Chapter 2

I didn't sleep that night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that picture: Alec with his head bent, fingers gently holding that bottle. The image was branded into my brain.

Around four in the morning, as dawn was just breaking, Alec finally came home.

He'd just showered, but I could still smell that deliberate freshness he used to cover things up. He slipped under the covers, wrapped his arms around me from behind, and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Awake?" he murmured, pushing his iPad in front of me. "Look at this."

I didn't move.

Photos of an estate. Stone house, vineyards, a lake at the foot of the hills.

"Just signed the papers." His voice held a rare excitement, like a kid with a new toy. "Montrose Estate. It'll go to our children someday. That land at the foot of the hills, I'm going to build an amusement park—just for them. One in every state, named after them."

He talked for five straight minutes. He was envisioning our future, and half an hour ago, he'd been being someone else's father.

Then he stopped talking.

Because I was crying. Tears were falling right onto the screen.

Alec froze. The man who never flinched at gunpoint was suddenly flustered, tossing the iPad aside to cup my face.

"What is it? Ella, talk to me. Who made you cry?"

I bit my lip and grabbed the first lie I could think of. "Zoe's boyfriend. He cheated on her again."

"Don't cry over trash like that," he said, kissing my forehead. "That'll never happen to you. No matter what temptations are out there in this world, I only want you."

I looked at him and said nothing.

Even now, he played his part perfectly.

"You just got out of the hospital, don't dwell on sad things," he said. "I'm with you today. What do you want to eat? I'll cook."

"No need." I shook my head. "I have lunch plans with friends. You should work."

"Then at least let me come with you."

Lunch was at a private club. Alec insisted on coming—he loved playing the "obsessed husband" role.

When we arrived, the room was full of laughter.

"I knew it!" someone shouted. "When Ella shows up, Alec's always within thirty meters! When does he ever let her go anywhere alone?"

He laughed. The man who made the entire East Coast underworld tremble was grinning like a respectable banker.

Soon after we sat down, he snapped his fingers. A waiter brought in a tray of elegant black velvet boxes and distributed them to every woman at the table.

"What's this?"

The moment they opened them, screams nearly lifted the roof.

"Oh my God—is this the new Aurum collection? This line hasn't even launched yet! This set must be six figures at least!"

"Any friend of Ella's deserves the best," Alec said, arm around my waist, smiling flawlessly. "Just a little token."

He always said: if my friends were happy, I was happy. And if I was happy, he could live.

Everyone looked at me with naked envy.

"Ella, you're so lucky," the woman next to me whispered. "He's crazy about you."

My fingers went white around my glass as I held a stiff smile. They couldn't see that my "happiness" was turning me into a joke.

Then the door opened.

Angelina Forde.

No hesitation. She pushed a stroller inside, casually shaking a bottle I recognized—the one from that photo.

"Oh—sorry, wrong room?" Her laugh was soft, saccharine. "Wait... Alec, you're here too?"

She didn't wait for a response. She wheeled the stroller right in and sat down across from me.

"Motherhood has me so tired, I'm losing my mind." She set the empty bottle on the table.

That bottle from the photo.

Her eyes swept over the black velvet boxes on the table. She smiled.

"Aurum? What a coincidence, everyone's sampling my designs?"

"Your designs?" Sarah's jaw dropped. "Oh my God, that brand is the hardest to get in Paris right now!"

"Alec invested in it two years ago," Angelina admitted freely. "He gave me plenty of input when he cut the ribbon at the Paris store."

The room went silent.

Everyone looked at Alec. His face had changed.

"No wonder," another friend realized. "No wonder I couldn't buy any—Alec can just give everyone here pre-release sets."

Angelina picked up one of the bracelets, turning it over in her hands.

"This one's my pride and joy," she said, looking at me with eyes full of needles. "The inspiration came from my boyfriend."

She paused, then gave Alec a meaningful smile right in front of me.

"A precious memory from when we were kids. Worth making into jewelry, something to wear forever."

"Thank you, Alec, for helping me make my dreams come true."

Without a word, I put the bracelet back on the table.