CH.4

~One year ago~

My parents sat me down, their expressions grave. "Maisie, it's time we discussed your future marriage," my father began, clasping his hands on the desk.

A knot formed in my stomach yet I nodded obediently.

I knew this day would come - the day they would arrange my marriage to someone of their choosing.

As the daughter of a prestigious family, it was expected of me to make an advantageous match, love be damned.

"You are to marry Jason Harding, the heir to Harding Industries," my mother stated matter-of-factly. "It will be a highly beneficial union for our family."

My heart stuttered at the famous name. Jason Harding? The brilliant young businessman known across the country for his staggering success?

I had seen his face plastered on magazine covers, read the stories about his business prowess and influence. To be his wife...it was almost too much to comprehend.

Yet, his reputation was that of being cold and merciless. A beast someone like myself would be wise to fear.

Could I say no? The very thought was ludicrous given how I was raised.

From a young age, my parents drilled it into me that I was to be the perfect, obedient housewife above all else. While other girls played outside, I was confined indoors, learning to cook, clean, and master the art of submission.

"Do you understand Maisie?" my father's stern voice dragged me from my thoughts. "This is a great honor. You will not disappoint us."

I swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, Father. I understand."

The months flew by in a blur of preparation. I was instructed on proper etiquette, trained in how to be an impeccable hostess and wife to a powerful man like Jason.

My one allowance was private tutoring to further my education, as my parents didn't want me embarrassing my brilliant husband with ignorance.

Finally, the day came when I was to meet my future husband for the first time.

My heart pounded violently as I smoothed my hands over the expensive designer dress my mother had selected.

What if he didn't approve of me? What if I failed at being a wife?

But the moment Jason Harding entered the room, all those fears evaporated.

He was even more strikingly handsome in person – well over six feet tall with an aura of confidence and intelligence rolling off him in waves.

His piercing gaze met mine, and I felt an undeniable spark deep in my core I had never experienced before.

From that moment on, I was a goner, hopelessly enamored with the man who was to be my husband.

How could I not fall for someone like Jason? Brilliant, sophisticated, wealthy beyond measure, cold and ruthless from what I had read.

He was every woman's dream.

If only I had known then just how misguided my fantasies were.

At the beginning of our marriage, Jason was...distant, to say the least.

He barely acknowledged my existence in our grand villa, his attention was always focused on work or avoiding me altogether.

We existed in the same space, yet it was as if I were invisible to him.

Until one day, he surprised me.

I had been tutoring in the library when a terrible coughing fit overtook me.

The next morning, I woke to find a full medical team hovering over me, doctors Jason had evidently hired to ensure I was alright.

It was one of many such contradictory acts from my husband. One moment, he was utterly indifferent. The next, he was hiring renowned professors when he learned of my desire to continue my education or showering me with lavish gifts for no reason.

I lived for those rare moments of his attention and kindness, even as he remained emotionally closed off.

The more he pulled away, the more desperately I clung to the hope that he did care, that I wasn't just some pretty doll he had been forced to marry.

I convinced myself his actions meant something, that he felt something for me, even if he could never voice it.

How painfully naive I was...

---

I furiously wiped at my face again, but it was useless.

The cold rain and my endless tears streamed down, blurring everything together until I could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.

 It was hopeless, all of it. This grand dream I had been clinging to of somehow winning Jason's heart through patience and devotion.

I barked out a bitter laugh at my own foolishness. Dear lord, how had I been dumb enough to think I could somehow make him love me?

Just as that painful realization started to fully settle into my heart, a familiar black town car pulled up beside me, its headlights cutting through the downpour.

The rear door opened and my chauffeur, Marcus, stepped out with panic etched across his face as he quickly opened an umbrella.

"Mrs. Harding!" he called out over the roar of the rain, rushing over to me. "Please, you have to get in the car right now before you catch your death out here like this."

I shook my head adamantly and took a step back from him, my wet hair whipping across my face. "No...I can't. I don't want to go back there, Marcus. I can't face him again, not after...after what I saw," I choked out, my voice cracking with emotion as the memory threatened to overwhelm me again.

I had never seen such hunger... such raw passion in his eyes before. At least not when they were looking at me. The realization made me feel physically ill.

"Please ma'am," Marcus begged desperately, the lines of concern etched deep into his face. "You'll make yourself severely ill if you stay out in this torrent any longer. I'm begging you. Please just come back to the car with me. We can sort everything else out later."

"I don't care if I get sick!" I spat back, my anger and hurt bubbling over.

I took another step back. "I said no, damn it! Now leave me alone, Marcus. That's an order!"

I turned to stomp away, to put as much distance between myself and that goddamn hotel as possible. But before I could take more than a few steps, unfamiliar vehicles roared to a screeching stop before me.

The back door of the flashiest car in the fleet swung open and to my utter shock, a familiar figure I least expected to see stepped out.