"It’s a shame, really. I don’t love you."

Maximus Anderson leaned in slowly, his fingers—firm and calloused—pinching Rose Harrison’s chin. A cruel, thin smile touched his lips. "You should have known today was coming. Ever since you used every dirty, underhanded trick in the book to crawl into my bed a year ago, forcing this marriage upon me... you had to know there would be a price to pay."

He, Maximus Anderson, was not a man to be trifled with, and he certainly wasn't a man who could be played like a fool.

"Maximus, how... how could you treat me like this?" Rose’s long lashes fluttered, her gaze unfocused and glassy. She seemed to be speaking to the air, her voice so thin it felt as though a mere breeze could shatter it. "How could you be this cold?"

Her eyes, usually bright and full of life, were now dulled by a suffocating darkness. Maximus felt a flicker of something in his chest—a sharp, stinging pain—but it was instantly drowned out by the bitter memory of what she had done. The hatred surged back, colder and harder than before.

"Tell me," he growled, his voice low and dangerous. "How did you get out?"

"Oh? You want to know?" Rose suddenly tilted her head back, offering a hollow, desolate smile. "I cracked their skulls open. There was so much blood... it covered the floor. Look, just look..."

She held her hands up in front of his face, trembling violently. "These hands... they’re stained with it. I ran as hard as I could. Do you have any idea how terrified I was?"

The memory seized her body, and she began to shake uncontrollably. Maximus pulled away sharply, disgusted. Rose stumbled, her legs giving out, and she collapsed to the floor, her eyes void of any light.

Her heart felt like it was being shredded, piece by piece. She had never imagined that the love she held so dearly was actually this pathetic—this lowly.

Maximus spared her only a cold, detached glance before pulling his phone from his pocket. Moments later, two patrol officers appeared in the foyer.

Panic surged through Rose. Her mind was a chaotic blur, a tangled mess of fear and confusion. Had she really killed them? She couldn’t remember the aftermath of the blow, only the sickening feeling of warm blood slicking her palms.

Murder meant a life sentence.

Her skin turned a deathly shade of pale. Instinctively, she crawled behind Maximus, clutching his coat with trembling fingers, her eyes fixed fearfully on the officers.

"Maximus, please," she whispered, her voice cracking as she tugged on his sleeve. "Don't let them take me. I—I have something I need to tell you."

"Rose, you really are a fool, aren't you?"

Maximus wrenched her grip from his coat and dragged her out from behind him. "I’m the one who called them. What exactly did you think was going to happen?"

"You..." Rose’s heart twisted again, a sharp, physical ache of betrayal. She stared at him, unable to process the cruelty in his eyes. She had been so sure that if she just stayed by his side, if she remained persistent enough, she could thaw that frozen heart of his.

How wrong she had been. Her devotion had been nothing but a delusion. In this marriage, she was the only one paying the price.

"Tell me," she rasped, her voice trembling with despair. "Why do you hate me so much? Enough to send me to prison with your own hands?"

"I’ve hated you from the very beginning," Maximus replied, his voice measured and icy. "You used cheap, dirty tactics to force me into this marriage. You’re the reason Delilah Kelly was driven away! You used your father’s leverage to chain me to you. You of all people should understand."

He was the head of a powerful empire now. He no longer needed to bow to Albert Harrison’s influence. He didn't have to tolerate this charade a second longer. He had played the long game, swallowed his pride, and endured in silence for far too long.

"I... but..." Rose opened her mouth, desperate to tell him the truth—that she was pregnant.

"You what?" Maximus didn't give her a chance to speak, cutting her off with a sharp, mocking bite. "Do you still think you're the victim here?"

"Ha..."

Rose let out a faint, brittle laugh. She lifted her hand to wipe away a stray tear. It didn't matter anymore. None of it mattered.