CHAPTER 010

CHAPTER 010: Sarah Discovers Rowan’s Sinister Connection

The house was unnaturally quiet—the quiet that pressed on my chest and made my breathing hard. My fingers curled into the fabric of my skirt, my mind racing, and I sat on the edge of the bed. Lilith’s words for days had haunted me. ‘You have no idea what he’s done for you.’ Her smugness in her tone and the curl of her lips into that infuriating smirk was like a needle in my brain.

I couldn’t shake it. I couldn’t ignore it anymore. 

I glanced at the hallway, where Rowan’s study stood, like a forbidden gate. Maybe the answers I needed were hidden with the secrets he wouldn’t tell me. I stood, legs shaky but resolved. I couldn’t spend a moment longer living this life filled with lies and half-truths. 

I pushed the door to his study open, and it creaked softly. It was heavy inside air thickened with the smell of leather and wood. In the centre sat Rowan’s desk, a monument to his authority. It was perfectly organized, and everything was sitting there with precision. I couldn't help it, stepping into his space, and I wouldn't say I liked it, but the draw of curiosity overruled my hesitation.

I walked over to the desk, my fingers brushing the surface as I opened the drawers. The first few were normal—pens, notebooks, and files that seemed normal. I immediately realized why my breath caught when I found the folder. He had tucked it away at the bottom of the last drawer, under a stack of mundane papers, as if he didn’t want it to be found. 

I lifted and opened it, but it wasn’t labelled, and my hands trembled. The first thing I saw was a photograph. Rowan stood next to my father, both of them younger. Rowan had a faint smirk, the one he wore when he thought he was in control, and my father’s expression was serious, almost grim. I twisted my stomach at the sight.

Pages of contracts, thick and covered in legal jargon, were behind the photo. I read the text, trying to understand it. The words "collateral" and “marital agreement” hit each other like a punch to the gut. My father’s and Rowan’s signatures were at the bottom of each page. 

I flipped through the documents, with each page sinking my heart further. These weren’t just business deals. These were personal agreements, promises that bound my family to Rowan before I had any say in it. I turned to the last page and saw a letter folded neatly.

I unfolded it, and my father’s handwriting looked back at me, sharp and deliberate.

---

Rowan,

And I don’t expect forgiveness for what I’m asking of you. But I have no choice. You are the only one who can save my family and my parents; may they be cursed for all they have done. I don’t want Sarah to know the full extent of our troubles. She’s innocent, but I know you’ll do what’s necessary. 

This marriage isn’t perfect, but it’s the best of all the options. I hope she’ll come to love you in time. Maybe you’ll feel the same too. 

—Robert Moon  

---

My hands let the letter fall to the desk silently. Tears filled my eyes, and my vision blurred. My father had sold me. , notor love or duty, but for desperation. I was a bargaining chip, a tool to keep him going. 

To betray like such a knife to twist in the heart. I didn’t want to believe that I had lost that name, all because my father had selfishly condemned me along with it. But this? This was unforgivable

I wiped my eyes and tried to keep going. Below the letter were more photographs, but they weren’t of my family. I flipped through them, and my breath caught. Intimate and raw, they were of Rowan and another woman. 

She was beautiful, with wavy dark hair and eyes that seemed to look blindly through the camera. The photos weren’t innocent; they were personal and tests of passion that made my stomach churn. I knew they weren’t old because of the dates on the back. They had been taken within the last two years.

Among the photos was a small, delicate note written in looping handwriting:

“Miss me yet? Call me anytime, lover.”

I shoved the photos back into the folder, and the room spun. I panted with effort to breathe, my mind racing. Who was she? Was she still in his life? And why were these photos, these reminders of his infidelity, secret, kept but not wiped out? 

I snapped out of my thoughts at the faint creak in the hallway. I shoved the folder into the drawer, sand and slammed it shut, my heart in my throat as the door to the study opened. 

His presence was a shadow in the room. Rowan stood in the doorway. His cold, calculating blue eyes turned on mine, and my belly dropped. 

His voice was low and menacing, his tone demanding an answer to ‘What are you doing?’

I stumbled over my words; my mouth went dry. I lied, merely audible, “I was just looking for a pen.”

He closed the door behind him and stepped into the room. The lock clicked softly, deafeningly, and sent a shiver down my spine. He stared at me, his expression unreadable, and didn’t say anything at first.

He repeated, his disbelief dripping from his tone. “You thought you’d find one in my locked drawer?”

I swallowed hard, trying to think of an excuse. I started to say, 'I wasn't—' but his sharp glare stopped me.

“Don’t lie to me," Sarah said quietly. “What were you looking for?”

I tried to open my mouth, but nothing came out. The tension was crackling like static electricity into the air between us, and it suffocated. His steps were slow and deliberate; he got closer to the point where he stood before me.

He smiled humorlessly. “You’re not a very good liar.” “You’re even worse at covering your tracks.”

His face was just inches away from mine as he leaned in, and I froze. A strand of hair fell from his hand as it brushed my cheek, and the movement was quietly violent. He murmured but dangerously, “Tell me the truth.”

I grabbed my fists, and my nails cut into my palms. I wanted to scream at him, to throw the folder in his face, and ask him why. Fear rooted me in place, and the storm inside me was silenced.

He straightened, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me. He spoke low, “You’re playing a dangerous game.” “Games like this don’t end well.”

He turned and walked to the door, his hand resting on the handle. "If I find out you’ve been snooping again...” He didn’t finish the sentence, but the threat was there, like a blade. He left without another word, closing the door behind him.

I fell into the chair, my body shaking. The drawer was still closed, but the weight of its contents was pressing down on me, suffocating. It was too much: my father's betrayal, Rowan's lies, the woman... someone was playing a part in all of it because it was too much.

But I couldn’t stop now. I had to know what Rowan was hiding out, whatever it was. I just had to learn, no matter what.

The next time I looked, I wouldn’t let him catch me.