His Gilded Cage: A Husband's Escape

versary, and the party was ex

nd sharp to me. The air was thick with the scent of expensive perfume and the low hum of polite, meanin

a practiced grace, her laughter bright and her smile dazzling. To everyone here, s

ay, she would throw a lavish party. And ev

belonged on a magazine cover. He was a model, of course. They always were. He looked nervous, out

e glided over to me, Liam trailing her like a lost puppy. "Liam is new to thi

guests nearby turned their heads, their smile

e world, aren't you, dear?" she continued

t look at Liam. I couldn' t stand to see

ease people," Vanessa said, her hand resting on

al weight, pressing down on my shoulders, making it hard to stand straight. For ten years, th

f her face, and something inside me, somethin

N

a whisper, but it silenced

ltered for a second

id it again, louder th

my dreams. I looked her straight in the

f stunne

pread through the room like a virus. They laughed like I had just told the funniest

orce? Ethan, don't be ridiculous. You' ve said

ent," I said, my voi

And every time, you come crawling back. Where would you go? Wh

ght. I had said it before. I had tried to leave, to fight, to reclaim a piece of myself. Ninety-nine times I had tried

it was the last time. This was the hund

was a simple divorce agreement I had printed from the internet. It

rious,

it out

ared at my hand, then at my face. The laughter in

snatched the champagne glass from my other hand and, wi

me, dripping down my c

her voice low and dangerous. "Y

ing into the fabric. "Have you forgotten how you

apsed into bankruptcy. My father had a massive stroke from the stress, leaving him comatos

sold

Vanessa. It was a transaction, a business deal to save our family from ruin. I was the price. Vanessa never let me forget it. She

nches from mine. The smell of her perfume was

the silent, watching crowd. Her voic

ter everything I've done for him. After I saved hi

o prove you're serious? Fine. Prove it. Get on your knees, Ethan. C

gasp rippled through the guests. This w

reamed at me to run, to fight, to do anything but this. But I was trapped. I looked

rble floor. The sound echoed in the silent room. I crawled forward, the shame a burning fire in

outh, but no

ear you,"

ound escaped my

oment of my life, a new bot

d around the room, a queen surveying her cour

n sink into my bones. Then, with a dismissive wave of her

to disperse, their whispers following them out of th

able. "You see, Ethan? You always do what I

with the toe of her e

o my feet, my

have to say, I'm disappointed. I thought you had mor

as your father is breathing in that hospital bed, my family pays the bills. You leave m

d us. It was the chain she had kept around my neck for a decade. My

e. "Now, I'm tired. And Liam

me with wide, horrified eyes. "Liam, darling, come

to the studio. Clean my brushes. All of the

g me alone in the vast, empty ballroom. The lock on the studio door

I was a prisoner, and she had just remin

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