Chapter 1The night before we got engaged, my fiancé's childhood sweetheart said she had a surprise for me.
She lured me to the hotel rooftop's glass greenhouse, locked the door, and turned on every sprinkler.
It was already a freezing rainy night.
Water came crashing down from above—ice cold, brutal.
I could barely stay on my feet.
Ethan stood outside with an umbrella, watching through the blurred glass.
"Stella, you took this too far."
"But maybe it's good."
"Small-town girl like her need to learn the hard way that marrying into the Ashford family isn't easy."
Stella grinned, ducked under his umbrella, and held up her phone to snap pictures of me.
Guests downstairs were whispering. But no one moved.
In pure desperation, I smashed through the glass and got out.
Hands shaking, I dialed a number—
"Call the board... Pull funding from every Ashford project..."
"And... FUCK THIS ENGAGEMENT!!"
...
The second that ice water slammed down, I couldn't breathe.
The glass room door was locked from outside.
Four walls of clear glass, lights so bright they showed every pathetic detail.
Down on the banquet hall terrace, people crowded around.
Champagne in hand, watching like this was some show they paid for.
Someone laughed. Someone whistled.
Others raised their phones, cameras aimed at my soaked face.
"Now this is entertainment."
"Grayson knows how to keep things interesting—pulling this before his engagement."
"Surprise? Didn't you hear Sienna say? This is a test to see if she's even good enough for the Ashfords."
"I mean, seriously—can you imagine her actually being an Ashford?"
The taunts cut through the rain straight into my ears.
My fingers clamped on the door handle.
Wouldn't budge.
Outside hung an electronic lock, screen glowing red.
Sienna Merrick stood just beyond it in a perfect cocktail dress, makeup flawless—
Looking like some pristine flower that never touched dirt.
She held a white umbrella and smiled at me, waving a remote.
"Skye, don't give me that look."
"Everyone just wants to see how much you actually love Grayson."
The crowd laughed harder.
I dragged my hand across my face, wiping water away, voice shaking.
"Sienna... open the door."
She tilted her head like I'd just said something hilarious.
"But we're just getting started."
"We made a bet—how long before you break and start begging?"
She stepped closer, staring at me through the glass.
"You always act so independent, so tough, so capable, right?"
"So prove it."
I stared at that twisted face and felt everything inside me turn to ice.
Tonight was supposed to be the night before Grayson Ashford and I made things official.
The Ashford family rented out this entire Catskills resort.
Tomorrow morning, every media outlet in Manhattan would be here.
Grayson said this was the respect I deserved.
He said I stuck with him through Ashford Corp's hardest three years, stayed by his side while he went from bastard son nobody wanted to the guy running everything.
He said I earned a title.
For a second, I actually thought I'd found happiness.
For this engagement party, I canceled three major meetings and personally checked every guest list and every wire transfer.
But right now—
The man who promised me respect is standing in the middle of that downstairs terrace.
Stood in warm, bright light, watching me shake under freezing water inside a glass cage.
He didn't come up.
He didn't tell anyone to unlock the door.
I shouted through the glass.
"Grayson!"
"Make her open this door!"
I thought he'd at least react.
Instead he just flicked ash off his cigarette, bored.
"Skye, Sienna's just messing around."
"You're the adult here. Don't be so dramatic."
Chapter 2
Right then, that ice water felt like knives stabbing into my bones.
I stared at him, eyes burning.
"You know I'm terrified of this!"
When I was eight, I got trapped in a collapsed warehouse in Pittsburgh.
Rain poured down outside.
Water rose past my knees.
Darkness and broken wood everywhere.
My mom died trying to save me, crushed under a beam.
She pushed me out. She never made it.
Since then, I've been terrified of locked spaces, endless water sounds, any night I can't escape.
All these years, I never told anyone.
Only Grayson knew.
Because years back when debt collectors cornered him in an underground garage, he stayed locked in his car all night protecting project files.
When I helped him through therapy afterward, he held my hand and said:
"Skye, from now on I'll stand between you and your fear."
That's when I told her the secret.
But the man who swore to protect me back then—
He was standing downstairs now, turning my fear into everyone's joke.
Sienna laughed and jumped in.
"Grayson already said I just like messing around."
"Skye, don't be such a baby about it."
She turned toward the guests below, voice suddenly louder.
"Everyone, the bet officially starts now!"
"If she cries and begs Grayson to save her in the next thirty minutes, I lose."
"If she doesn't break, I'll Venmo every single one of you a hundred grand."
The crowd went crazy.
"Sienna, you're killing it!"
"Yeah, we're definitely betting she breaks!"
"Some girl from bumfuck nowhere thinks putting on a Valentino dress makes her society material? Please."
"Wait, Grayson's actually marrying her? I always thought he was just killing time."
My fingertips went numb.
Water streamed down my hair into my eyes, stinging so bad I couldn't see.
I pounded on the door.
"Grayson, last chance—make someone open this door!"
He finally looked up at me.
No guilt in his face.
Just annoyed I called him out in front of people.
"Skye, do you really have to make this so ugly?"
"Sienna's been spoiled since she was a kid. Why are you being such a drama queen?"
"Plus, aren't you supposed to be great at handling problems? You can't handle this tiny one?"
I stood frozen, then slowly smiled.
So in his mind, my terror trapped in freezing rain was just "one tiny problem."
These past three years, every crisis I handled for him... now became his excuse to humiliate me!
Sienna saw my smile and her expression flickered.
She hated when I looked like this.
Hated that even completely wrecked, I still wouldn't bow.
She raised the remote and hit a button.
Next second, the sprinklers on the roof kicked into overdrive.
Even colder water crashed down. My knees buckled.
Gasps rose from below—not concern, pure excitement.
"She's breaking!"
"Quick, get this on video—it's gonna blow up TikTok tomorrow!"
"Grayson's fiancée's actually tougher than I thought..."
Sienna pressed close to the glass, voice dropping so only I could hear.
"Skye, stop pretending."
"I know you're scared shitless of places like this."
"Grayson told me himself."
Chapter 3
My heart dropped.
Her smile widened.
"You thought he kept your trauma a secret?"
"Sorry. When he's putting me to sleep at night, he tells me everything."
"He said you got trapped when you were little, so you can't sleep when it rains."
"He said you look tough but deep down you're still that scared little girl afraid of the dark."
My ears started ringing.
Those words cut colder than the rain.
Grayson and I—three years.
I shielded him from board coups, secured overseas funding, rewrote acquisition proposals at four a.m.
When Ashford's golden child framed him for embezzlement, I found the accounting errors and pulled him out.
He knelt in front of me and said, "Skye, without you I wouldn't be here."
"Once I take back Ashford Corp, I'm marrying you."
I thought that was a promise.
Turns out to him, I was just a useful tool.
Someone who'd kill herself for a little warmth.
Sienna tapped the glass.
"Skye, don't blame me."
"I just need you to know where you actually stand."
She looked up at Grayson, voice suddenly soft.
"Grayson, you're not mad at me, are you?"
Grayson stubbed out his cigarette.
"Chill out, Sienna."
Sienna immediately pouted.
"How am I not chill? You promised you'd let me have fun tonight."
"Plus you said the engagement was just for show anyway."
Just for show?
Three words sawing through my chest.
I looked at Grayson. "Is what she's saying true?"
He frowned.
Obviously didn't expect Sienna to say that out loud.
But fast, he went back to that cold, controlled look.
"Since you heard it, no point hiding."
I stood soaked in freezing water, staring at him.
"So tomorrow's engagement party is... fake?"
He said coolly, "Not fake. Just an engagement. Not a wedding."
"Skye, you should know—Ashford marriages can't be about feelings."
"Sienna's family is the Merricks. She's the one who should be next to me."
I dug my nails into my palms. "Then what am I?!"
Finally, real annoyance flashed in Grayson's eyes.
"Do I really have to spell it out?! These past three years, I didn't treat you badly!"
"You wanted a position—I made you VP."
"You wanted respect—who at Ashford doesn't call you Ms. Hartley?"
"Marriage I can't give you. And I'm not gonna lie to you forever."
He said it so calmly. So cruel.
Like my three years were worth exactly one VP title.
Sienna leaned into him, smiling.
"Skye, you should be grateful."
"Some girl with no background, no family, no parents backing her up—getting as far as an engagement with Grayson is basically a miracle."
Someone nearby agreed.
"Exactly. If Grayson actually married her, where would the Ashford reputation go?"
"Doesn't matter how smart she is—trophy wives need pedigree."
"Skye needs a reality check. At best she's a soldier who helped Grayson climb. Soldiers don't get to be queens."
I looked at these people—the same ones who used to nod respectfully in boardrooms.
When they respected me, they called me Ms. Hartley.
Now that Grayson wouldn't protect me, they switched faces instantly.
A guy in a gray suit laughed and waved his phone.
"Ms. Hartley, want me to grab a pic for you?"
"After all, tomorrow Sienna's the one standing next to Grayson."
"Tonight's your last night as leading lady."
I stopped talking.
Because the terror had peaked and passed.
When pain maxes out, clarity follows.
I raised my hand to my right ear—the earring was still there.
Not a normal earring.
Three months ago when I noticed weird stuff in Ashford's accounts, I had my security team build me an emergency device.
Three presses in a row auto-locates and alerts my lawyer, my assistant, and my private security.
Grayson didn't know.
He always thought I'd handed him every card I had.
But he forgot—someone who crawled out of rubble doesn't trust anyone with her life.
I lowered my head, acting like the water was choking me, and covered my ear.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The earring vibrated faintly.
Signal sent.
