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.
The chandelier’s glow felt suffocating. The room spun with laughter, clinking glasses, and expensive perfume, but all I could hear was my own heartbeat—loud, erratic, drowning everything else.
I was standing in the middle of Dulcie’s grand return party, a celebration thrown in her honor after her ‘soul-searching’ trip to Europe. The woman who once swore she'd never abandon me had done just that—only to return with more money, more influence, and a smugness that made my stomach turn.
And as if the universe hadn't mocked me enough, he was here too.
Reagan.
His gaze was like a noose tightening around my throat. He hadn’t spoken to me much tonight, but when he did, it was a warning.
"Don’t embarrass me tonight, Danica. Be a good girl."
His fingers had gripped my wrist just hard enough to remind me—obedience wasn’t a choice.
I wanted to tell my father everything. He stood across the room, drink in hand, shaking hands with men twice his age and ten times as corrupt. If he knew what was happening to me, would he care?
No.