Chapter 12
Four years. That’s how long I’ve been married to Reagan De Santis. Four years of loving him, defending him, trusting him with the kind of blind loyalty that only a fool could afford. And I was that fool.
I shouldn’t be here.”
Not in this underground war room, not holding this sonogram report like it’s some peace treaty between two nations secretly at war. İ came here tonight hoping to give him a reason to smile. A reason to soften, to love me a little more. I thought maybe the ultrasound would bring us closer–maybe the news of our quadruplets would melt some of that cold detachment in his eyes.
But instead… I found this.X
I’m hiding behind a metal shelf, my breath shallow, my fingers digging into the folded report so hard it’s starting to crumple.
Reagan stands just ten feet away, calm as a king in his kingdom. He’s dressed sharp, sleek, and completely focused on the screen in front of him–negotiating a weapons deal with two foreign buyers. That’s not the part that makes me want to vomit.
The weapons?
They’re Titanis prototypes. The kind only a handful of people have access to. Classified tech. My father’s firm. My family’s blood. And Reagan??
He’s selling them
I can barely process what I’m seeing before I hear something that shatters me.
“She’s the golden key,” he says, chuckling
My breath hitches.
-You really married the VP’s daughter just for Titanis access?” one of the men asks, amused.
Reagan smiles like it’s a joke. “Of course I fucking did. Danica’s sweet, but come on. She was always just a pawn in heels. She opened the door, and now I run the whole damn castle. Pew!”
My legs buckle slightly, and I grip the shelf for balance. My husband… my husband just said that. About me. Like I’m some disposable tool.X
And then he twists the knife deeper.
“Dulcie’s the one who deserves a throne,” he says, volice lowering, “Not Danica.”
Dulcie. My best friend. My only friend, if I’m being honest.
They’re in this together?
No. No. That can’t be right
He laughs again, cruel and effortless. “Danica’s too soft, too trusting. She still fucking believes love is real, Idiot. That’s what makes her useful
My hands are shaking so bad the sonogram slips from my grip and lands softly on the floor behind a crate. Thank God no one hears it But I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe
I’m pregnant. With his children. Three of them. And he sees me as nothing more than a vault he picked open and looted. And Dulcie.. was helping him the whole time?”
she
I slip out while they’re distracted, somehow managing not to scream, not to break, not to collapse. My heels echo faintly through the hall as I escape the dark maze beneath our estate
Once I’m outside, the night air hits me like a slap. I clutch my stomach, trying to calm the storm raging inside me. My babies. I have to think of them. Not him. Not her. Not the betrayal boiling in my throat
For a split second, the darkness whispers that it would be easier to disappear. To end this. But then I feel it–one small flutter in my belly! I choke on a sob.:
No. I’m not going to die
Not for a man who sees me as a pawn.
Not for a best friend who traded me for a crown.X
I return home, barely functioning. The walls feel the same, but everything inside me has changed.
Reagan is already there. Of course he is. Cool, Composed. A fucking iceburg in human skin.
“You look pale,” he says, eyes scanning me like a threat under a microscope. “Everything alright?” “Just tired,” I mutter, voice dull.)
“Dulcie’s back, by the way,” he says casually. “She’s hosting a gala this weekend and wants you there.”
I blink slowly Dulcie wants me there? After everything I just heard?
“She said the misses you,” he adds, like poison laced with sugar. “You two have been distant lately, haven’t you? She just wants things to go back to normal”
Normal
I nearly laugh He’s testing me. Manipulating the narrative already–trying to gaslight me into thinking Dulcie and I just drifted apart not that she stabbed me in the back E
I nod What else can I do? Say no? He’ll twist it into some emotional guilt trap!
“Sure,” I whisper.
His eyes light up like he’s just won again. He stops closer, tries to kiss me–but I turn my face at the last second, his lips brushing my
cheek
Tm exhausted,” I say, flat.
He studies me for a second, something calculating flickering behind his perfect smile. But he doesn’t push. Just hums, then pulls me
into his arms.
“You’ll see,” he murmurs, stroking my hair. “This is all for us.
Ilie there, stiff in his arms, staring at the ceiling. His breath evens out as he drifts off.
And I swear to God–I will never forget this moment.
You used me, Reagan &
You played me.
You turned my best friend into my enemy.
But you have no idea who you married.
I might’ve been your golden key
But now?
Now, I’m the lock you’ll never pick again.
