YOU OWN THE TITLE, I OWN THE MAN

~EVELYN STERLING~ My grip on the steering wheel tightened until my knuckles turned pale, yet it did nothing to stop the tremor running through my hands. I tapped the screen. Again. And again. But the video was gone. Along with the message. “You own the title… but I own the man.” My breath caught—sharp and sudden as I stared at the empty screen, as though if I looked hard enough, it would come back. As though I could unsee what I had just witnessed. But none of that mattered, not anymore. Because that moment had already carved itself into my mind. It was just a one-minute video, yet ten seconds of it shaped everything else. Ten seconds of watching my husband touch another woman the way he has never touched me on our wedding night, as though the vows we had taken just hours ago meant nothing at all. Like I meant nothing. A bitter, broken laugh slipped from my lips, cracking at the edges I was the fool… I had spent hours preparing myself for him tonight, giggling like a fool as I waited for his return. I still recall how my heart raced excitedly earlier today, while I kept telling myself that maybe… just maybe things would change after tonight. Maybe he would finally look at me. Maybe he would finally choose me. I dug my nails into my palm, in a desperate attempt to numb the raging pain in my chest. A choked sound tore through my throat as I slammed my hand against the steering wheel, and the horn blared loudly against the empty night. I blinked hard, refusing to let the tears fall. I hate how pathetic I feel right now, drowning in pain when he saw me as nothing but unwanted baggage. Their conversation flashed through my mind once more, her voice as sweet as an angel and yet laced with venom crowded my heart. “Julie, it’s your wedding night… won’t your wife be mad you left her alone?” She had asked admist moans. And him. God, he didn’t even stop moving in and out of her as he replied in a low and unbothered tone. “I don’t care what she thinks.” My chest tightened as I replayed their conversation. “Our marriage is just a business alliance, nothing more.” Those words pierced my heart, echoing louder than anything else. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it only made it worse. I could still see it. The way he touched her. The way he moved with her, like a man who was starved of touch… yet he had never looked at me like that, and had been unwilling to touch me. A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it. I wiped it away harshly. No. I wasn’t going to cry. Not for him. And definitely not tonight. If I was nothing more than a title to him…if I was just a name he was forced to accept… Then I owed him nothing. Not my loyalty, or my body. My fingers curled against the door handle, ready to push it open, but hesitation crept in. Go back, pretend you didn’t see anything and go back to the obedient submissive wife of Julian Thorne. The wife he never wanted. My jaw clenched and I pushed the door open and stepped out. The cold night air rushed in, hitting my flushed skin, yet it did nothing to calm the fire burning inside me. Just a few steps ahead stood the place everyone talked about. Sin. In its purest form. The kind of place where people went to forget… or become something else entirely. I had never imagined I would visit a place like this, especially not dressed like this. The seductive red gown I chose rode even higher as I moved. Everything in me called at me to pull it down, to turn back and return to being the good little wife. But I didn’t. However, my bravado almost evaporated the moment I stepped into the clubhouse. The loud music hit me like a tide, and the neon lighting almost blinded my eyes. People kept crashing into me, some in a hurry to enter, others too drunk to stand. I forced my way through the crowd, heart pounding in my lungs. The only thought in my mind was to get to the bar and drown in some alcohol. I needed to be tipsy to carry out my plan. Just as I rounded the corner, I crashed into a wall of muscle. I yelped as I fell back, but then a pair of strong hands grabbed my waist easily, in an instant, I found myself pulled against someone’s chest. I didn’t have time to let out a sigh of relief, before I was pulled back slightly. I found myself face to face with my saviour, except that nothing about him seemed saviour-like. His scent hit me first, dark and expensive masculine scent, a mix of deep wood, faint spice and something darker I couldn’t name… a scent that was sharp, clean…and dangerously intoxicating. It was a handsome face, clearly, but there was something about him, something dangerous and somewhat… familiar, that made me want to run back to my car and drive back home. His eyes, I couldn’t tell the colour, pierced through me so intensely as though he could see all my secrets. “Watch where you are going.” His voice came, so low that it blended in with the music, sending shivers through my veins. “I… I’m sorry.” I whispered, trying to step away from him. But his hand never left my waist, and his eyes never left mine. My heart began racing. He looked like he had something else to say, but his eyes alone communicated the danger. Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere but near this man. I tried to move again, but this time, he let me go. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding until now. I forced myself to bow a little before I walked past his tall imposing figure. But I could feel his eyes still following me, like a hunter’s eyes fixed on its prey.