Chapter 1

Five years with Leon Carter.

And this is our second time standing outside the Manhattan City Clerk's office.

Right before we hit the front desk,he turned to me.

"Jane,I’m sorry.I can’t do this."

"Chloe took a shot for me at the party last night and drank herself into the ER...I can’t just leave her."

I stared into his deep blue eyes,remembering the exact same scene a year ago.

Right before getting our license,I caught him cheating.

He cried,claiming he was so drunk he thought she was me,begging for one more chance.

When I said no,he threatened to jump off the 42nd floor,screaming he couldn't live without me.

I caved.

And now?

He pointed at a fat,balding white guy hanging around outside.

"I just asked around.That guy owns two places in Brooklyn,no baggage."

"Just marry him today.

That way I won't feel bad about wasting your youth."

I looked down at the crumpled marriage application in my hand.

Our names were printed right next to each other.

Too bad for him.

This time,I'm not caving.

...

"Not interested?"

Leon arched an eyebrow and let out a laugh.

He snatched the application from my hand and shoved it into his suit pocket.

"Okay then,just forget about it."

He never actually wanted me to marry that balding guy.

It was just a sick joke.

A joke to test my limits,to prove to himself that I couldn't live without him.

Seeing me freeze,Leon reached out and ruffled my hair,his tone softening.

"Jane,I knew you couldn't walk away from me."

"I was just messing with you.

That's what you get for checking my phone yesterday and pissing me off."

"Chloe is just an old friend from college.

She drank that shot for me and burned a hole right through her stomach.

I can't just ignore her."

I swatted his hand away and took a step back.

Leon’s hand froze in mid-air.His jaw tightened.

"Jane,are you seriously throwing a tantrum right now?"

"I told you it was a joke.What more do you want?"

"Are you trying to make me do something crazy again just to prove a point?"

A year ago,he stood on the edge of the penthouse terrace,eyes red,screaming.

Swearing that if I left him,he would kill himself.

I thought that was love.

I thought I finally found someone willing to risk his life just to keep me.

But now I saw the truth.

It was just a tactic to control me.

He preyed on the fact that I grew up in a group home in the Bronx.

Desperate for a real family.

All he had to do was throw me a few crumbs of twisted affection,and I’d forgive him.

"Fine.We won't get married."

I looked at him,my voice dead calm.

Leon paused.

Normally,I’d be crying.Clinging to him.Begging him not to leave.

But he just chuckled,slipping right back into his arrogant smirk.

"There you go.Good girl."

"We can sign the papers later.It's not like you have anywhere else to go."

"I have a meeting on Wall Street this afternoon.

Take a cab back to the Upper East Side."

He spun around and strode off,looking so damn smug.

He was probably laughing to himself,thinking no matter how much he humiliated me,

I’d always be waiting at home for him like a loyal dog.

Instinctively,I touched my stomach.

In my purse sat an ultrasound report from a private Manhattan hospital.

Six weeks pregnant.

I had planned to give it to him as a wedding gift after we signed the papers.

Now,it was nothing but a cruel joke.

I pulled out the report,tore it into tiny pieces,and dropped it into the nearest trash can.

Then,I headed back to the apartment we shared.

He bought this place after his venture capital firm took off.

When he handed me the keys,he told me this was my home now.

I believed him.

I decorated the place exactly like my dream home.

Picked out every single thing myself.

Looking at it all now,it just felt ironic.

I pulled out my suitcase and started packing.

It wasn’t much.

No designer bags.No jewelry.

I only packed the old clothes I bought myself.

And the old tin box I took from my group home.

Inside was my only keepsake—a rusty little pocket watch.

It was all my birth parents left behind when they abandoned me.

Leon once tried to throw it down the garbage disposal because he thought it was dirty.

I had to fight him to get it back.

I clenched the watch in my palm.The cold metal grounded me.

Halfway through packing,Leon came back.

I zipped up my suitcase.

Just as I reached the top of the spiral staircase,I heard a sickly-sweet female voice coming from downstairs.

"Leon...is Jane gonna be pissed?"