Married To His Cruelty, Not His Love

ots, fully aware I was just a pawn in his toxic gam

ulldoze my childhood home for a new resort, le

riends beat me sense

rra threatened my mother, he broke i

my knees in a crowded bar, ordering me to b

usband for a shred of mercy. He just turned away and kiss

oarded a private jet with a divorce settlement that could crippl

pte

na

s grave, the fresh dirt still soft under my heels. The eulogy was just ending, my mother's silent tears

e screen. A message

fingers trembled, ma

miliar,

loaded. It was a selfie,

lders. Kiarra, her head thrown back, laughing. Her red

familiar one. Clayto

ble archway of this very cemetery. The one my father had help

tomach. Not just the photo.

just a temporary distraction. A charity case he picked up off

ith tears. With a sudden

calloused from stone. My father, who had taugh

While his wife grieved. While h

n. My

d in my chest. So

th sorrow, reached for my han

ace was a mask. My smile, thin a

I thought

the small crowd. My heart hammered against my rib

dden. Berneice Chase' s private number

isp, sharp voice answered. "Th

, betraying none of the earthqua

a sigh escaping her lips. "I always knew you had more

"I want half of everything Clayton owns. Not his trust

investments have been... significant. And he' s been rather care

r the rolling hills of Appalachia, my home. "A substantial

anged," she said

e. "Introductions. To the right people. In Europe. The fash

e asking for quite a lot, Alana. Was your love fo

or Clayton," I said, forcing a faint tremor into my voice, "was the only real thing

lieve you for a second. But cleverness I can work with. Consider it d

" I agreed. "Tha

phone. The bitter taste

ome, so oblivious. My husba

ssion. He would pull stunts, wild, dangerous things, all to catch her attention. And Kiarra,

then, at the same elite NYC unive

ancing precariously. Kiarra below, laughing with her f

n. And again. I saved his reckless life,

at a charity gala, publicly humiliatin

unassuming girl, always somehow in his orbit. He saw m

es blazing with a cold fire I mistook for

dent who cleaned dorms to make ends meet. He was a ticket out. A chance at se

re and the Backwoods Belle." Societ

ething shift

ought me clothes, jewels. Not out of love, I

my upbringing, calling me "the mountain mouse." Clayton, wi

talks about my

three years. A seemingly per

back. Like a pers

Anonymous at first.

lbilly, Alana. No amoun

ame in his sl

sting on Clayton' s thigh at a restau

cemetery. It was the

illbilly girl who cleaned dorms. Not anymore. I was Alana Chase. And my

d. The old, rickety house. The worn-o

an't hear, can't spea

iversity event. She' d laughed at my worn

my embarrassed form. "The help. You really sho

"the help" again. I would never be looked down upon. I wou

knew it. I admitted it, even to m

s low. I never thought he would betra

nted him back. And Clayton, like a

. Any shred of doubt I had left, any flicker of hope that he might truly care, had d

. I had to secure my future. And I

arm of Clayton' s sofa, her fingers tracing his jawline. Clayton, leaning b

ering with malice. "You're back. We were just d

nteresting ideas for a new resort project. She th

" I managed, my voice barely

, sweetie. Bulldoze all those charming, dilapidated shacks. Make way for

just business, Alana. We'll offer a f

ot just the public humiliation. My home. My father's memory. Ev

ce thick with unshed tears. "Th

es. "It's already been signed, Alana. Ki

t my lungs. He let her do th

e of her lips. "Don't worry, Alana. We'll

ton. His face was impassive. He

d steel. This is it, I thought. This