Chapter 1

Charlotte's POV:

The most reckless thing I ever did was say yes to Mason — sex outdoors.

"Baby, doing it outside is such a rush… want to try?" His shirt hung open, his toned stomach pressed against me, warm breath grazing my ear as he coaxed me.

We were camping at the edge of town, just the two of us in a tent tucked away from everything. Barely anyone came out this far, but I still couldn't shake the fear that someone might stumble upon us.

"I don't know… what if someone shows up?"

I pressed nervously against his overheated body, equal parts scared and flustered, my heart hammering.

But Mason's kisses were impossible to resist — trailing from my neck downward, achingly tender, dismantling every objection before I could voice it.

One distracted moment, and he'd already unzipped my dress.

His warm palms skimmed up my spine, leaving a trail of tingling heat everywhere they touched.

"Charlotte." My name in his low, rough voice. "Trust me. I'll make you feel so good."

That voice — deep and magnetic — stripped away the last of my resistance.

My face burned. I didn't say no. I let him continue.

Then he lifted my legs, and drove into me.

A broken sound escaped my lips. My whole body trembled.

He held me effortlessly — strong arms pulling me up until my legs wrapped around his waist, feet hooked at the small of his back. I knew he loved this position. It let him go deeper, let him bow his head and catch my mouth with his.

Terrified of being heard, I swallowed every sound.

But God, he was right — the thrill of it was overwhelming. Nothing but the rustle of wind through the leaves, every nerve stretched wire-tight, every sensation magnified to something almost unbearable.

It didn't take long before I shattered.

Then a phone rang.

I flinched violently, convinced for one horrible second that someone was coming, and instinctively buried myself against Mason's chest.

Anyone would be furious at an interruption like that.

Mason's expression darkened. He ignored it at first. But the ringing didn't stop.

He snatched the phone with a scowl — then froze the moment he saw the screen. His whole face shifted. He answered immediately.

My stomach dropped straight to the floor.

The only person who could make Mason stop in a moment like this was Qiana Collins.

The bitter irony: Qiana was his sister-in-law — his late brother's wife. And she had always been the one he kept closest to his heart. The one no one else could ever compete with.

I could faintly hear Qiana crying on the other end. Mason seemed to forget entirely that he was still inside me. His voice went soft and gentle as he soothed another woman.

"Qiana, don't panic. I'm on my way."

He hung up without a second's hesitation. Pulled out. Stood up. Dressed in under a minute and headed for the tent entrance — as though I had already ceased to exist.

I scrambled after him. "Mason — where are you going? It's the middle of the night."

"Qiana's having bad stomach cramps. I have to go."

I wanted to ask him: doesn't Qiana have a housekeeper? Did it even cross his mind what it means to leave a woman alone in the middle of nowhere at this hour?

He must have caught the look on my face. "Sorry, babe," he said, already distracted. "I'll have Jack come pick you up right away."

Then he pushed back the tent flap and walked out without looking back.

He moved like Qiana was the one he'd vowed to cherish. The one worth rushing to.

It had always been this way. Whenever Qiana needed something — anything, no matter how small — Mason chose her without blinking, and I was the one left to swallow it.

But I was his wife. His legal wife.

I ran after him. Grabbed his arm. For the first time, I let him see me fall apart.

"Mason, please — I'm scared. Don't go."

"I have to. Qiana's waiting." He hesitated for just a moment. Then he pried my fingers loose and kept walking.

I watched him stride toward the SUV — no pause, no glance back. Something in my chest tore open. I couldn't breathe.

"Mason—" My voice came out raw.

He didn't hear me. Or maybe he just didn't care. He started the engine, and the taillights disappeared into the dark.

I was alone at the foot of the mountain. Just me.

I stood there, motionless, for a long time. Nothing but a thin dress between me and the night air, the wind cutting right through me.

This camping trip was his idea. And he had left me here — alone in the dark — because of one phone call from Qiana.

A woman, stranded in the middle of nowhere. What could happen to her out here? Had Mason even thought about that for a single second?

No one knew how much that hour cost me. The longest hour of my life. Every snap of a twig, every rustle in the dark made my heart lurch into my throat.

It wasn't until I was finally in Jack's car that the tears came — and once they started, I couldn't stop them.

I held my phone all night, waiting. Mason never came home. Not a text. Not a call. Nothing.

He didn't show up until the following afternoon, phone pressed to his ear, already deep in conversation with Qiana as he strolled through the door.

"It's your time of the month — don't eat anything cold. I'm having some soup sent over."

"Take care of yourself. Don't catch a chill like you did last night, or I'll have to come back and rub your stomach again."

I watched him, my expression flat. I had already seen everything clearly last night. And still, there was a dull ache spreading through my chest.

He had abandoned me in the dark because Qiana had period cramps.

I let out a short, humorless laugh. Then I went and found the document I'd buried and forgotten long ago.

I signed my name. Then I stared at the words on the cover — words that should have felt heavier than they did.

[Divorce Agreement.]

I walked straight up to him and held it out. "Sign this."

This agreement had been drafted before we ever got married. Mason had handed it to me himself.

The day we got our marriage license, he'd looked me in the eye and told me plainly: his brother was gone, and Qiana needed him for the rest of her life. If I ever wanted to leave, all I had to do was sign. He called it a safety net — said if I was ever unhappy, he'd give me two-thirds of everything he had.

I believed him. I was moved. After the wedding, I tucked the agreement away and never looked at it again.

For three years, I endured it — every slight, every dismissal, every time he chose Qiana over me without blinking.

I understood now. It was never a safety net. It was a liability waiver. He had told me from the start exactly what I was signing up for. Qiana came first. I could take it or leave it. And if I got hurt, that was my problem.

Mason glanced down at what I'd handed him. One look was all it would take to know exactly what it was.

But he was still half-listening to Qiana's voice through the phone. He didn't even look. He picked up a pen and signed.

Was I so insignificant he couldn't spare a single second? Or did he simply not care at all?

I smiled faintly. It didn't matter anymore.

I tucked the agreement away before he could have second thoughts. That two-thirds was his debt to me. Every last cent of it.

Mason still hadn't noticed anything was off. He wrapped up his call with a few more careful reminders to Qiana before finally hanging up.

"Qiana's health isn't great — she needs a calm environment to recover. I don't trust anyone else to look after her properly." He paused. "I was thinking she could move in with us. What do you think, Charlotte?"

The words were phrased as a question. But with anything involving Qiana, Mason never actually asked. He informed.

I looked at him — this man I had loved for years. He had beautiful eyes, soft and warm, the kind that made you feel like you were the only person in the room. The kind that had fooled me for so long.

I had always known the truth. He had never loved me. Not once.

He'd left me alone in the dark last night and hadn't offered a single word of apology. Not even a text to ask if I'd made it home.

I curved my lips into a small smile and nodded. "Sure. When is she moving in?"

I would be gone before Qiana ever set foot in this house.

It was the first time I'd ever agreed to something like this without the slightest hesitation — no hurt, no resistance. Mason looked almost caught off guard.

Before, even when I gave in, he could always see the sadness I failed to hide.

He probably thought I was still the Charlotte who couldn't live without him. I could see it — a quiet flicker of certainty in his expression. Smug, almost.

He reached out to pull me into his arms. I stepped aside. He didn't press it, just assumed I was sulking.

He undid the buttons of his shirt, his voice low and unabashedly hungry. "We never finished what we started last night, baby. Let me make it up to you now."