A thirty-year-old man’s wants are never complicated. They’re plain, straightforward, right out in the open.

Sariah Allen had lost all track of time. Every muscle in her body felt like it had been wrung dry, pinned under a suffocating heat that left her gasping just to catch her breath. Emory Kelly knew her body better than she knew it herself—every sensitive spot, every trigger, every touch was deliberate, perfectly calculated to unravel her.

"Starting tomorrow, clear my whole schedule. I’m taking a week off. Book two tickets to the Caribbean," Emory finally said. He stood beside the bed, slow and steady as he buttoned his shirt, every movement meticulous.

Sariah shifted just a little, trying to ease the dull ache throbbing in her lower back, and a tiny flicker of hope sparked in her chest. "Emory—are you taking me on vacation?"

Emory hesitated. Then he frowned, glancing over at her like she’d said something ridiculous. "I’m going with Adelaide."

The smile froze solid on Sariah’s face. She dropped her gaze, awkwardness curling tight in her throat. "Alright, Mr. Kelly…"

He caught the disappointment etched across her face, so he spoke again. "Sariah, you’re just an orphan. You’re so young. I can’t marry you."

Sariah lifted her head to look at him, her smile cracked and tinged with raw sadness. "I never asked you to marry me… But now that Adelaide’s back from her divorce, isn’t it time we ended this? This thing we’ve been hiding?"

Emory’s jaw tightened. He brushed a hand softly over her hair, then set a black credit card down on the nightstand, his voice soft like he was trying to soothe a tantrum.

"I won’t be the other woman, Mr. Kelly," Sariah said firmly. She already knew—his marriage to Adelaide was inevitable. It was always going to happen.

"It’s too soon to hash this out now. We’ll deal with it when I’m actually at the altar. Don’t throw a scene. Ending this isn’t your call to make." Irritation sharpened his tone. He glanced at her one last time, then walked out, the door clicking shut behind him.

Silence swallowed the room after he left. It pressed in on Sariah, loud enough to thud against her eardrums.

Sariah had been an orphan since she was a kid. Back in college, her beauty turned Jasmine Kelly green with envy, and it spiraled into bullying so brutal it left her permanently deaf in one ear, a finger that never healed right, and faint cigarette burn scars crisscrossing her skin.

A video of the attack went viral, blowing up into a whole scandal. The school had to bring the families in, and it was Emory Kelly who stepped in to handle it for Jasmine.

Emory Kelly was Jasmine’s older brother.

Maybe it was just family pride, or maybe it was simple kindness. Either way, he reached out to the broken, beaten girl Sariah was back then. The first words he ever said to her were: "Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again."

It was just one simple promise. But it was everything she’d ever ached to hear.

Sariah fell for Emory because, in the darkest moment of her life, he was everything she’d ever dreamed love and protection would be. She once thought he was her savior. But now? It’s clear he never truly loved her—he just wouldn’t let her go.

Up at Kelly Enterprises, Emory wrapped up a meeting, delegating last-minute tasks before his trip. Adelaide waited for him in his private office, already counting down the minutes until they jetted off to the Caribbean for seven blissful days alone.

Sariah brought in a coffee for Adelaide, and her heart ached so bad it felt like someone was carving it open with a knife. "Miss Patterson. Your coffee."

Adelaide looked up at her and gave her a polite, polished smile.

She came from old money, the perfect match for Emory—they’d grown up together, been carved out for each other from the start. She had that effortless poise and grace only high society breeds. Just sitting there, her confidence outshone anything Sariah could ever pretend to have.

Sariah already knew she’d lost. She could never compete.

Princes don’t actually fall for Cinderella. They just pass the time with her.

She set the coffee down and practically ran out of the office, too overwhelmed to stay a second longer.

She never had any confidence to begin with. Not as an orphan. Not as a poor girl with nothing to her name. Not with the scars from what happened that scream insecurity for everyone to see.

"Did you hear? Mr. Kelly and Miss Patterson are basically going on a pre-honeymoon, right? I heard they’re gonna go public after this trip. Both families are already pushing for the wedding."

In the break room, Sariah’s coworkers gossiped about Emory and Adelaide’s upcoming nuptials, no one bothering to lower their voices.

Sariah was pouring hot water for her tea, and her hand burned so bad it flushed bright red before she even realized what happened.

The mug slipped out of her hand and shattered on the tile. She fumbled, brain moving too slow, and scrambled to hold her burnt hand under the running tap.

Emory and Adelaide were getting married.

That meant it was over—her secret thing with Emory, her internship at Kelly Enterprises, all of it, cut short before it ever really got to end.

"Sariah? Mr. Kelly wants you to drive him and Miss Patterson to the airport at eleven."

A coworker called out the assignment to her. Of course it had to be her.

Sariah forced a bitter smile. Emory really could be… unthinkably cruel.

She knew he did this on purpose. He wouldn’t use his regular driver—he picked her, so she’d have to face reality, so she’d finally drop all her stupid little illusions.

Truth be told, Emory and Jasmine were both the same. They just hurt her in different ways.

After turning it over in her head for what felt like hours, Sariah pulled out her phone and dialed a number she’d blocked years ago.

"Hello, Mr. Sullivan. You mentioned before… if I agreed to marry you, you’d sponsor my studies in Italy… Is that offer still on the table?" Sariah’s voice shook as she spoke.

Getting married was the only way out of this city, away from Emory Kelly. It was her only escape.

"Make sure this is what you actually want," Robert Sullivan’s voice came through steady, calm on the other end of the line. "Thirteenth, seven p.m. Come to Riverfront Estate. We’ll work out the details there."

The thirteenth was only eight days away.

Sariah had just hung up the phone when Adelaide’s soft voice drifted from behind her. She spun around nervous, and found Adelaide standing by the kitchenette.

Adelaide was poised, elegant—even just standing there, her presence sent a jolt of intimidation straight through Sariah.

"Ms. Patterson… d-do you need something?" Sariah stammered.

"I just remembered I forgot a few travel necessities. Could you pick them up for me?" Adelaide handed her a handwritten list. Her script was just as neat and polished as she was.

Sariah froze when her eyes landed on one word: condoms. It felt like a knife twisted right through her chest.

"Keep this quiet, won't you?" Adelaide whispered, throwing her a soft, secret little wink.

Sariah nodded awkwardly and hurried out of the kitchenette, desperate to get away. Her mind wandered back to the first time she’d been with Emory.

She’d just turned nineteen. It was her birthday, and he’d showed up with flowers and a spiced honey cake. She’d grown up an orphan—she’d never had a birthday cake of her own before. That little cake, that stupid bouquet, was all it took to sweep her off her feet. She’d been ready to give him everything.

She laughed bitterly at how stupid she’d been. People always say that if you don’t raise a girl with nice things, she’ll fall for any little trash that comes her way. Four years with Emory, and she’d never once had to buy condoms. He hated using them. Always insisted she just take the pill.

But for Adelaide? He was thoughtful enough to care about her convenience, of course. Wouldn’t dream of making her go through the hassle of pills every day.

The whole drive to the airport, Sariah didn’t say a word. "We’re running late. Speed it up," Emory said, finally picking up on how quiet she was.

"Yes, Mr. Kelly," Sariah answered, and turned left on the green light. Just after the car in front cleared the intersection, a little boy suddenly bolted out into the road, running straight through his red light. Sariah jerked the wheel hard to miss him, and slammed straight into the median.

"Adelaide!" Emory shouted the second the crash happened, instinctively yanking her into his protective arms.

Lucky for them, we weren’t going fast. Only the driver’s side took major damage. The airbag went off, and I ended up pinned in my crumpled seat, my left leg trapped under the wreckage, pain screaming through my whole body.

"Emory…" Sariah’s voice shook with terror. "Help me…"

That trapped, can’t-move feeling? It terrified her. Back in her freshman year of college, Phoenix locked her inside a wooden equipment storage box. She screamed and pounded until her hands were raw, and no one came. That suffocating, locked-in panic had been unbearable.

If a janitor hadn’t noticed the water leak on the floor the next day, she would’ve died in there…

"Emory!" When she saw Emory starting to climb out of the car, she panicked, forgetting all about hiding her feelings in front of Adelaide. "Don’t leave me…"

"The rescuers and cops will handle her," Emory said, his face sour as he shielded Adelaide with his body and stepped out of the wreck to call for help.

"That's your assistant still in there, isn't it?" Adelaide noted, eyeing him suspiciously. No assistant calls their boss by his first name, after all.

Emory pulled her tighter against his chest, glancing indifferently at Sariah trapped inside the crumpled car. He checked his watch. "No time. The crash isn't that bad. We'll grab a cab to the airport. Emergency services will take care of her."

Adelaide nodded, threw Sariah a knowing little look, and followed him, leaving the crash site behind them.

Sariah pounded on the window like a madwoman, but Emory never looked back. She knew he was just scared of Adelaide misunderstanding.

Watching him walk away, Sariah completely broke. "Emory, save me… you promised you'd never leave me…"

"Liar! You're a fucking liar, Emory! You promised you'd always protect me!"

Her emotions spiraled completely out of control. The old depression and panic made her twist and thrash in the confined space. Her injuries, not life-threatening at first, only got worse as she fought wildly against the wreckage.

"Let me out… let me out!" Sariah screamed, pounding the glass over and over. The trauma from that freshman year nightmare had swallowed any trace of rational thought, especially when the acrid stench of smoke from the burning engine seeped into the cab.

"That car's on fire!" someone yelled from the street.

"Is anyone still in there? I just saw two people leave."

Sariah sat trapped, counting silently under her breath. That night in the wooden box, she'd counted all the way to 6,788…

She wondered what number she'd get to before this all ended.

Sariah Allen’s life had been nothing but one hard knock after another, but this time? She’d lived to tell the tale. When she woke up, it was already the next morning.

"Bruised right arm, mild concussion, a few soft tissue injuries…" The doctor ticked off her injuries from the foot of the bed, watching as she blinked back into awareness. "Anything else hurting right now?"

Sariah just shook her head and reached for her phone. Emory Kelly hadn’t even bothered to check in. But weirdly enough—Emory, who never posted anything on social media—had just shared a new photo: a breathtaking shot of the snow-capped Alps, all grand and majestic.

Of course, the real center of attention wasn’t the mountains. It was Adelaide Patterson, glowing in a show-stopping Victorian gown. Her beauty outshone even that insane backdrop.

Sariah curled deeper under her hospital blankets, and the tears just came. Four years with Emory, and what was she to him, really?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Once they discharged her, she stumbled back to her tiny apartment, popped a couple ibuprofens, and crashed. The girl’s resilience was unreal—she slept straight through the whole next day before she felt even remotely ready to face the world again.

She slapping on a few pain relief patches, then headed into work. Gotta earn that intern paycheck, after all.

"Did you see Mr. Kelly’s post? Oh my god, he never posts anything, and he does this just for Miss Patterson?" a coworker gossiped the second Sariah walked through the door.

"Mr. Kelly’s such a gentleman, waiting all these years just for her. Ugh, it’s like a fairytale."

Sariah just snorted quietly as she dropped her bag at her desk. Fine, Emory actually loved Adelaide—she’d give him that. But this whole "man of integrity" act? Total garbage.

The irony of it all hit her hard. Most guys are like that, aren’t they? They can split love and sex into two totally separate boxes. He was head over heels for Adelaide emotionally, but that didn’t stop him from crawling into Sariah’s bed night after night.

"Ms. Allen? This is the work floor—Mr. Kelly said you aren’t allowed…"

A commotion blew up by the elevators. Sariah glanced over, and cold dread immediately coiled in her gut.

Amelia Kelly was here.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Amelia snapped, striding straight toward Sariah in her designer suit and stilettos, arrogance rolling off her in waves.

Sariah shrank into herself, hunching her shoulders like she could just disappear. The terror of that freshman year bullying never really went away, not even after all this time.

"Sariah. My brother’s back in town. He and Adelaide are getting married," Amelia purred into her ear, voice thick with poison.

She smirked, cold and cruel. "Four years ago I warned you—when my brother throws you away, your life’s over…"

Sariah froze. Her whole body went rigid.

Four years later, and Amelia still wouldn’t leave her the hell alone.

Smack!

Amelia slapped her right across the face, in front of the entire office. Everyone saw.

Sariah didn’t hit back. She didn’t even make a sound.

She’d own it: she was a coward. She couldn’t afford to mess with Amelia, not when she barely had enough to get by as it was.

She’d thought about fighting back a hundred times, but as long as she wanted to keep her head above water? She couldn’t act on it.

Maybe someday, if she really hit rock bottom, she’d drag Amelia right down to hell with her. But right now? She was just trying to survive, and that meant keeping her head down.

"You remember this slap? Four years ago, my brother hit me because of you. Sent me overseas to get me out of the way! He never laid a hand on me before that—never! And he did it for you!" Amelia laughed a bitter, broken laugh, then grabbed a full cup of coffee off the nearest desk and dumped it straight over Sariah’s head.

"You seriously think you’re something special just because you latched onto my brother? You’re nothing. Just a pathetic orphan. Who is my brother, anyway? You don’t actually think he’d marry you, do you?"

Amelia shoved Sariah’s head hard, disgust twisting her face. "Get out of Kelly Group, or I’ll post every last one of your dirty secrets to the company group chat."

Sariah stayed silent, head bowed so low her hair hid her face.

The "dirty secrets" Amelia was talking about? That humiliating freshman year incident—when Amelia and her friends stripped her and took photos. Or maybe it was the four-year affair with her brother. Either way, it was all ammunition to destroy her.

No one in the office dared say a word to defend Sariah. Amelia was the heiress, after all. Who was going to risk their job for the orphan intern?

After Amelia stormed out, one coworker leaned over and whispered, "Sariah, how’d you end up on the bad side of the Kelly heiress?"

Sariah forced a wobbly smile as she blotted coffee off her face with a napkin. "We were college roommates. Just… old history."

She headed to the restroom, cleaning herself up in the quiet back stall. She didn’t cry.

Back in freshman year, she’d cried her eyes out over how unfair life was. She’d cried until she couldn’t breathe.

Was it her fault she was an orphan?

Did not having rich family connections mean she deserved to be treated like garbage?

But now she knew the cold, hard truth: being an orphan made you an easy target. No connections meant no one would have your back. Bullies don’t care about fair. They just care about who they can push around.

Ding!

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She glanced down. Emory had sent her five thousand dollars via WhatsApp.

The whole scene at the office had to be all over the office gossip by now. Emory definitely knew Amelia had come after her.

Five thousand dollars for a slap. Nice, neat little transaction.

"I talked to Amelia, told her off. Go treat yourself," Emory added in a voice note right after.

Same old line, every single time. Treat yourself.

"Thank you, Mr. Kelly."

Sariah accepted the money. She’d earned it, putting up with all this garbage.

Staring at the chat screen, she couldn’t even name what she’d been hoping for. A little concern, maybe? A question asking if she was hurt after everything that’d happened? But there was nothing like that. Nothing at all.

She locked her phone and walked straight to HR to hand in her resignation. As an intern, the process was quick and painless.

Tomorrow was Thanksgiving. She was heading to Riverside Mansion to meet Mr. Sullivan.

If she could grab this opportunity, she could finally leave Georgetown for good.

She could finally escape Emory Kelly.