~TESSA~
DAYS LATER...
The bruises had started to fade — at least, the ones you could see.
The makeup helped. So did the lighting in Marcus’s mansion — soft, golden, meant to make everything look warm and expensive.
If you didn’t look too closely, it almost worked.
Marcus was in a good mood. That was never a good thing.
He’d been pacing since morning, his phone buzzing every few minutes. Calls with men in suits, sharp tones, fake laughs.
The kind of voice he used when he wanted to sound charming instead of dangerous.
When the final call ended, he turned to me.
“Get dressed. We’re going out.”
I froze halfway through stirring my coffee. “Out? Where?”
He smiled — that rehearsed smile he used in front of cameras. “There’s an investor dinner tonight. I want people to see us together.
