Chapter 2

I stumble backward. I just need to get away from them.

Three years. One thousand and ninety-six days.

Every time I saw a flicker of hope, it was ripped away the next second.

But I held on because I missed them and loved them.

Through every near-death moment, I clung to that love.

Until my mind fractured and created a second me just to survive.

I whip around to face Ethan.

This man. The one who stood at our wedding and vowed to love me forever.

"Every time I almost died, you appeared."

"But every time, you made me crawl through the rain, climb to the cliff's edge, kneel and bow to the sky, begging God to send you all to save me!"

Something flickers in his eyes. Pain, maybe.

He crosses the distance fast, his fingertips brushing the thick callus on my forehead as his eyes redden.

That callus came from slamming my head to the ground in prayer a million times.

"Every time you bowed, it broke my heart. I wanted so badly to hold you."

"But for the authenticity of the film, I held back." His voice drops to something almost reverent. "Claire, you are Mia's greatest masterpiece."

"What if I had DIED?!" I grab his collar, eyes bloodshot.

"You wouldn't!" He yanks me against his chest, voice raw. "We had a full medical team on standby!"

"Even if you had died, I would've dragged you back from death myself!"

He presses a kiss to the callus on my forehead.

I nearly vomit.

A ringtone cuts through the air. Sharp. Distinctive.

The one he set specifically for Mia.

Ethan's lips curl up without him even realizing.

"Babe, what's taking so long?" Mia's saccharine voice pours through the speaker. "The ceremony's in twelve hours. My leading lady still needs hair and makeup."

Her voice yanks me backward through time.

A different awards ceremony. Ethan on one knee, sliding a ring onto my finger. The room exploding with cheers.

Then Mia stood up.

She wore a cheap, outdated dress. Her voice was small and shaking, but the microphone carried every word across the venue.

"Claire… can you give me back the life and the reputation you stole from me?"

Camera flashes erupted, turning the night sky white.

My fan club dissolved overnight. Every brand deal canceled. My name trended with nothing but hate for three straight months.

Ethan was my last lifeline. I clung to him with everything I had.

We tangled together in bed, and he whispered it over and over:

"Claire, we've been together since we were kids. Ten years."

"I don't care who you are or what family you come from. I won't abandon you."

But he lied.

At the last second, he pulled the film I'd poured three years of my soul into from the awards list.

He looked at me like I was something disgusting.

"Why do you keep going after Mia? Spreading lies, buying trolls to attack her, even drugging her?"

"If I hadn't gotten there in time, those men would have hurt you."

"Now she's carrying my child. This is me paying YOUR debt!"

I fought back. "I never did any of those things!"

But no one believed me. Every piece of evidence pointed my way.

My world collapsed.

All I wanted was to run. Overseas. Start over.

"Almost there." Ethan's voice goes soft, dragging me back to the present. Gentle, like he's coaxing a child. "A little delay on the road. You'll have your Best Actress trophy soon."

Every drop of blood in my body rushes to my head.

I swing with everything I have and slap him across the face.

"There is justice in this world! What you did is imprisonment! It's abuse."

Before I can finish, Nathan snaps.

"Claire Ashford!"

He pulls a stack of documents from his bag. Every page has my signature. My fingerprints.

"Fully executed contracts. Voluntary participation. Survival challenge. Psychological stress consent. You even signed off on the mental health evaluation."

His gaze turns hard, and his voice carries no warmth.

"This was a legitimate production."