Chapter 14 – "The Woman Before Me"
Ava stares at Serena as if she's stepped into a nightmare.
Tall, elegant, poised—Serena looks like she belongs in a gallery painting, not lurking outside Ava's door in the middle of the night. There's no hostility in her expression, just a chilling calm.
> "You must be Ava," Serena says with a faint smile. "He has a type."
Ava steps back instinctively.
> "What are you doing here?"
Serena glances around the hallway, as if amused by the security presence.
> "You're not the only woman he's locked in a glass box, darling. I just got out of mine."
Ava tries to shut the door, but Serena stops it gently with her hand.
> "I thought you might want to know who you're sleeping next to."
The words dig deeper than Ava expects.
She lets her in.
---
Inside, Serena doesn't sit. She wanders, trailing her fingers along the furniture like she's been here before.
And maybe she has.
> "Dominic and I were engaged once. A long time ago. Before he became... this."
> "Why did it end?" Ava asks.
> "He doesn't end things. He buries them."
Serena finally looks her in the eyes.
> "You think you made a choice. You didn't. He chose you. He studied you. He knew your mother was sick before you ever asked for help. Just like he knew my father was in debt when he swept me off my feet."
Ava feels the air thicken. She remembers the file labeled A. Sinclair. The cold proposal. The careful control.
Serena smiles bitterly.
> "He doesn't marry for love. He marries for leverage."
Before leaving, Serena turns back at the door.
> "Be careful, Ava. Dominic doesn't protect what he loves—he protects what he owns."
And then she's gone, disappearing as quietly as she came.
Ava stands frozen in the silence, every warning echoing in her mind.
And for the first time since the wedding, she wonders:
> What if I was never meant to survive this marriage at all?
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