody pulp. Five or six men surrounded me. They tore at my clothes with their grimy hands, blindfolded me, and violated me. It was the darkest night of my life. I woke up in a hospital, a doctor gently explaining that I would never be able to carry a child. Julian was a wreck. He knelt before me, his eyes red and raw, and swore an oath. "I'm sorry, Scarlett! My life is yours from this day forward!" "I will protect you for the rest of my days!" "If I ever break this vow, may lightning strike me down!" That night, the boy I knew vanished. In his place was a ruthless man who hunted down every single one of those thugs and silenced them permanently. He built his empire with a terrifying speed, driven by a single purpose: to become strong enough to protect me, to ensure I would never be hurt again. And now, he had taken my deepest, most painful secret and whispered it into the ear of a common whore. My eyes were bloodshot. I wrapped my hands around Rachel's throat, a terrifying grin spreading across my face. "You want to die so badly? Fine. I'll grant your wish." Her face began to turn purple, and for the first time, I saw real fear in her eyes. "Stop!" A fist flew at me from behind. I spun, blocking it with my own, the impact jarring my arm. It was Julian. He grunted in pain but ignored his own injury, rushing to pull Rachel into his arms. I looked at the raw concern in his eyes, and for a moment, it overlapped with the desperate gaze of the sixteen-year-old boy. But the boy's eyes had been filled with pain for me. The man's eyes saw only her. A low, hollow laugh escaped my lips. I raised my gun and shot him in the arm. "That secret," I asked, my voice devoid of all emotion. "Did you tell her?" Julian clutched his arm, his jaw tight. "I was drunk. It slipped out." "Rachel's young," he continued, "she speaks without thinking. She didn't mean any harm." "You shot me. We're even." A humorless smile touched my lips. "Even?" I repeated, my voice dangerously soft. "Julian, what gave you the illusion that I would just keep backing down?" "The debt I owed your grandfather for his kindness? You've just used it all up." Seeing the gun in my hand, Rachel shrieked, "Julian, she's crazy! Kill her!" Julian’s patience finally snapped. "Scarlett, for God's sake, think about my position! You can't have children! The Vance Corporation needs an heir!" Every word was a dagger, twisting in my heart. The silence was deafening. An image of sixteen-year-old Julian flashed before my eyes, covered in blood, carrying me through the night, his voice choked with desperate sobs. "Scarlett, please, just hold on! We were supposed to be together forever! You can't leave me!" "If you dare to harm Rachel or the boy again, Scarlett, don't blame me for what happens next." Julian's cold voice shattered the memory. I watched him carry her away, and the image of the boy who swore to protect me for a lifetime fractured into a million pieces. So this is what loyalty was worth. The most fragile currency in the world. My spine was ramrod straight. "The engagement is off," I said, my voice resonating with cold finality. "As of today, the Thorne and Vance families are cutting all ties. We are finished." The news of our split sent shockwaves through the market. Our stock prices were in freefall. For two weeks, I was chained to my office, managing the fallout. Then, the door to my office was kicked open.
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