---- Chapter 9 Haylie Camacho POV: The silence in the room was a roaring chasm. It swallowed everything-the past, the present, any hope for a future. | didn 't need his words. His silence was the final nail in the coffin of our love. | pushed myself up, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head and the dizzying spin of the room. | walked back to the guest room-my room-and pulled out the small suitcase |' d kept packed in the back of the closet. There wasn't much to pack. A few sets of clothes, my nursing degree, my mother s photo. In a year, Joselin had systematically erased almost every trace of my existence from this house. My books were gone from the shelves, my favorite mug was missing from the kitchen, even my toothbrush had been replaced. | was a ghost. As | zipped the suitcase shut, | heard Joselin' s soft, triumphant giggle from the master bedroom. Curiosity, a morbid, self-destructive impulse, pulled me toward the sound. | crept to the partially-open door and peered through the crack. My breath caught in my throat. ---- As | zipped the suitcase shut, | heard Joselin' s soft, triumphant giggle from the master bedroom. Curiosity, a morbid, self-destructive impulse, pulled me toward the sound. | crept to the partially-open door and peered through the crack. My breath caught in my throat. Jeremy was sitting on the edge of the bed. Joselin was perched on his lap, her back to me. He was dabbing a medicated cream onto the welts on her back from the whipping, his touch impossibly gentle, his expression full of a tender concern that twisted my insides into a painful knot. He used to touch me like that. When | was sick, when | was hurt, he would care for me with that same quiet, all- consuming devotion. | was about to turn away, unable to watch another second of this painful pantomime, when | heard Jeremy speak. "There," he murmured, his voice thick with affection. "Does that feel better?" "Much better," Joselin purred. "Thank you, honey. | love you." She paused, then added, "It was worth it, though." "What was worth it?" "The pilgrimage to the temple," she said, her voice dropping. "l was so worried about you, but when the monks gave me this, | knew you' d be safe." My blood ran cold. | watched as Jeremy reached up and gently touched the delicate silver chain around Joselin's neck. A small, intricately carved charm hung from it. A 'get well' charm. The charm. The one Joselin had shown me in the hospital. ---- The one she' d claimed Jeremy had gotten for me. My hand flew to my own neck. | had been wearing its duplicate, a cheap fake Jeremy must have bought, every single day since | woke up. | had slept with it, showered with it, clung to it like a holy relic, a symbol of a love that had never existed. The bile rose in my throat. | felt sick. Utterly, profoundly sick. | stumbled back to my room, my hand shaking as | fumbled with the clasp. | ripped the necklace from my skin, the chain leaving a red mark. | stared at the cheap, mass-produced piece of metal in my palm. A lie. Everything was a lie. | threw it in the trash can, the clatter of cheap metal against plastic a sound of finality. | grabbed my suitcase and walked out of that house without a backward glance. | didn't say goodbye. There was nothing left to say. | directed the taxi to Edmund Glass' s mansion. When | arrived, the grand entryway was filled with opulent red and gold chests-wedding gifts. The Meyers family was not sparing any expense. Edmund met me in the hall, a look of satisfaction on his face. "Good. You' re here. The car to the Meyers estate leaves in the morning." "I m just a chess piece to you, aren' t |?" | asked, my voice ---- devoid of emotion "We all serve the family, Haylie," he said simply. Suddenly, the front door burst open. Jeremy stood there, his face pale, his eyes wild. Joselin was right behind him, looking smug. He must have discovered | was gone. His gaze swept over the lavish wedding gifts, and his face turned to stone. "What is this?" he demanded, his voice shaking with a rage | hadn' t seen before. "You' re not marrying her off to some other man. She's mine!" | laughed, a cold, brittle sound. "You seem to be confused, Jeremy. You already have a wife." He stalked toward me, his eyes blazing. "That was a mistake! A legal maneuver my father arranged!" "Oh, was it?" | asked, my voice dangerously soft. "And when, exactly, did this 'legal maneuver' take place?" He flinched. "It doesn' t matter. | love you, Haylie. I' ve always loved you. We can fix this. I' Il divorce her." "Divorce me?" Joselin shrieked, her mask of composure finally cracking. Jeremy ignored her, his eyes locked on mine. He reached for my hand. "Please, Haylie. Come home." | looked past him, at Joselin. | saw the flash of pure, unadulterated hatred in her eyes, the same look she' d had in ---- the garden right before the dog attacked. | saw the web of deceit she had spun, with Jeremy as her willing, idiotic fly. And | saw my future if | stayed-a lifetime of this poison. "No," | said, pulling my hand back. | met Jeremy' s shocked gaze. "| won't go home with you." | looked at the man who had promised to love me in sickness and in health, the man who had discarded me when | was at my most vulnerable. The man who still, after everything, thought he had the right to own me. "You don't deserve me," | said.