Five years with Leon Carter. And this is our second time standing outside the Manhattan City Clerk’s office. Right before we hit the front desk,he turned to me. “Jane,I’m sorry.I can’t do this.” “Chloe took a shot for me at the party last night and drank herself into the ER…I can’t just leave her.” I stared into his deep blue eyes,remembering the exact same scene a year ago. Right before getting our license,I caught him cheating. He cried,claiming he was so drunk he thought she was me,begging for one more chance. When I said no,he threatened to jump off the 42nd floor,screaming he couldn’t live without me. I caved. And now? He pointed at a fat,balding white guy hanging around outside. “I just asked around.That guy owns two places in Brooklyn,no baggage.” “Just marry him today. That way I won’t feel bad about wasting your youth.” I looked down at the crumpled marriage application in my hand. Our names were printed right next to each other. Too bad for him. This time,I’m not caving. … “Not interested?” Leon arched an eyebrow and let out a laugh. He snatched the application from my hand and shoved it into his suit pocket. “Okay then,just forget about it.” He never actually wanted me to marry that balding guy. It was just a sick joke. A joke to test my limits,to prove to himself that I couldn’t live without him. Seeing me freeze,Leon reached out and ruffled my hair,his tone softening. “Jane,I knew you couldn’t walk away from me.” “I was just messing with you. That’s what you get for checking my phone yesterday and pissing me off.” “Chloe is just an old friend from college. She drank that shot for me and burned a hole right through her stomach. I can’t just ignore her.” I swatted his hand away and took a step back. Leon’s hand froze in mid-air.His jaw tightened. “Jane,are you seriously throwing a tantrum right now?” “I told you it was a joke.What more do you want?” “Are you trying to make me do something crazy again just to prove a point?” A year ago,he stood on the edge of the penthouse terrace,eyes red,screaming. Swearing that if I left him,he would kill himself. I thought that was love. I thought I finally found someone willing to risk his life just to keep me. But now I saw the truth. It was just a tactic to control me. He preyed on the fact that I grew up in a group home in the Bronx. Desperate for a real family. All he had to do was throw me a few crumbs of twisted affection,and I’d forgive him. “Fine.We won’t get married.” I looked at him,my voice dead calm. Leon paused. Normally,I’d be crying.Clinging to him.Begging him not to leave. But he just chuckled,slipping right back into his arrogant smirk. “There you go.Good girl.” “We can sign the papers later.It’s not like you have anywhere else to go.” “I have a meeting on Wall Street this afternoon. Take a cab back to the Upper East Side.” He spun around and strode off,looking so damn smug. He was probably laughing to himself,thinking no matter how much he humiliated me, I’d always be waiting at home for him like a loyal dog. Instinctively,I touched my stomach. In my purse sat an ultrasound report from a private Manhattan hospital. Six weeks pregnant. I had planned to give it to him as a wedding gift after we signed the papers. Now,it was nothing but a cruel joke. I pulled out the report,tore it into tiny pieces,and dropped it into the nearest trash can. Then,I headed back to the apartment we shared. He bought this place after his venture capital firm took off. When he handed me the keys,he told me this was my home now. I believed him. I decorated the place exactly like my dream home. Picked out every single thing myself. Looking at it all now,it just felt ironic. I pulled out my suitcase and started packing. It wasn’t much. No designer bags.No jewelry. I only packed the old clothes I bought myself. And the old tin box I took from my group home. Inside was my only keepsake—a rusty little pocket watch. It was all my birth parents left behind when they abandoned me. Leon once tried to throw it down the garbage disposal because he thought it was dirty. I had to fight him to get it back. I clenched the watch in my palm.The cold metal grounded me. Halfway through packing,Leon came back. I zipped up my suitcase. Just as I reached the top of the spiral staircase,I heard a sickly-sweet female voice coming from downstairs. “Leon…is Jane gonna be pissed?”
Chloe stood in the entryway,wearing the matching slippers I had made by hand. With her blonde hair and that innocent,harmless face,she looked like someone who just screamed”protect me.” Leon had his arm wrapped around her waist. “This is my house.Who’s gonna complain?” He glanced up at me at the top of the stairs,his eyes turning ice-cold. “Chloe just moved to New York and hasn’t found the right apartment yet.” “With her stomach ulcer,I don’t feel comfortable putting her in a hotel. She’ll be staying in the guest room.” I stood on the steps,watching them cling to each other. A sharp pain pierced my chest,so deep that even drawing a breath hurt. For five years,I had never allowed a single outsider into this house. Leon used to promise me that this place was our private sanctuary. Now,not only had he backed out of our wedding,but he had brought another woman home. “If she’s staying here,where does that leave me?” Leon frowned,annoyed by the question. He let go of Chloe,walked to the bottom of the stairs,and looked up at me. “Jane,can you stop being so damn sensitive?” “I already told you,Chloe is just an old friend from college. Her ulcer ruptured because of me. Is it a crime to take care of her for a few days?” “You are still the lady of the house.That hasn’t changed!” “As long as you play nice and stop acting so paranoid,you’ll still get everything I promised you.” The lady of the house? A woman who wasn’t even worthy of a marriage certificate? A woman forced to watch her man play house with someone else? It was almost funny. I wasn’t the lady of the house. I was just a kept woman.A dirty little secret. Chloe flinched,acting as if it took all her courage just to speak to me. “Jane,please don’t be mad at Leon.This is all my fault…” “If me being here makes you uncomfortable,I can just go. I’ve slept in my car before.I’ll be fine.” Leon spun around and grabbed her hand,pressing her onto the leather sofa. His face softened with pity for her. “You’re still recovering!Don’t be ridiculous.” Then,he whipped his head back to glare at me,his eyes full of accusation. “Jane,do you really have to make everyone miserable?” “A year ago,you drove me to the edge of a roof,and now you want to drive away the woman who saved my life?” Looking at his self-righteous face,I almost laughed. Who pushed who a year ago? He always did this. Gaslighting me into taking the blame just to ease his own guilty conscience. I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to stay calm. “Do whatever you want.” I turned around. Sick of looking at them,I just wanted to finish packing. Leon thought I had caved again.The tension left his face. He jogged up the stairs,pulled an exquisite red velvet box from his suit pocket,and shoved it into my hand. “There you go.I love it when you’re reasonable.” “This is that Cartier diamond necklace you were eyeing last week. I had someone pick it up for you.” “So we didn’t sign the papers today. As long as you behave,there’s plenty of time for that later.” I stared at the expensive necklace in my hand. It felt like it was burning my skin. Whenever I showed the slightest hint of unhappiness,he would just throw a gift at me. He believed money could buy anything—even my dignity and my boundaries. I accepted the box without even opening it. God knows I wanted to throw the necklace right in his face. But I knew better. Doing that would only earn me another round of his humiliation. “Thank you.” Leon looked satisfied. He leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Good girl.Now go make dinner. Chloe has been craving that creamy potato soup you make.” He turned and walked back down the stairs toward Chloe. I watched them exchange a smile. I stepped into my bedroom and shut the door,cutting off the sounds of their happy little reunion. I pulled out my phone and returned the call that had been buzzing in my pocket earlier. It was from the private clinic. “Miss Evans? This is regarding your termination procedure scheduled for 10:00 AM tomorrow. We just need to confirm you’ll be arriving on time.” “Confirmed.I’ll be there.”
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