Lucy's POV

"Do you regret it?"

The steaming cup of tea caused Lucy's hand to freeze.

Slowly, she turned to face Bill across the dimly lighted dining room, his eyes unreadable and chilly.

Her throat constricted. "Regret *what*?"

He drummed his fingers on his whiskey glass's rim. "Marrying me."

Lucy felt her heart tighten.

What sort of inquiry was that?

Was it his intention for her to say yes?

Did he require an additional justification to treat her as though she didn't exist?

To cover up the pain in her chest, she contrived a tiny grin. "Does it matter?"

With his blue eyes fixed on hers, Bill sipped his drink slowly. "No. It doesn't.

It didn't, of course.

Lucy put her cup down and gripped the fragile porcelain with her fingertips.

One more dinner without a word. In a home where love had never existed, it was just another oppressive night.

Three months had passed since the wedding.

For three months, I was just *Mrs. Thomas* in name.

On paper, she was his wife. A shadow in his life. In her own house, a ghost.

She was never touched by Bill.

never gave her a glance other than one of duty.

Never said anything unless absolutely required.

Additionally, he didn't even say goodbye when he went for the office in the morning.

*Lucy, you ought to have known.*

This marriage was not something he *wanted*.

She hadn't either.

However, Lucy found herself stuck in a life she never requested because Maria had played her cards well.

She stared at the remaining food in front of her on the desk and swallowed the anger. "I think I’ll head to bed."

Bill didn't respond.

Snubbing the chill in the air, she got up from her chair and left.

However, his voice broke the calmness as she moved towards the door.

"Maria’s pregnant."

*Tilted* the room.

Lucy looked around, her pulse beating in her ears, her breath caught in her throat. "What?"

Bill reclined, observing her response with a somewhat ruthless expression. "She told me today."

Lucy felt a twist in her stomach. "And you believe her?"

Silence for a beat.

Then—

"She wouldn’t lie about something like this."

A nasty, piercing chuckle from Lucy's mouth. "*Maria wouldn’t lie?* Are we talking about the same woman?"

Bill's mouth tightened. "I’m handling it."

Dealing with it.

As if it were a business transaction.

As if she wasn't *being destroyed*.

Lucy's fingernails penetrated her hands. "So what does that mean for us?"

Bill's face remained unchanged. "It doesn’t change anything."

It ought to have been a comfort.

However, it wasn't.

given that Lucy knew.

Knew that his heart had never belonged to her, regardless of what he claimed or how strongly he rejected it.

And now he had what Maria could never offer him.

In her throat, Lucy swallowed the lump. "I see."

After that, she turned and continued walking until she reached her bedroom's shut door.

She didn't let herself *breathe* till after that.

It was only then that she began to cry silently.

A DEADLY BETRAYAL

Days went by.

weeks.

Bill's time at home dwindled.

And his thoughts were elsewhere when he was there.

Maria phoned all the time.

In the middle of the night, occasionally.

His phone would ping as Lucy woke up, and she would watch him get up and leave the room without ever turning around.

She never inquired about his whereabouts.

She was not required to.

She was aware already.

However, something changed one evening.

When Lucy heard voices outside the library door, she was cuddled up with a book that she wasn't actually reading.

Voices you recognize.

She put the book down and scowled.

The door stood open a little.

And she spotted them through the opening.

Bill.

Maria, too.

In the dark corridor, standing uncomfortably near.

His chest with Maria's hand. That *smug, knowing smile* twisted her lips.

Lucy felt her stomach *drop*.

Maria traced her fingers along his jaw and said, "You don't have to do this." "We can correct this error. You are welcome to return to me.

Lucy's ears throbbed with her heartbeat.

Bill remained still.

did not shoo her off.

didn't utter a word.

Maria pressed her lips to his ear as she came closer. "You still care about me. I am certain that you do.

Something *snapped* inside Lucy.

She pushed the door open mindlessly.

The hall reverberated with the sound.

Bill's eyes widened as he turned *instantly* to see her.

But Maria didn't even bat an eye.

She simply grinned and took a step back as if she had *won* already.

The blood in Lucy *boiled*.

She crossed her arms and remarked coolly, "You were saying?"

Maria pretended to pout. "Oh, my dear. I didn't intend to interfere with your reading session.

Lucy's fingernails penetrated her hands. "Get out."

Maria grinned more broadly. "Or what?"

Lucy lowered her voice and stepped closer. "Or you’ll see exactly what kind of woman I really am."

Something flared in Maria's face for the first time.

It had the appearance of hesitation.

Then she laughed and threw her hair over her shoulder. Lucy, oh. You're *adorable*. She put a final palm to Bill's chest and turned to face him. "We’ll talk later."

Then she turned to leave.

Bill glanced back to Lucy, who was standing motionless, her pulse pounding.

She was hoping he would say something.

Anything.

to reject it.

to defend her.

to demonstrate that he *wasn't* the person Maria had just painted him as.

However, he didn't.

He only gazed at her with the same vacant expression.

After that, he spoke in the *coldest* voice she had ever heard:

"You should stay out of things you don’t understand."

Lucy gasped.

Then Bill turned and left.

Moreover, for the first time since becoming married to him—

She became aware that she *hated* him.

Bill's comments were replaying in Lucy's mind as she remained motionless in the corridor.

"You should stay out of things you don’t understand."

She balled her fingers into fists.

What does he dare do?

How could he talk to her as if *she* had broken into *her* own marriage?

She had suffered for months from loneliness, quiet, and being viewed as merely a shadow in his existence. And now this was his reaction after hearing *everything* and seeing him with Maria?

No regret. Don't deny. No *explanation*.

Simply dismissal without emotion.

Her chest ached.

No.

She wouldn't avoid becoming involved.

Silence wouldn't come from her.

No more.

Sharply exhaling, she pivoted on her heel and rushed after him.

She rushed up to Bill, who was already halfway up the stairs, and grabbed his wrist. "Don't leave me alone."

He came to a halt. He turned to her slowly, his face expressionless. "Give it up."

Lucy's hold became more firm. "Bill, you are not allowed to do this. You are the one who is sneaking around with Maria, thus you have no right to make *me* feel like I'm the issue!

His mouth tightened. "I wasn't moving stealthily."

Lucy chuckled bitterly. "Really? It *looked* like it, for sure.

Bill's eyes darkened as he freed his wrist. "This discussion is over."

Her heart was racing. "No, it isn't."

A part of him broke.

He moved quickly, bringing his face within inches of hers. "Lucy, what do you want from me?"

She breathed in heavily

He was looking at her—really looking at her—for the first time in months.

For a moment, she accepted she caught a glance of something beneath the icy stare. Something raw.

But before she could understand it, it was gone.

In a murmur, she said, "I want the truth."

Bill ran a hand through his hair and let out a hard exhale. "All right. Do you want the truth? His voice lowered to a perilous whisper as he drew closer. "My initial option *was* Maria. And I wouldn't have married you if she hadn't cheated on me.

Lucy had the impression that she had been punched.

Her entire body felt numb.

She was aware.

Always had she known.

Hearing it, however, from his lips?

Something inside her was broken by it.

She must have stiffened, the light in her eyes dulled, and Bill must have seen it, because for a moment his eyes flickered with shame.

He didn't retract it, though.

She was left standing by herself in the corridor as he simply turned and left.

Lucy remained still.

didn't flinch.

didn't breathe.

The reality.

She had requested it.

She now had to deal with it.

A RECKONING NIGHT

That night, the mansion felt *colder*.

Lucy's thoughts were racing as she laid in bed and stared at the ceiling.

Maria was expecting a child.

She was still loved by Bill.

Lucy, too?

She was merely a duty.

Something *snapped* inside her.

No.

She resisted allowing them to rule her.

It's okay if Bill didn't want her. *Let Maria try if she wanted to ruin her.

She would not die quietly, though.

A fresh resolve blazed in her heart.

She had endured enough suffering in silence.

She would regain her power tomorrow.

She was about to close her eyes when she was startled by a loud noise.

The door to her bedroom squeaked open.

There was a shadow in the doorway.

Lucy's heartbeat quickened.

"Who is present?"

Quiet.

Then—

A whisper, slow and chilly.

"Lucy, you ought to have kept quiet."

The hair stood up on her arms.

The voice *wasn't* Bill's.

And before she could respond—

The lights caught fire.