Allyson Cote POV:

"Sleep well, Allyson. I'll be back in a bit." Archer's words, a hollow echo, faded into the night.

He left, feigning a sigh of annoyance at Kennedy's interruption, but his footsteps were quick, eager.

I heard the soft click of Kennedy' s bedroom door, then, unmistakably, their hushed whispers, followed by the sounds of their intimacy floating through the thin walls.

Each muffled moan, each soft sigh, was a hammer blow to my already shattered heart, filling me with a visceral disgust.

I pulled my pillow over my head, pressing it hard against my ears, desperate to block out the sounds, to drown out the reality.

But the images were already burned into my mind.

I lay there, trembling, until the first rays of dawn pierced through the curtains. Archer never returned.

His promise, like all the others, was nothing but ash.

I scrubbed the tears from my face, a fierce resolve hardening my features.

No more.

Not one more tear for him. He wasn' t worth it. I reached for the small, wooden bird carved by my father, a smooth, comforting weight in my palm.

It was the only thing I had left of him.

I clutched it tight, finally drifting into a fitful sleep.

A sharp bark startled me awake. My eyes snapped open. A low growl rumbled from the foot of my bed.

I sat bolt upright, heart leaping into my throat.

A monstrous creature, all muscle and teeth, with eyes like burning coals, stood there.

Archer' s Rottweiler, Hades, a beast I was terrified of.

My breath hitched.

I remembered my deeply ingrained fear of dogs, a fear Archer had once, in an act of calculated charm, pretended to help me overcome. He' d brought Hades home, promising to desensitize me, but mostly it was just another way to control me, another reason for me to depend on him.

Hades, though, wasn't just growling. He had something in his mouth.

Something small and wooden. My father's bird.

"No!" I screamed, my voice raw. Panic and a sudden, furious protectiveness surged through me, eclipsing my fear of the dog. He couldn't take that.

It was all I had left.

I scrambled out of bed, ignoring the throbbing pain in my body from the previous night's assault.

The dog bolted, my precious keepsake clamped firmly between its teeth. I scrambled after him, my bare feet pounding against the cold marble floors.

Hades led me straight to the garden, a sprawling, perfectly manicured expanse that was Kennedy' s favorite.

And there she was, lounging by the pool, a smug smile on her face. Hades wagged his tail, dropping the bird at her feet. Kennedy picked it up, her delicate fingers turning it over, a sneer twisting her lips.

"Is this it?" she drawled, her gaze flicking to me, contempt dripping from her voice. "Your precious keepsake? Looks cheap. Just like you."

Then, with a casual flick of her wrist, she hurled the wooden bird against the stone fountain.

It hit with a small crack, splitting into two jagged pieces.

My breath caught in my throat. My heart stopped.

The sudden, agonizing pain of betrayal, of desecration, was so sharp, it cleared my head of all fear. The image of my father, his kind eyes, his gentle hands carving that bird, flashed before me.

"Why?" I whispered, my voice trembling with a rage so profound it shook me to my core. "Why would you do that, Kennedy?"

She merely laughed, a high, mocking sound. "Oh, Allyson. Still so naive. What are you going to do? Run to Archer? Cry to him? He won't care. He never did."

Something snapped inside me.

All the years of humiliation, all the broken promises, all the pain and betrayal coalesced into a single, blinding fury. I lunged at her, my hand connecting with her cheek with a resounding smack.

"Give it back!" I screamed, my voice hoarse. "Give me my father's bird!"

Kennedy shrieked, clutching her cheek.

But before I could land another blow, Hades was on me. His teeth clamped down on my arm, tearing through the thin silk of my nightgown, ripping into my flesh. I barely felt it.

My mind was a red haze of rage.

A powerful force ripped me away from Kennedy.

I flew backward, hitting the stone wall with a sickening thud. The impact knocked the wind out of me, darkness swirling at the edges of my vision. My head throbbed, a dull ache blooming behind my eyes.

Archer.

It was Archer. His face was a mask of furious contempt. He'd saved Kennedy.

Again.

Allyson Cote POV:

My head slammed against the cold stone, a searing pain igniting behind my eyes.

For a moment, the world spun, vision blurring, then slowly, agonizingly, it swam back into focus. Archer.

He stood over Kennedy, cradling her in his arms, his cheek pressed gently against her hair.

His eyes, usually so calculating, were filled with a tenderness I had only ever dreamed of receiving.

He looked at me then, his gaze colder than ice, a stranger' s stare.

"What have you done?" His voice was a guttural growl, filled with a furious protectiveness I had never witnessed, not even when I was injured. "How dare you touch her?"

Kennedy, nestled in his embrace, sobbed theatrically.

"She just… she just went crazy, Archer! She attacked me for no reason! She broke my nose!"

Her voice was muffled, but her words, dripping with false innocence, twisted the knife deeper.

"And she smashed Hades' favorite toy! She's so jealous, so vicious!"

Hades' favorite toy. My father's precious, handmade bird.

Kennedy looked at me, a triumphant smirk flashing across her tear-streaked face.

"Don't lie!" I gasped, my voice raw, my body aching.

"She smashed my father's keepsake! She provoked me!"

Archer' s eyes narrowed, his grip tightening on Kennedy.

"Allyson, enough! I saw what you did. You're out of control. Spoiled. Vicious. I'm disappointed in you." He cut me off before I could even try to explain.

"You will apologize to Kennedy. Now."

My blood ran cold.

Apologize?

After everything?

He was truly blind.

"I will not," I spat, defiance burning in my eyes.

Archer' s face hardened. He pulled out his phone.

"Guards! Get down here! And I want her confined. Give her ten times what Kennedy suffered. Let her learn her lesson."

Two burly bodyguards materialized, their faces impassive.

They grabbed me, their hands rough, unyielding. My arms were twisted behind my back, a sharp pain shooting through my shoulder.

Archer, holding Kennedy close, walked away, his back to me. He didn't even glance back.

He just left me there, to the mercy of his men.

The sight of his retreating back, his complete indifference to my suffering, was the final, devastating blow.

My heart, already shattered, crumbled into dust.

The guards were brutal, just as Archer had commanded.

Blow after blow rained down on me. I bit back a scream, refusing to give them, or Archer, the satisfaction of hearing me break.

My face swelled, my vision blurred with unshed tears and pain.

My body felt like a bruised pulp.

Finally, they dragged me, a broken rag doll, back to my room.

They threw me onto the hard floor like a piece of trash.

I landed with a sickening thud, a cry escaping my lips as my back hit the ground. I curled into a ball, shaking uncontrollably, every inch of my body screaming in agony.

"Just let it end," I whimpered, a desperate prayer. "Please, just let it end."

The darkness mercifully swallowed me.

I dreamed.

A long, beautiful dream of my father, his arms around me, his gentle smile, my mother laughing nearby. A dream of a normal, happy life, free from the shadows of betrayal and cruelty.

It was a sweet, agonizing torment.

The dream was shattered by a splash of icy water.

I gasped, my eyes flying open, my body convulsing from the shock.

The cold, harsh reality slammed into me. I was lying on a cold, tiled floor.

This wasn' t my bedroom.It wasn't Archer's house.

Where was I?

Allyson Cote POV:

My eyes fluttered open, the harsh fluorescent lights above burning my retinas. My head throbbed, my body ached, every muscle screaming in protest.

The air smelled sterile, metallic, mixed with something vaguely antiseptic.

I was lying on a cold, hard examination table. A pet hospital.

My gaze drifted.

On the operating table nearby, lay a still form covered by a white sheet. A familiar shape. My stomach clenched. Hades.

The massive Rottweiler that had just torn into my arm, the one that had broken my father's keepsake. He lay there, lifeless.

Suddenly, a heart-wrenching wail pierced the air.

Kennedy.

She was hunched over the dog's body, her cries raw and guttural. Her face, tear-streaked and blotchy, was a mask of grief.

Her head snapped up, her eyes, red-rimmed and bloodshot, locked onto mine. "You!" she shrieked, her voice hoarse with accusation. "You woke up! You poisoned him, didn't you, Allyson? You murdered my Hades!"

My mind reeled. Poisoned him? Murdered? What was she talking about? I was still reeling from the beating, from being dragged around like a rag doll. "I… I don't know what you're talking about," I rasped, my throat raw.

Kennedy sprang from the table, a wild animal fueled by grief and rage. Before I could react, her hand flew out, her sharp nails raking across my already bruised cheek, tearing into the tender skin. I cried out, a sharp stab of pain.

My eyes darted to Archer. He stood in the corner, his face grim, avoiding my gaze. When I winced, about to retaliate against Kennedy, he finally moved. Not to help me, but to gently pull Kennedy away, his arm wrapped around her. "Kennedy, darling, calm down. Let's not make a scene."

My throat tightened. My heart, already numbed by betrayal, felt even colder. He protected her. Always her.

"She killed him, Archer!" Kennedy wailed, burying her face in his chest. "She poisoned my poor Hades! She's a monster!"

"That's not true!" I cried, my voice weak but firm. "I was locked in my room! I couldn't have done anything!"

"Oh, really?" Kennedy lifted her head, a cruel smirk twisting her lips. "I have a witness. And we found the evidence. That special chocolate you love so much? The one Archer gave you? It was wrapped in Hades' blanket. And it was laced with poison."

My blood ran cold. The chocolate. The one Archer had given me, knowing my allergies, years ago, claiming it was "safe." The malicious calculation of it all.

Kennedy then turned to Archer, her voice dropping to a desperate whisper. "Archer, please. Avenge my Hades. If you don't… I don't know what I'll do. I can't live without him." Her eyes were wide, filled with a familiar, manipulative threat. A threat of self-harm.

Archer's body tensed. His jaw clenched. His eyes, filled with a twisted loyalty, swept over Kennedy's tear-streaked face. He stroked her hair, his gaze softening. Then, he turned to me, his eyes now cold and filled with a chilling disappointment. "Allyson," he said, his voice hard. "How could you be so utterly vicious?"

I stared back at him, my gut churning with a bitter, mocking laugh. He truly believed her. He truly believed I was a murderer. The absurdity of it all.

"Bring me the seafood porridge," Archer commanded, his voice suddenly calm, chillingly so.

A heavy bowl, steaming hot, was placed before me. My eyes widened in terror. Seafood. My most deadly allergy. He knew. He knew it could kill me. He was going to murder me, right here, in front of Kennedy, to appease her. My heart hammered against my ribs, a trapped bird desperate to escape.

"Archer," I whispered, my voice thick with disbelief and a horrifying realization. "You don't trust me? You'd really risk my life for this... this lie?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed his face, a momentary weakness in his steely resolve. A fleeting hint of the man I thought I knew.

Kennedy, ever vigilant, saw it. "Archer!" she shrieked, her voice sharp, cutting through the silence. "Are you going soft? Are you going to let her get away with it? I'll… I'll just end it all right here, right now, if you don't punish her!"

The hesitation vanished. Panic flashed in Archer's eyes. He turned to Kennedy, his concern overwhelming any lingering shred of doubt about me. "No, darling, no! Don't even think about it." He turned back to me, his face a mask of cold fury. "Guards! Force her to drink it. Every last drop."