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“Yeah.”

I glanced around, then back at them. “Excuse me, ladies. I-I have to find my fiancé.” I walked away from them, letting out a shaky breath.

The last thing I wanted was to put myself through the horror of getting pregnant for a monster like him.

“Ugh, she’s such a bitch.”

That was the last thing I heard before I was out of earshot.

I stiffened the moment his green eyes caught mine across the room. I managed to put on a convincing smile, but his lips barely moved. His heated gaze drifted over my body, then he turned to the men he was conversing with. I sashayed toward their gathering, bursting out my acting skills.

“Good evening, gentlemen.” I grinned at his peers, sparing him a glance. “Hey, handsome.”

“Hey.”

He wrapped his arm around me a little too possessively, then pressed his lips against mine. The kiss suffocated me, his hands crawling on my body like thorns.

“Are you doing okay?”

I almost scoffed in his face because all he cared about was how I made him look in front of the respectable Covington Hills billionaires.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I nodded with a stiff smile.

“Derek, your fiancée is absolutely ravishing,” one of the men commented.

My lips twitched into a dry smile. Derek’s eyes flickered to my face, making my breath catch harshly. His grip tightened around my hip, the smile on his face never quite reaching his eyes.

“I do my best.” He kissed my cheek, making sure his lips lingered.

I knew what that meant.

“I’ll leave you to it.”

Although it wasn’t what I wanted, I spent the rest of the night chatting with the women, mostly spacing out during their conversations. I really just wanted to curl up in bed and read classics, but Derek forbade me from indulging in hobbies like that. He said it was unbecoming for the wife of an important man like him.

Once the guests left, I retired to our bedroom. The room was chilly, almost as if a sense of impending doom hung in the air. I could drop the facade once I collapsed onto the stool before my dresser. The light in my eyes was gone. My trembling fingers reached for the wipe, but then I heard the door creak open.

My heart stopped.

Derek let himself into the room, his eyes bloodshot like he had been drinking. His tuxedo was gone, along with his tie, leaving him in just his black shirt, with the sleeves rolled up. A long time ago, it would have been a turn-on. But right now, all I saw was a monster.

I think my body knew it too. It was teetering on the edge, switching between fight-or-flight mode as I stared at him. I didn’t feel safe.

I plastered a hollow smile on my face. “Hi, babe.”

He approached me slowly, running his fingers through his messy brown hair. I clutched the fabric of my dress, my chest pounding so hard in anticipation of the horror to come. I flinched when he got to me, rising to my feet instantly. The darkness in his eyes, the emptiness, sent a bone-chilling fear rippling down my spine.

“Where are you going?”

I couldn’t breathe. “I-I want to change into my pj’s. I’m ... I need to sleep.”

He grabbed my waist, eliciting a whimper from me. “Why? You are fucking perfect. Look at me.”

My eyes rested on his, my heart pounding erratically. “Derek...”

“You can be such a good girl.” His fingers toyed with the ropes holding my dress at the back. “A fucking good girl.” I wasn’t prepared for how hard he yanked my hair.

I held back a scream.