Juliana gasped. Her lungs dragged in a sharp breath of air.

She opened her eyes. The harsh boardroom lights stabbed at her retinas.

She was leaning against a solid chest. A dark suit jacket draped over her shoulders. It smelled of clean cedarwood and mint.

She tilted her head up. Kian Vance, her boss, was looking down at her. His blue eyes were wide with worry.

"Juliana. Do you need me to call an ambulance?"

His voice was low, meant only for her ears.

Juliana's stomach twisted. She shoved her hands against his chest and pushed herself away.

She stumbled back, her heels wobbling on the carpet. She quickly smoothed down her pencil skirt.

"I apologize, everyone."

She kept her voice flat. Professional. Distant.

"Just a sudden drop in blood sugar."

Kian frowned. The lines around his mouth tightened. "Juliana, you've been working eighty-hour weeks. If you collapse again, the board will start asking questions about your fitness for this role, and the rumors are already starting to circle," he warned quietly, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Meeting paused for ten minutes," Kian announced loudly to the room.

He didn't wait for a response. He grabbed a glass from the table, filled it with warm water from the pitcher, and pressed it into her hands.

"Drink it. Sit down."

Juliana stared at the glass. The warmth seeped into her freezing fingers.

"Thank you, Mr. Vance."

She avoided his eyes. She couldn't handle his concern. Not when her own husband looked at her with pure disgust.

She set the glass down.

"Excuse me. I need the restroom."

She practically ran out of the boardroom.

In the bathroom, she turned the faucet to the coldest setting. She splashed the freezing water onto her face. The shock made her gasp, forcing her brain to wake up.

Hours later, the workday ended.

"Let me drop you off," Kian offered as they stood by the elevators.

"No. Thank you. I ordered an Uber."

She walked away before he could argue.

The rain started pouring as the Uber drove toward Long Island. The heavy drops slapped against the window.

Juliana stared at her reflection in the dark glass. She looked exhausted. Hollow.

The car pulled up to the massive iron gates of the Landry family estate.

The security guard checked her ID. He was perfectly polite, but his eyes lingered on her face a second too long, carrying a hesitant, overly scrutinizing weight before he slowly opened the gate.

Juliana stepped out of the car. She opened her black umbrella. The wind whipped her hair across her face as she walked across the manicured lawn toward the main house.

She pushed open the heavy oak doors.

The grand foyer was dead silent.

The head butler appeared. He took her wet coat. His posture was stiff. Down the hall, a young maid peeked around the corner, whispering furiously to another servant before scurrying away. The subtle shift in the estate's atmosphere was suffocating. His eyes held a strange, uncomfortable pity.

"When does the family trust fund review start tonight?" Juliana asked, unbuttoning her blazer.

The butler looked at the marble floor.

"The meeting has been postponed, Madam. By Master Adelbert's orders."

Juliana froze. Her hand stopped mid-air.

She was the wife. She was supposed to be at that meeting. She had been completely cut out.

Footsteps echoed from the grand staircase.

Two maids hurried down the hallway toward the guest wing. They were carrying stacks of brand-new silk bedsheets.

"Stop," Juliana said. "Are we expecting guests?"

The maids froze. They looked at each other, terrified. They turned to the butler for help.

The butler cleared his throat.

"Master Adelbert arranged for a VIP guest to stay in the east wing, Madam."

Juliana's heart dropped into her stomach. The cold from the rain seeped into her bones.

She knew exactly who the guest was.

She didn't scream. She didn't cry. Three years of living in this house had taught her how to wear a mask.

She nodded slowly.

"I see."

She turned and walked up the sweeping staircase to her bedroom on the second floor.

She pushed the door open. The massive king-sized bed looked like an island in the middle of a cold ocean. The loneliness crushed her chest.

She walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Down below, the iron gates opened again. A black Maybach rolled up the driveway.

Adelbert stepped out. He held a large black umbrella.

He opened the passenger door. He reached his hand out.

A woman in a white trench coat stepped out into the rain. Corrin.

Juliana watched as Adelbert smiled at Corrin. It was a soft, gentle smile. A smile he had never, not once, given to Juliana.

Juliana reached out and grabbed the heavy velvet curtains. She pulled them shut, blocking out the sight.

Juliana didn't sleep.

When the sun came up, she wrapped a thick cashmere shawl around her shoulders and walked down to the glass greenhouse behind the estate.

The air inside was warm and humid. It smelled of wet earth.

She picked up a copper watering can. She walked over to a row of delicate white orchids. They were her late father's favorites.

She focused on the water dripping onto the soil. She tried to slow her racing heart.

The French doors at the far end of the greenhouse clicked open.

The sharp clack of high heels hit the stone path.

Juliana stopped pouring.

Corrin walked down the aisle of plants. She was holding a bone-china coffee cup.

She wasn't wearing her white trench coat anymore. She was wearing an oversized men's dress shirt. Adelbert's shirt.

Juliana's fingers tightened around the handle of the watering can. The metal dug into her skin.

"The orchids are stunning," Corrin said. Her voice was sweet. Too sweet.

Corrin stopped a few feet away. She casually brushed her hair over her shoulder.

The movement exposed her collarbone. A dark red mark rested right against her pale skin.

"Adelbert was so thoughtful last night," Corrin murmured, taking a sip of her coffee. "He made sure the guest room was perfectly heated. He always knows exactly what I need."

Juliana stared at her. Her stomach churned with acid.

"Get out of my greenhouse."

Juliana's voice was dead. Flat.

Corrin's eyes widened. Her bottom lip trembled. She took a step back, looking like a frightened deer.

"I... I just wanted to say good morning. I didn't mean any harm."

Heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel outside.

The greenhouse doors swung open. Adelbert strode in.

He saw Corrin backing away. He saw Juliana holding the heavy metal watering can.

He crossed the room in seconds. He grabbed Corrin's arm and pulled her behind his back, shielding her.

He glared at Juliana. His jaw was tight.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped.

Juliana looked at her husband. He was standing there, protecting the woman who had just mocked her.

Her whole body started to shake.

"Are you blind?" Juliana laughed. It was a harsh, broken sound. "Can't you see she's acting?"

Adelbert stepped forward. He towered over Juliana.

"You are sick," he spat. "Your mind is so twisted, you think everyone is as dirty and manipulative as you are."

Behind him, Corrin grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Adelbert, please," Corrin whispered, her voice shaking. "Don't fight because of me. I'll leave."

Adelbert reached back and squeezed Corrin's hand.

He looked back at Juliana. His eyes were ice.

"The Landry family charity gala is this weekend," Adelbert said coldly. "Corrin will be attending as my plus-one."

Juliana stopped breathing.

The gala was the most important social event of the year. The wife of the Landry heir always stood by his side. It was her right.

"You can't do that," Juliana said through gritted teeth. "The prenuptial agreement states we must maintain a unified public image."

Adelbert sneered.

"Of course. That's all you care about. The title. The money. The image."

He turned his back on her. He wrapped his arm around Corrin's shoulders.

"Let's go inside," he said softly to Corrin.

They walked toward the doors.

Right before they stepped out, Corrin turned her head. She looked over Adelbert's shoulder.

She looked straight at Juliana and smirked. A slow, victorious smile.

The doors clicked shut.

Juliana's fingers went numb.

The copper watering can slipped from her grip. It hit the stone floor with a loud crash. Water splashed everywhere, soaking her shoes.

She dropped to her knees.

She covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook violently, but she didn't make a sound.

Outside the glass walls, a gardener quickly lowered his head and pretended to pull weeds.

Juliana slowly lowered her hands. She wiped her dry eyes.

She stared at the puddle of water on the floor. Her eyes turned hard. Cold.

The atmosphere in the main dining room of the Landry estate was suffocating.

Juliana sat on the right side of the massive mahogany table. She wore a high-necked black evening gown. Her spine was perfectly straight.

Corrin sat further down the table. She kept glancing at Adelbert, batting her eyelashes.

At the head of the table sat Eleanor Landry, the matriarch of the family.

Eleanor sliced her steak with a silver knife. The metal scraped against the porcelain plate.

She stopped cutting. She slowly looked up and locked her sharp eyes on Corrin.

"Adelbert," Eleanor said. Her voice was quiet but carried absolute authority. "Why is there a stranger sitting at our family Sunday dinner?"

Adelbert set his wine glass down.

"Corrin is an important guest, Grandmother."

Eleanor let out a dry laugh.

"You are playing games with the Landry reputation."

Adelbert's face darkened. Instead of arguing with his grandmother, he turned his anger toward the easiest target. Juliana.

"Reputation?" Adelbert mocked. "If we care about reputation, we shouldn't have married the daughter of a fraud."

Juliana's hands clamped down on her knife and fork. Her knuckles turned white.

"The SEC investigation into her father's company proved what the Daltons are," Adelbert continued, his voice dripping with poison. "Deceit and greed are in her blood."

Juliana's heart stopped. The memory of her father's suicide after the false SEC charges ripped through her chest.

She snapped her head up and stared at Adelbert. Pure hatred burned in her eyes.

Corrin gasped loudly and covered her mouth with her hand.

Eleanor slammed her heavy silver goblet onto the table.

The loud bang echoed off the high ceiling.

"Enough!" Eleanor barked. "You lack manners and discipline, Adelbert."

Eleanor pointed a finger at him.

"As long as I am breathing, Juliana is the daughter-in-law of this family. If the short sellers on Wall Street catch wind of a scandal because of your little pet, you will lose your voting rights in the trust."

Adelbert's face turned pale. He clamped his mouth shut.

Eleanor turned her gaze to Juliana.

"Tomorrow, you and Adelbert will sit down for the Vanity Fair exclusive interview. You will smile. You will look happy."

Juliana swallowed the bile rising in her throat.

She thought about the hospital. She thought about her mother's failing heart. She needed the Landry medical insurance. She needed the money.

She forced the corners of her mouth up.

"Yes, Grandmother."

Dinner ended in dead silence.

Adelbert stood up, grabbed Corrin's arm, and marched out of the room.

Juliana sat alone at the long table. She stared at her untouched food. Her stomach cramped violently.

Eleanor walked past her chair. She stopped and patted Juliana's shoulder.

"Men are stupid," Eleanor said quietly. "But money and power are permanent. Remember that."

"Thank you, Grandmother."

Juliana stood up and walked out into the dark hallway.

She leaned against the cold wall and closed her eyes.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

She pulled it out. It was an email from Mount Sinai Hospital. The billing department.

The invoice for her mother's specialized cardiac care for the next month was attached. The number was massive.

Juliana stared at the screen. She locked her phone and shoved it back into her pocket. She swallowed her tears.