Chapter 7

Jared's face darkened, but his buddies were too busy running their mouths to notice.

"C'mon, Jared's the full package—no way Lucia's not satisfied."

"Nah, man, she's clearly not getting any at home. Gotta get her fix somewhere! Hahaha!"

Their laughter cut sharp through the air.

Jared didn't flinch. He just walked straight up to her.

"Lucia." His voice was cold. "Who is he?"

Lucia stayed cool. "Not your business."

Jared's eyes lit up with rage. He grabbed her chin, leaning in way too close.

"Lucia." His voice dripped with venom. "Can't survive without a man, huh?"

The insult should've burned—but she felt nothing.

Cole jumped in, trying to defuse it. "No, it's not like that. Lucia and I—"

She shut him down fast. "Yeah." Her smile was ice. "What can I say? My own husband couldn't get the job done. What was I supposed to do—die frustrated?"

The whole hallway froze.

Jared's crew just gawked.

Everyone knew Jared had never touched her. Lucia had been hopelessly loyal, and the jokes were just that—jabs to humiliate, not actual suspicion. No one thought she'd ever cross the line.

But now?

Jared's face went ice-cold. "What did you just say?"

Lucia's smile only sharpened. "Did I lie? If you can't satisfy me, what's wrong with grabbing a little something on the side—ah!"

She didn't get to finish.

Jared suddenly threw her over his shoulder like it was nothing and stormed off.

Next thing she knew, she was tossed into a car.

The chauffeur sensed the tension and bolted from the car.

The door slammed. Inside, it was just the two of them.

Jared dropped his weight on her, pinning her down.

Lucia's calm cracked. "Jared, what the hell?!"

He sneered, ripping off his tie. "Didn't you say I couldn't satisfy you? Let's fix that."

Then he kissed her—hard. Outta nowhere.

Wasn't their first. They'd kissed before the wedding. Not once since.

His lips froze. He forgot her taste—soft, a little sweet. Threw him off.

He flipped her, bent her back like he couldn't help it.

"Ah..." She almost screamed, almost shoved him off—

Then his phone buzzed.

He froze, glanced at the screen, answered quick. "What?"

His face changed.

"Alice is in the ER?"

Chapter 8

Just like that, the heat vanished.

On the way to the hospital, Lucia finally got the tea.

Someone outed Alice online—not Michael and Joanne's real kid. Just a poser heiress.

Even though the parents scrambled to explain, the leaker dropped a paternity test. Solid receipts.

The internet? Lost its mind.

Alice had over ten million followers. Her whole brand? Rich girl energy. Now she was exposed as a fraud, and people were pissed.

The comments went feral. She'd never faced hate like this—and snapped. Tried to end it with poison.

By the time they rolled up to the hospital, Jared had just wrapped a call with PR.

He didn't move. Just turned to Lucia.

"Lucia." His tone was all command. "You need to go public. Say Alice is your sister."

She let out a dry laugh. "Why would I?"

"Because it works better coming from you." He sounded fed up. "If I say it—or your parents—no one buys it. They'll think we're covering for her and feel bad for you. But if it's you, they'll believe it."

She got the logic. Didn't mean she liked it.

She sneered. "I said—why would I?"

She was the real daughter, but her parents picked Alice every time.

She was the wife, but Jared's heart? Always Alice's.

She lost everything—yet somehow Alice stayed the victim, shoving her out of her own life.

Jared's expression turned cold. "Fine. I get it. You don't do favors for free."

He tugged at his tie. "How about this—help Alice, and I'll finally do my husbandly duty."

Lucia stiffened. "What duty?"

"To sleep with you," he said flatly. "Don't act like I didn't notice what you pulled with that foreign guy. Trying to bait me into your bed."

Now that he'd cooled off, it all clicked.

Lucia didn't really want someone else. She loved him too much.

Everything she said at the club? Just a ploy to get a rise out of him.

The worst part—it nearly worked.

That pissed him off even more. He kept going, annoyed. "So yeah. Help Alice, and I'll sleep with you. Regularly. That good enough?"

Lucia went pale.

She looked up at him, voice shaking.

"Jared Dawson... what do you think I am?"

He'd actually tried to trade sex like it was some deal.

Was that all she was to him? That worthless?

Jared saw her pale face—and something twisted in his chest. Sharp. Unfamiliar. It made him twitchy.

He snapped. Patience gone, he grabbed her and kissed her hard.

If he could just break her in bed, she'd stop fighting him.

With that sick thought, he gave in—crushing her lips, stealing every breath—until—

Pain ripped through his tongue. Blood hit his mouth.

He pulled back, stunned.

"You bit me?"

Chapter 9

Lucia's lips were smeared with blood, her pale face even more hollow. Her eyes—bloodshot.

Jared froze.

Then Eric, his assistant, showed up at the car. "Mr. Dawson," he said low, "Miss Alice Lynch is awake. She's crying... asking for you."

Reality crashed back.

Jared shoved down the weird twist in his chest and forced himself to lock it up.

He looked at Lucia, ice-cold. "There's a press conference this afternoon. You're showing up. Tell them Alice is your real sister. If you don't, I swear—I'll never touch you again."

He stepped out.

The door slammed shut behind him.

Lucia couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears came.

'Never again? Jared... there's no 'again' left for us.'

She pulled out her phone and typed:

[Mr. Wade, please head to the press conference and publicly announce my divorce from Jared Dawson.]

Sent the message to her attorney.

Then she looked at the chauffeur.

"To the airport."

***

An hour later, Lucia stepped onto the private jet Francesca had ready.

She checked her phone—over a dozen missed calls from Jared. Her inbox was a mess: