Chapter 1

Three years ago, my enemies set me up. A dozen men took turns, and the photos went viral across the internet.

My fiancé, Ethan Pemberton, tore up our engagement on the spot and married my adopted sister, Vivienne, instead.

The night I tried to throw myself off the roof of the Blackwood Tower, it was Adrian Blackwood who pulled me back. He stayed by my side for three years.

Three years later, I finally climbed out of the dark, and I said yes when he proposed.

Until the night before the wedding, when I overheard Adrian talking to his friend:

"You're really going to marry her? After a dozen men had her? You're in love with Vivienne, for God's sake."

Adrian laughed, careless and amused.

"The whole thing was my design. I owe her that much."

"As long as Vivienne's happy, marrying a ruined woman doesn't cost me anything. As for Claire—if she behaves around Vivienne, I'll make it up to her."

I stood frozen in the hallway. Ice cracking down my spine.

Then his phone rang, and his voice went soft in a way I'd never heard before.

"Vivienne. Don't be scared. I'm on my way."

The second he opened the door, I was already standing there, watching him.

...

Adrian's breath caught. Something panicked flickered behind his eyes.

"Claire. Why are you here?"

I stared at him. Quiet for a long time.

Long enough that he couldn't hold it. He forced that gentle expression back onto his face.

"Your stomach again? You came for the pills?"

"I told you not to eat whatever you wanted. You never listen."

I looked at the concern he'd worn a thousand times, and for a moment I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't reconcile him with the boy who'd dragged me out of hell three years ago.

Three years ago, someone drugged me and dragged me into an empty room. A dozen of them. They took everything.

The photos spread across every platform in a matter of hours.

The legitimization gala that was supposed to welcome me back into the Harrington family turned into my execution.

My fiancé Ethan stood in front of every reporter in the room and announced the Pembertons would never let a whore into their house.

My parents, wanting to save face, told anyone who asked that I was only their adopted daughter.

Overnight, I became every man's punchline.

When the paparazzi closed in, Adrian pulled off his jacket, wrapped it around me, and walked me out.

He shielded me with his own body, his voice cold enough to cut.

"Take another photo, and you're at war with the Blackwoods."

After that, I fell apart. Severe depression. I showered until my skin bled raw.

Another round of anonymous texts calling me a slut pushed me over the edge. I climbed onto the rooftop.

A second before I jumped, Adrian dragged me back.

He held me so tight he was shaking. His eyes were red.

"Claire. Marry me. I've been in love with you for years. Every one of them who hurt you—I'll bury them."

"So don't leave me. Please."

In that moment, my numb heart started beating again.

But now—

now I just felt sick.

I kept my voice low.

"Adrian. I want a divorce."

He froze for two seconds. Then the panic slid off his face.

What replaced it was something I'd never seen before. Contempt.

"Claire. Since you heard it, I won't pretend anymore."

"It already happened. Nothing you do changes the fact that a dozen men had you."

My blood turned to ice. For a second the pain made it hard to breathe.

Three years. He was the one who led me out of the dark. Who taught me to forget. Who taught me to love again.

When I tore at my own skin trying to scrub the memories off, he'd held me through the night, every night.

He'd kissed my forehead and told me:

"Claire. In my eyes, you're untouched. You always will be."

That sentence had been my only light for three years.

I thought he was my salvation. It turned out he was just clearing a path so Vivienne could marry money.

He didn't notice me breaking. He was texting on his phone, casual.

"Look around. Who else in our circle would take you now?"

"Your grandmother is still in our clinic. That experimental drug keeps her alive. A divorce doesn't help you."

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out.

My eyes went hot.

Before the Harringtons took me back, I grew up in a cottage in the Cotswolds with my grandmother.

She was the only person in the world who ever loved me honestly.

And Adrian knew exactly how much she meant to me.

When I didn't answer, his voice softened. He held out a gift box.

"I got you something. Don't be angry, alright?"

The box opened onto a sapphire necklace, gleaming.

The same necklace he'd bid on at Sotheby's last month. Vivienne had said it looked dated and tossed it in the trash.

I didn't reach for it. I just laughed at myself, quietly.

"Adrian. In your head, am I only worth another woman's leftovers?"

His mouth hardened. The warmth drained out of his eyes.

"Claire. Enough."

"I know it's hard to hear, but I'm still taking responsibility. The wedding's in three days. It's happening."

He stepped closer. His eyes carried a warning now.

"Vivienne's in a good place right now. Don't make a scene. Think about your grandmother. Her life's in Blackwood hands."

My breath caught. Something bitter climbed into my throat.

I never imagined the boy who'd saved me would use the person I loved most as a leash.