I Tore Up His Check, Then He Bought My Life

After seven years of scrubbing floors to escape my past, my doctor fiancé convinced me to attend the Met Gala. It was supposed to be a one-night trip back to a world I hated. But then the doors crashed open, and the monster I.d left for dead rolled in on a wheelchair.

Within twenty-four hours, Fielding Hancock.s shadow had poisoned everything. My fiancé, Nathan, saw a photo of Fielding touching my arm and completely shattered. He got me fired, drained our joint bank account of my life savings, and left me homeless on a sidewalk in Queens.

I thought I had hit rock bottom, but then the hospital called. My mother had suffered a stroke, triggered by an envelope Fielding sent her. The insurance Nathan had just reported as fraudulent wouldn.t cover the ICU, and I was broke.

With my mother.s life on the line and two hours to find five thousand dollars, I was out of options. He had systematically destroyed every piece of my new life, cornering me until there was nowhere left to run.

I made the only call I could. Fielding picked up on the first ring.

"You win," I said, my voice dead. "I'm yours."