Leland was usually careless, always wearing that lazy, half-smiling air.

I had never known this side of him, the one that emerged when he was truly angry.

My heart took a hard hit in that moment.

So this was what it felt like to be placed at the very center of someone's concern.

Ian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze dark as it locked onto Leland.

"This is between Margot and me. It has nothing to do with you," he said coldly.

"Nothing to do with me?" Leland laughed. "Ian, you ran off in the middle of your wedding. She ended up with me. And you're telling me it's none of my business? She's mine now. You lay a finger on her, and I'll take one of your hands."

His aura flared, every bit as oppressive as Ian's.

In that instant, the true dominance of Crownport's golden heir was on full display.

Ian's expression darkened further.

He clearly hadn't expected Leland to care this much about a so-called substitute bride.

"Come with me," Leland said, ignoring Ian completely. He grabbed my left hand and turned to leave.

"Stop!" Ian's voice rang out from behind us, edged with desperation and madness. "Margot, take one more step and see what happens."

I froze. But I didn't turn around.

"You should think carefully. The moment you walk out that door, the hospital will lose power. This time, it won't just be a blackout," he added.

Then he leaned in close, his words meant for my ears alone, "I'll have them pull your mother's tubes and dump her onto the street."

My feet felt nailed to the floor.

Leland's hand stalled in midair. Ian smiled, triumphant, vile.

He stepped in front of me, tearing away the last trace of false tenderness.

"Margot, I'll give you one last chance. Either you come back with me—"

He leaned close again, his voice a whisper only I could hear, "Or I make the call right now."

He raised his phone, his finger hovering over the screen. "Stop the meds. Pull the tubes. Toss that trash out."

His smile was cruel. "At this temperature, she won't last two hours."

I stared at the face inches from mine, the face I had once loved to the bone.

Now, there was nothing left but ugliness.

Then I looked at Leland. His entire body was shaking with rage, his eyes so red they looked ready to bleed.

I couldn't drag him down with me.

If the Wade family pulled strings and pinned some charge on him, abducting a mentally unstable patient, it would turn ugly fast.

I couldn't let him be stained because of me.

I took a deep breath and, summoning every ounce of strength I had, pushed Leland's hand away.

"Mr. Riley," I said.

I met his eyes, forcing my voice to stay calm and distant.

"Thank you, but this is my problem. Don't get involved."

He froze.

He looked at me, hurt and confusion flooding his eyes.

"Margot, do you even hear yourself? He'll destroy you."

"Then that's my fate."

I turned away before he could say anything else.

If I looked at him for even one more second, the armor I had so carefully built would shatter.

Step by step, I walked back to Ian.

I could feel that burning, aching gaze on my back the entire time.

It followed me out of the banquet hall. All the way until I got into Ian's car.

The door slammed shut. And only then did the tears finally fall.

"I'm sorry, Leland. Forgive my cowardice."

After we returned from the celebration banquet, it was as if I had become a different person.

I didn't cry. I didn't protest. And I no longer resisted with silence.

When Ian told me to eat, I ate.

When he told me to take my medicine, I took it. When he spoke to me, I answered.

My replies were always the same. "Okay." "That's fine." "No problem."

I became impossibly obedient, docile, well-behaved. Ian seemed pleased with the change.

He believed Leland's sudden appearance, and that threat involving the psychiatric ward, had finally forced me to face reality.

He believed I had been completely tamed. And he let his guard down.

There was even more warmth on his face these days.

He started acting like a proper husband, concerned about my daily routine.

He remembered what I liked to eat, what I didn't. He told me stories before bed.

When he caught me staring out the window, he would wrap his arms around me from behind and ask what I was thinking.

I would only smile and say nothing. I was thinking that if, in my previous life, he had shown even half this patience and gentleness, maybe I wouldn't have died so miserably.

But there were no ifs.

That day was Jemma's birthday. Ian threw her an extravagantly lavish party right here, in the very villa we lived in.

Before the banquet, he came into my room holding a velvet box.

"Margot, this is for you," he said gently.

I opened it. Inside was a diamond bracelet, glittering under the lights.

"Do you like it?"

"I do."

I nodded.

"Tonight, play a piano piece for me, ok?" he said, watching me closely, expectation flickering in his eyes. "Just like the first time we met."

My gaze dropped to my right hand, still wrapped in thick bandages. I smiled.

Playing the piano with a ruined hand.

It was humiliation. And a public declaration of ownership.

He wanted the world to see that even after he destroyed what she cherished most, she still wags her tail for him.

"Sure," I said, my smile widening. Ian froze for a split second, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily.

He was delighted. He bent down and kissed my forehead.

"Margot, I knew you'd be good."

I looked up at him and smiled.

"Ian, Thank you," I said.

Thank you for finally giving my weakness back to me.

Thank you for leaving me with nothing left to lose.

And thank you for preparing such a grand funeral.

Late at night, the rain poured down in sheets.

Outside the window, the shadows of the trees thrashed wildly in the wind.

I curled up in the corner of the bed, hugging my knees. The searing pain in my wrist kept me wide awake.

Suddenly, a faint, dull thud came from the balcony.

Before I could react, a dark figure, carrying the chill of rain, forced the lock on the floor-to-ceiling window open.

"Who—?" I gasped, panic surging.

A scorching hand clamped over my mouth.

"Shh. It's me."

The familiar voice was tight with restrained breathing.

It was Leland. He was drenched, water dripping down the sharp line of his jaw, his eyes bloodshot.

"What are you doing here?!" I shoved him away, lowering my voice, my whole body trembling. "There are cameras everywhere! Ian will kill you! Get out, now!"

"The surveillance is down."

He didn't move. Instead, he grabbed the back of my head, forcing me to look at him.

"Margot. Listen to me," he said as he pulled out a SIM card and pressed it into my icy left palm. "Three days from now. Jemma's birthday banquet. I'll have my people extract your mother. As soon as we succeed, you won't have any weaknesses left."

My pupils shrank.

"Really?"

"I swear it on my life."

He wiped the tears from my face, his gaze turning ruthless and unyielding.

"That day, do whatever you want. If you want blood, take blood. If you want fire, burn everything. Whatever happens, I've got you."

I watched his silhouette disappear into the rain-soaked night, my fingers tightening around the SIM card.

The fear inside me faded. In its place rose an absolute resolve I had never felt before.

This time, I was going to win.

After Ian left, I locked the door immediately.

On the third day, I made the call. It rang only once before being picked up.

"Margot?" Leland's voice was low. The background was noisy, as if he was in the middle of giving orders.

"It's me." I took a deep breath. "Ian wants me to play the piano."

"Hah, he's dreaming," Leland said with a cold laugh. "I've already taken care of things on your mom's end."

"Good." I hesitated, then said, "Leland, there's something else."

"Go on."

"I need you to deal with a few things here."

I scanned the room that had imprisoned me for so long, my gaze landing on the piles of luxury goods stacked everywhere.

"Make a list of all the designer bags and jewelry Ian gave me. Sell them."

"What do you need the money for?" Leland sounded confused. "If you're short on cash, I can give you."

"It's not the same."

I looked out at the pitch-black night beyond the window, my eyes resolute.

"Use all the money to make anonymous donations to charities supporting victims of domestic abuse. I don't want to owe him a single cent. And I don't want anything tied to him left behind."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. Leland was smart. He understood.

This was me severing ties with my past cleanly and completely.

"Alright, I'll take care of it," he said at last, his voice softening slightly.

"And," I tightened my grip on the phone. "I need alcohol. And explosives."

"Okay. I'll get them in."

His tone turned serious instantly, "High-concentration alcohol. It'll be disguised as cleaning supplies. You'll find it in the storage room next to the second-floor banquet hall. The micro detonators will be hidden in the false bottom of the gift boxes, exactly as you asked."

His breathing grew heavier, as if he were forcing down his worry.

"Margot, are you sure you want to go this far? What if—"

"There is no what if," I cut him off. "Tonight is Jemma's birthday banquet. I want to give myself a proper funeral." I'm going to turn here into their hell."

Dead silence filled the line.

I knew what he was worried about. Fire and water don't discriminate. If things spiraled out of control, I could die too.

"Margot," he finally spoke after a long pause, his voice hoarse and vicious.

"Remember what I told you that night. If you want to go crazy, I'll back you. My people will be waiting outside. No matter what happens, you will walk out alive."

"If you die in there," he snarled, "I'll make sure the Wade family never rests in peace.

"Okay," I replied softly as my eyes burned. "I'll live." I promised him.

After hanging up, I started packing, though there wasn't much to pack at all.

Nothing here ever belonged to me.

I took off the expensive nightgown Ian had bought me and changed into the only thing I had brought with me.

A red dress. The color of blood. The color of fire.

I stood before the vanity and looked at myself in the mirror.

I put on heavy makeup, deep red lips, sharply winged eyeliner. It was seductive yet unfamiliar.

Before the banquet began, Ian pushed the door open.

He was dressed in a white suit, with a pale pink rose, Jemma's favorite, pinned to his chest. He looked every bit the polished gentleman.

"Margot," he said as he walked up behind me, frowning slightly at my reflection in the mirror.

"Why are you wearing red? Jemma is wearing pink tonight. You'll stand out too much."

"Red brings good luck."

I turned around and straightened his slightly crooked tie with my left hand, my movements gentle, like a devoted wife.

"And red wards off evil," I added.

Ian paused for a second, then laughed. Confidence gleamed in his eyes.

"I knew you'd be sensible. After tonight, I'll arrange the surgery for your mother," he said, grabbing my hand and pressing a kiss to it, his gaze full of fake tenderness.

"Margot, from now on, let's live properly. Forget everything in the past."

"Sure. Let's forget it all," I said with a smile, though the warmth never reached my eyes.

My fingertips brushed against the pulse at his neck, strong and steady.

One shallow cut, and warm blood would come pouring out.

But I held back. That would be too easy for him.

I wanted him to fall apart at the height of his triumph.

"Ian," I said suddenly.

"Hmm?"

"Do you believe in karma?"

Ian chuckled. "Why ask that all of a sudden? I only believe in making things happen."

"So do I."

I took a step back, my smile widening, sweet, and faintly unsettling.

"That's why I prepared a gift for you and Jemma. A gift you two will never forget."

Ian frowned slightly, sensing something off about me tonight.

But he was too arrogant.

He was certain I was broken, certain I could no longer escape him.

"Alright," he said. "I'll be waiting."

As he turned and walked away, the smile vanished from my face.

In its place came a cold that sank deep into my bones.

Wait for it, Ian.

The gift would be your funeral march.