Kacie Oliver POV

I woke up to the sound of the shower running.

My body felt heavy, anchored to the mattress by a fatigue that went deeper than my bones. Groaning softly, I rolled over, reaching for the space beside me. Empty.

The sheets were cold. Cedric hadn't slept in the bed.

A quick glance confirmed he had slept in the armchair by the window, fully clothed, with his gun resting on the side table like a dark sentinel.

I got up and walked to the bathroom door. It was slightly ajar. Steam billowed out, carrying the scent of cedar and expensive soap.

I pushed the door open. Cedric stood under the spray, his head bowed against the tiles. The water sluiced over the scars on his back-a map of violence and survival.

"Cedric?"

He turned. His eyes were red-rimmed and haunted. He looked exhausted.

"You're awake," he said, his voice rough.

I stepped into the shower with him, still wearing my silk robe. The water soaked through the fabric instantly, plastering it to my skin like a second layer. I didn't care. I needed to feel him. I needed to know he was real.

He pulled me against him, his wet hands gripping my waist with bruising force. He kissed me, hard. It wasn't gentle. It was aggressive, desperate, like he was trying to mark his territory.

"We'll have a real wedding," he muttered against my lips, his hands roaming over my body. "Later. When things settle down. We'll fill this house with sons. Heirs for the Family."

I clung to him, my nails digging into his shoulders. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to be the mother of his children, even if my heart gave out in the process.

"Cedric," I gasped, pulling back slightly. "We need to talk about Jayden."

His body went rigid against mine. The passion evaporated instantly, replaced by cold stone.

"Not now, Kacie."

"Yes, now. She was outside the door last night. I heard her footsteps. She's suffocating us."

With a sharp twist of the handle, he turned off the water and stepped out, snatching a towel. "She's traumatized. Someone tried to kill her yesterday."

"Someone is always trying to kill someone in your world," I said, wringing out my robe as water pooled at my feet. "Transfer her. Send her to the West Coast division. She can be safe there."

Cedric whipped around, his eyes flashing. "She is family. I don't exile family."

"She's not your sister, Cedric. And she doesn't look at you like a brother."

"You're being unreasonable," he snapped. "Jealousy doesn't suit you. It makes you look weak."

Weak. The one thing I couldn't afford to be.

The day passed in a blur of silence, but by evening, the tension had simmered down into a fragile truce.

Cedric had set up a projector in the bedroom. He turned off the lights, and the ceiling filled with a swirling nebula of purple and blue stars.

It was a gesture. A small one, but it was something.

"I'm sorry about the reception," he said, lying beside me on the bed, staring up at the artificial galaxy. "I know it hurt you."

I rested my head on his chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heart. A strong heart. "It did."

"I'll make it up to you."

Suddenly, his burner phone rang. The harsh, jarring sound shattered the peace.

I felt his muscles tense beneath my cheek. He didn't even look at the caller ID. He just answered.

"Jayden? What is it?"

I sat up, pulling my knees to my chest. I could hear her frantic sobbing through the speaker.

"They're saying things, Cedric! The men... they're saying I staged the ambush. They're saying Kacie told them to say it!"

Cedric sat up slowly. The air in the room dropped ten degrees.

"Who is saying that?"

"Everyone! It's all over the internal comms. Kacie is leaking secrets, Cedric! She's trying to push me out!"

He hung up the phone and looked at me. The tenderness was gone. In its place was the cold, calculating stare of the Don.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"I didn't do anything," I said, my voice shaking. "I've been here with you."

"You have access to my laptop. Did you send messages? Did you start these rumors?"

"No! Cedric, she's lying. She's manipulating you."

He stood up, grabbing my arm. His grip was tight, bordering on painful. "Get dressed. We're going to the hospital."

"Why?"

"You're going to apologize to her. Publicly. You're going to tell the men that you respect the hierarchy and that Jayden is untouchable."

"I won't," I said, pulling against his grip. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"You will do it because I am your husband and I am your Don," he growled. "Get in the car."

The ride to the hospital was silent. I stared out the window, watching the city blur past like a bad dream.

When we arrived at her private suite, Jayden was sitting up in bed, looking perfectly manicured for someone who had just survived an assassination attempt. Her hair was flawless, her skin pristine.

When she saw Cedric, she burst into fresh tears.

Cedric let go of my arm and rushed to her side. He stepped between us, his broad back blocking my view of her, shielding her from me as if I were the villain.

I stood by the door, tasting the bitterness of truth on my tongue.

The Don protects what he values.

And he wasn't protecting me.

Kacie Oliver POV

The air in the hospital room was stifling, a nauseating cocktail of sharp antiseptic and cloying lilies.

In the corner, a cameraman from the Family's PR team stood like a sentinel, recording every frame. Jayden was live-streaming directly to the Outfit's internal network.

"I just want everyone to know I'm okay," Jayden murmured to the camera, her voice trembling with practiced perfection.

She looked small and fragile in the hospital bed, a stark contrast to the pure malice in her eyes when she flickered her gaze toward me.

"It was just an accident. I know... I know Kacie didn't mean for the rumors to start."

She paused, looking at Cedric for validation. He nodded at her, encouraging her performance of benevolence.

"I forgive you, Kacie," she said, turning the camera slightly so I was forced into the frame. "We're sisters now."

I felt bile rise in my throat. It was a masterful trap. If I denied it, I looked like a heartless monster. If I accepted it, I admitted guilt.

"Thank you, Jayden," I said, my voice flat. "I'm glad you're recovering so quickly from such a... traumatic event."

I straightened my spine, seizing the only opening I had.

"We should do a blood test," I added, looking directly at Cedric. "Just to make sure there are no lingering toxins. Given the severity of your reaction."

Jayden's eyes widened in genuine panic. "No! I hate needles. Cedric, please, don't let them stick me."

Cedric stepped forward, placing a protective hand on her shoulder. "No tests. She's been through enough."

He looked at me with heavy disappointment. "Stop pushing, Kacie."

I turned and walked out of the room without another word.

I didn't stop walking until I reached the elevator. I considered letting the doors close and simply walking right out of the hospital, disappearing into the night.

But where would I go? I had no money, no allies, and a heart that could give out if I ran too fast.

That evening, dinner at the Moon Estate was a torture session.

Cedric's parents, Carroll and Burt, sat at the heads of the long mahogany table like statues of judgment. They were the Old Guard-ruthless, traditional, and entirely charmed by Jayden.

"Jayden, darling, you must eat," Carroll cooed, pushing a plate of roast duck toward her. "You need your strength."

She didn't even look at me. To her, I was nothing more than a vessel too cracked to carry a strong heir. A waste of a marriage license.

I picked at my food, my appetite nonexistent.

Under the table, I caught a glimpse of movement. Cedric's hand was resting on Jayden's knee. He was rubbing her leg in slow, soothing circles.

I dropped my fork. It clattered loudly against the china, shattering the polite silence.

"Is something wrong, Kacie?" Burt asked, his voice sharp.

"I'm not hungry," I said quietly.

Cedric didn't remove his hand. He was peeling a shrimp with his other hand, placing the meat delicately onto Jayden's plate. He leaned in, whispering something in her ear that made her giggle.

I felt invisible. I was a ghost haunting my own marriage.

"Oh, Cedric made his special fish soup," Jayden announced, her eyes gleaming. "He only makes it for special occasions. Remember when we were kids? You made it for me when my dad died."

"I remember," Cedric said softly.

"Here, Kacie," Jayden said, standing up. She picked up the tureen. "Let me serve you. It's delicious."

She walked around the table to my side. She leaned down, bringing the heavy bowl close to my face, invading my personal space.

"You know," she whispered, her voice dropping so low that only I could hear the venom, "there was a betrothal contract. Between me and Cedric. Long before you came along with your sob story."

My hand shook. I jerked back instinctively, hitting the ladle.

Hot soup splashed over the rim, scalding my arm.

"Ow!" Jayden screamed, dropping the tureen.

It shattered on the floor. She threw herself backward, clutching her foot dramatically. "She burned me! Cedric, she burned me!"

I stared at the red, blistering skin on my own arm. The pain was sharp, immediate, and real.

But Cedric wasn't looking at me.

He was already out of his chair, scooping Jayden up into his arms.

"It's okay, I've got you," he said, panic in his voice.

He rushed her out of the dining room, stepping over the broken pottery and the soup pooling around my feet.

He didn't look back.

Kacie Oliver POV

"You clumsy, cursed creature!" Carroll shrieked, looming over me. "Look what you've done! You could have scarred her for life!"

My arm was throbbing, the skin turning an angry, blistering crimson. I gritted my teeth, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

"It was an accident," I said.

"You are a liability," Burt muttered, throwing his napkin on the table with a sneer. "Cedric should have married a woman of his own standing, not a charity case."

They left me there, amidst the wreckage of the dinner.

I went to the kitchen alone. I stood at the sink and ran my arm under cold water for twenty minutes, watching the steam rise from my skin.

No one came to check on me. The house was silent, vast, and hollow.

Hours later, the front door opened. I heard Cedric's heavy footsteps, followed by the lighter, uneven tap of Jayden's heels.

They came into the living room. Jayden was wearing Cedric's suit jacket. It swallowed her small frame, drowning her in fabric so she appeared fragile-the perfect image of a victim. Her foot was bandaged.

"How is she?" I asked, staying seated on the sofa. I had wrapped my arm in some spare gauze I found in the pantry.

"Second-degree burn on her toe," Cedric said, his voice clipped. He placed a takeout bag on the table. "I brought food. The soup is ruined."

I looked inside the bag. It was leftover bean soup from the hospital cafeteria.

"I'm allergic to beans," I said quietly, staring at the container. "Anaphylactic."

Cedric paused. He looked at the bag, then at me. A flicker of something-annoyance? Indifference?-crossed his face.

"I forgot," he said. "You're always so difficult with food."

"I'm not being difficult, Cedric. I'm trying not to die."

"Just order something else," he said dismissively, turning his attention back to Jayden. "Jayden needs rest. You'll stay home tomorrow and help her. She can't walk up the stairs."

"No," I said.

The word hung in the air, heavy and absolute.

"Excuse me?" Cedric turned slowly.

"I said no. I am not her nursemaid. And I am not your servant." I stood up, cradling my burnt arm against my chest. "I want a separation, Cedric. We haven't filed the civil papers yet. It's just the church ceremony. We can annul it."

Cedric crossed the room in two long strides. He towered over me, his presence sucking the air out of the room.

"There is no separation in this life, Kacie. You belong to me."

"She told me about the betrothal contract," I said, my voice trembling but loud. "She told me you were supposed to marry her."

Cedric's face hardened into stone. "That is a lie. There was never a contract."

"She whispered it to me right before she dropped the soup! She provoked me!"

"Stop lying!" Jayden cried from the sofa, tears instantly springing to her eyes. "Why do you hate me so much? I just wanted to be friends!"

Cedric looked at her tears, then back at me. His expression shut down completely.

"Jayden doesn't lie," he said coldly. "You are paranoid. And you are cruel."

"I'm cruel?" I laughed, a broken, jagged sound. "Look at my arm, Cedric! Look at the burn!"

He barely glanced at it. "You did that to yourself."

Jayden let out a sob and ran toward the stairs, limping with exaggerated theatricality.

"Jayden, wait!" Cedric called out.

He looked at me one last time. "Fix your attitude. Or I will fix it for you."

He turned and chased after her.

The door to the guest room slammed shut upstairs.

The sound echoed in the empty hallway like a gunshot. It sounded like a gavel coming down. A sentence passed.

I touched the bandage on my arm. The physical pain was dull compared to the gaping hole in my chest.

I was done. I wasn't going to spend my last three years fighting a ghost.