?<strong>Chapter 1:</strong>


    Joelle Miller pored over Reba Lloyd’s Twitter feed, studying each video withser-sharp attention. “Do you see this? He saves the juiciest slice of watermelon just for me.”


    “Even when hees homete, he never forgets to bring me a little something.”


    “And look at this—surprise! He picked up a blessing charm for me from the church.”


    Reba, the girl in the clips, exuded a soft and delicate aura in her in white dress. She wasn’t strikingly beautiful, but there was a wholesome simplicity about her, and her smile was genuinely charming.


    Joelle, peering at the screen like a spy, was eager to glimpse the face of Reba’s boyfriend. Reba’s joyful narrations and the casual snippets of her life with her boyfriend steeped Joelle in gloom.


    She discovered that on pivotal days—Christmas Eve, Valentine’s Day, and even on Joelle’s own birthday—Reba was with Adrian Miller, her so-called husband, who had been missing from all significant events for the past three years.


    The username on the ount was “Countdown to Death.” That was the only ount Joelle followed. As she was about to reflect on the ominous name, the bathroom door swung open.


    In the dimly lit room, Adrian appeared, his broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, d only in a towel wrapped around his hips. Water dripped from his hair. Despite the low light, his striking features were undiminished.


    Joelle instinctively snapped her phone shut and gazed at him, lost in thought. It had been ages since shestid eyes on Adrian. Tonight, he was here not by choice. His grandmother, Irene Miller, was ill and desperate for a great-grandchild, whichpelled him to return. Otherwise, he might never havee back.


    Over their three-year marriage, Adrian seldom visited home, spending most of his time at Oak Vis. It wasmon knowledge that he held no love for Joelle. She felt trapped in a marriage that existed in name only.


    “I’ll give you one chance. Whether you get pregnant or not is in the hands of fate,” Adrian dered, his voice resonant and deep. What was he implying?


    Before Joelle could ponder further, Adrian seized her ankle and yanked her toward him, his shadow looming over her petite frame. Suddenly, Adrian cast off his towel, and with a forceful motion of his knees, he parted her legs. The sound of tearing filled the room. He easily ripped her dress, exposing her bare chest in a degrading manner.


    Joelle’s face turned pale as she faced his cruelty, her body tensed with fear. “Adrian! Stop, I don’t want it…” Her words were interrupted by her frantic struggles. Being forced into such a situation with the man she loved filled her with humiliation and terror.


    Adrian’s sneer cut through the air. “You dared to drug me once; you should have seen this daying. Just endure it.” At his harsh words, Joelle’s eyes filled with tears, her eyshes fluttering like wounded butterflies. She looked up at his stern face, her voice trembling. “I was drunk then. I didn’t mean to— Ah!”


    Her protest was cut short by a sharp cry. She gripped the bed sheets tightly, her distress palpable. Adrian pinned her wrists above her head, his expression nk as he loomed over her. He moved abruptly, delivering a rough, deep thrust that made Joelle wince in pain.


    The intense pain overwhelmed her, and her resistance faded as despair took hold. Shey there, wishing for oblivion. After satisfying his desires, Adrian rose, his breath ragged. He picked up a towel from the floor and wrapped it around himself. “You’ve learned; ying hard to get is far more interesting than just lying there like a dead fish,” he rasped, his voiceced with spite.


    After his shower, he departed without a backward nce, as though he couldn’t leave fast enough. Before and after, his ritualistic showers seemed to cleanse him of her, as if she were a stain on his conscience.


    Joelle struggled to decipher her role in his life. Was she merely a ything for his pleasure? Or a pawn to fulfill his family’s expectations for an heir? The window stood wide open, letting in a biting cold wind. Joelle shivered, drawing the nket tighter around herself.


    It wasn’t just the chill in the air that made her tremble. Her heart felt as if it had been torn apart, a relentless icy wind whipping through its open wound. The man she had adored for nearly eight years was now a stranger to her.


    Three years earlier, at avish banquet hosted by the Miller family, Joelle had overindulged in wine. When she had woken up, she found herself naked in bed with Adrian. Before she could gather her thoughts, her brother and several members of the Miller family had burst into the room.


    What was done could not be reversed. Adrian’s grandmother had taken the reins and orchestrated their marriage. All this time, Adrian was convinced that Joelle had drugged him to trap him.


    Joelle had once been baffled by Adrian’s profound animosity, even if he believed she had drugged him. After all, they had grown up together. But now, she understood. In Adrian’s eyes, she was nothing but the nefarious woman who had sabotaged his rtionship with Reba.


    She often found herself pondering how perfect Adrian seemed in Reba’s videos—always so gentle and attentive. It dawned on her that he would probably never show her that same tenderness.


    Joelle wasn’t sure how long she hadin there before she numbly cast aside the nket, climbed out of bed, and shuffled her aching body into the bathroom. Standing under the shower, she initially shivered as the water cascaded over her, icy and sharp.


    Catching her reflection in the mirror, she saw how ghostly pale her face looked, her body marked by bruises. Eventually, Joelle couldn’t hold back her tears any longer and sumbed to a sobbing breakdown.


    That night, her sleep was restless and disturbed. In theter hours, she found herself dreaming of their earlier days when she and Adrian hadn’t been at odds. Awoken by her troubled sleep, Joelle rose unusually early. After freshening up, she slipped into some casual clothes and made her way downstairs.


    Leah Jenkins, the long-serving maid, noticed Joelle descending and promptly set the table with breakfast, familiar with all her dietary preferences. Joelle took her time with breakfast, eating slowly and deliberately.


    “Mrs. Miller, why didn’t you convince Mr. Miller to stayst night? It’s not often hees home,” Leahmented, her tone reflecting sympathy for Joelle.


    Leah had been a servant of the Miller family for many years, witnessing the growth of Joelle and Adrian from childhood friends to the enemies they were now. A pang of difort briefly crossed Joelle’s features before she masked it with aposed smile.


    “I tried, but he didn’t stay,” she admitted. Even if she could keep Adrian close physically, his heart was elsewhere. His affectionsy at Oak Vis, home to the one he truly cherished.


    Just then, Joelle’s phone broke the silence. As Leah left the dining room, Joelle picked up her phone and found her best friend, Katherine Nash, calling. “Katherine, I want a divorce,” Joelle said in a raspy voice.


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