The taxi dropped Kelsie at the main gate of the estate. She was exhausted. Her elbow was bleeding through her new suit jacket, and her head was pounding.

As she tried to punch in the pedestrian code, a red convertible screeched to a halt, blocking the driveway. Sloane.

Sloane rolled down the window. "Look at you. A stray dog trying to get back into the palace."

"Move the car, Sloane," Kelsie said, her patience snapping.

"Make me," Sloane smirked.

"You are a spoiled, vicious brat," Kelsie shouted, the anger finally boiling over. "You have never worked a day in your life, and you treat people like garbage because you're miserable!"

"Excuse me?" Sloane gasped.

Security guards stepped out of the booth, looking uncomfortable. Just then, the black Maybach pulled up behind Sloane's car.

Cornelius stepped out. He looked at the scene: Sloane in her car, Kelsie disheveled and yelling, the guards watching. His face darkened.

"What is this?" he demanded.

"She called me a bitch!" Sloane lied instantly, putting on a tearful face. "She was screaming at me because I asked about Dad!"

Kelsie looked at Cornelius, desperate. Please, she thought. Just this once, see me.

Cornelius looked at the guards, then at Sloane, and finally at Kelsie. His eyes were cold, calculating the risk to the family image.

"Kelsie," he said, his voice low and dangerous. He didn't need to say more. With a nearly imperceptible nod, he signaled one of the guards, who took a half-step toward her. The message was clear: comply.

He was choosing order. He was choosing the hierarchy. He was putting her in her place.

Kelsie bit her lip so hard she tasted copper. She looked him dead in the eye.

"No."

Cornelius blinked, surprised by her defiance.

"I am done apologizing for existing," Kelsie said. She turned her back on him. She walked around Sloane's car, squeezing through the pedestrian gate, and began the long walk up the driveway.

She didn't look back. If she had, she might have seen Cornelius's hand clench into a fist at his side, his knuckles turning white.

She marched straight to her room and locked the door. She threw her purse on the bed and ripped the black Centurion card out. She grabbed the heavy card and, with a surge of adrenaline, slammed it against the sharp corner of her mahogany desk. Once. Twice. On the third strike, the metal creased, then snapped in two jagged pieces.

She swept them into the trash.

Then she took her phone. She opened Cornelius's contact. Block Caller. Then she renamed him: DO NOT ANSWER.

She pulled her suitcase from the closet. She couldn't leave tonight-she had no car and nowhere to go-but she started packing.

At 2:00 AM, a floorboard in the hallway outside her room gave a familiar, weighted creak. She didn't need to see a shadow under the door to know who was standing there, waiting. The silence itself was a demand.

Kelsie stared at the door in the dark. Tears streamed down her face, hot and fast. He was outside. She knew he was standing right there in the hallway.

She turned off her phone. She pulled the covers over her head and curled into a ball. She didn't open the door.

The next morning, Kelsie received the official offer letter from Sterling & Associates. The starting salary was more than she expected.

"We were very impressed by your academic record and the tenacity you showed in your interview," the HR rep said on the phone. "The partners felt you were a perfect fit for our culture."

Kelsie closed her eyes. It was a real offer. She had earned it. The relief was so profound it almost brought her to her knees.

She wanted to celebrate. She wanted to scream. But she looked at the trash can with the broken card. She looked at the text from the hospital billing department. She had no choice but to be pragmatic.

"I accept," she said, her voice steady.

She unblocked Cornelius for five seconds. She typed: I will pay you back for everything. Stay out of my life. Then she blocked him again before the message could even show as 'Read'.

"Kelsie!" Joanne burst into the room, beaming. "Great news! I set you up!"

"Mom, no."

"His name is Caleb. He's a pediatrician. Good family. Not Wilder good, but respectable. He's taking you to Le Coucou tonight."

Kelsie wanted to say no. But then she thought of the engagement. She thought of Cornelius's psychological games in the car. She needed to move on. She needed to prove she could exist without him.

"Okay," Kelsie said. "I'll go."

That evening, Le Coucou was dimly lit and romantic. Caleb was... nice. He was handsome in a safe way, with kind eyes and a nervous laugh. He asked her questions and actually listened to the answers.

"So, corporate law?" Caleb smiled over his wine. "You must like a challenge."

"I like order," Kelsie smiled. It was a genuine smile. For the first time in months, she felt like a normal twenty-four-year-old.

Then, the air in the restaurant changed. It grew heavier.

Heads turned near the entrance. Cornelius walked in, Emerald hanging onto his arm. He was wearing a tuxedo, looking devastatingly handsome and utterly terrifying.

The Maître D' hurried over. "Mr. Wilder, right this way."

He led them to the prime table. The table directly next to Kelsie and Caleb.

Kelsie froze, holding her menu up like a shield.

Cornelius sat down. As he adjusted his napkin, his eyes locked onto Kelsie. Then they slid to Caleb. His expression was utterly neutral, a chilling void of warmth that seemed to assess Caleb not as a person, but as a temporary obstruction.

"Kelsie! Oh my god, what a surprise!" Emerald chirped, waving.

Kelsie lowered the menu slowly. "Hi, Emerald. Cornelius."

"Is this a date?" Emerald asked, leaning in. "He's cute!"

Caleb smiled politely. "I'm Caleb. Nice to meet you."

Cornelius didn't smile. He stared at Caleb's hand, which was resting near Kelsie's wine glass.

The waiter arrived with a platter of oysters for Caleb.

Before Caleb could even lift his fork, Cornelius caught the waiter's eye with a slight raise of his chin. "The Sauvignon Blanc," he said, his voice carrying easily to their table, "is an interesting choice. We, however, will have the '08 Sancerre. It's the only thing that won't clash with the salinity of the Belons."

The waiter, flustered, scurried away. Caleb's smile faltered, the oyster forgotten on its bed of ice. Cornelius didn't look at him again. His gaze settled on Kelsie, cold and possessive, and it was in that look she understood. He wasn't just ruining the oysters. He was ruining the evening.

The dinner was a disaster. Because of the proximity of the tables, the two couples were forced into a grotesque double date.

"So, Kelsie tells me she got a job at Sterling & Associates," Emerald said, trying to be conversational.

"Yes," Kelsie said. "I start Monday."

Cornelius swirled his red wine. "It's a demanding firm. They don't tolerate mediocrity. I hope you can keep up. It would be a shame if you washed out during the probation period."

It was a direct attack on her competence.

Caleb frowned. "Kelsie is brilliant. She graduated top of her class. I'm sure she'll do great."

Cornelius turned his head slowly to look at Caleb. "A pediatrician," he said, the word sounding like an insult. "Tell me, Caleb. What is the annual income for checking sore throats these days? Can you even afford the wine list here, or should I have them bring the house blend?"

The table went silent. Caleb's face turned bright red.

"Cornelius!" Kelsie slammed her hand on the table. "Stop it."

"Darling, be nice," Emerald giggled nervously, placing a hand on Cornelius's arm.

Cornelius turned to Emerald. He took her hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed her knuckles. But he didn't look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on Kelsie while he kissed his fiancée.

"I'm just looking out for them," Cornelius said softly. "I hate to see people punching above their weight class."

The intimacy of the gesture, paired with the cruelty of his eyes, made Kelsie want to vomit.

"We're leaving," Kelsie said. She stood up. "Caleb, let's go."

"Check, please," Caleb called out, his voice shaking slightly.

"Put it on my tab," Cornelius said lazily.

"No," Kelsie snapped. "We pay for ourselves."

Caleb threw his credit card down, desperate to get out. They rushed out of the restaurant, the humiliation burning Kelsie's skin.

Back in the car, Kelsie covered her face. "I am so sorry, Caleb. He's... difficult."

"Difficult?" Caleb let out a nervous laugh. "He looked like he wanted to murder me. Does he always control your life like that?"

Kelsie didn't answer.

Inside the restaurant, Cornelius watched the taillights disappear. His expression was thunderous.

"You really ruined the mood, babe," Emerald pouted.

Cornelius stood up abruptly. "I have a headache. The driver will take you home. I'm walking."

"What? But-"

He was already gone, storming out into the New York night.

Kelsie arrived at the estate gate. Caleb walked her to the pedestrian entrance. He leaned in to kiss her.

Kelsie flinched. She turned her head, and his lips landed awkwardly on her cheek.

"Right," Caleb said, disappointed. "Goodnight, Kelsie."

"Goodnight."

As she walked up the driveway, she looked up at the main house. The light in Cornelius's bedroom window was on. As she watched, the curtain twitched.