It was a safeguard. A biological protection mechanism unique to the women of my lineage. I could only conceive with a man who was clean—a man who was my true love.
And I… I was not the orphan with no connections Jackson believed me to be.
My parents were the Hensons.
The apex predators of the capital's aristocracy. I was their only daughter. The heiress to a dynasty.
But family law was absolute. Every heir who came of age had to undergo a "Relationship Trial." Three years of living without identity, without resources.
Pass the trial, and your spouse ascended to the heavens, elevated by Henson influence.
Fail it?
They faced the most brutal retaliation imaginable.
I forced the corners of my mouth up, though a dull ache still throbbed behind my ribs. "Jackson, do you remember what you said when we first got together?"
He didn't look up. His thumbs flew across his phone screen—probably charming his next conquest. "How would I remember something from that long ago?" Impatience sharpened his voice. "Wife, I'm busy. I don't have time to walk down memory lane with you."
*But I remember.*
I remembered the sincerity in his voice. The way he looked at me like I was the only woman in the world.