hapter 2
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Megan’s POV
Three years ago…
“Congratulations, Megan. You’re going to make a beautiful bride.”
That’s what my grandfather said, raising a crystal glass to me at the family estate, his voice loud enough to carry across the dinner table. My parents smiled like the deal was
done.
It was.
I hadn’t said yes.
I hadn’t said anything.
They didn’t ask Mellan.
Of course not.
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Mellan was too precious, too delicate, too special. She was the Sage family’s golden girl. The one who had “potential,” which apparently meant freedom.
“She’s too sensitive for this kind of responsibility,” my grandmother told me privately, the night before the engagement announcement. “But you, you’ve always been steady. Practical. A good investment.”
That’s what I was to them.
A Sage girl placed where it counted.
Not loved. Leveraged.
Jaxon Cross walked into my life with calm eyes and a tight jaw. Not love–struck. Not even curious. He shook my hand the first time we met like he was greeting a business partner.
“Miss Sage,” he said, eyes flicking down my frame and back up again. “You’ll be well taken care of.”
“That’s reassuring,” I replied, trying to hide the fact that my stomach was sinking.
I could tell, even then, he didn’t want this either.
But he wanted something.
Or needed something.
And so did his family.
They smiled like predators, always polite, always watching.
Two weeks before the wedding, I overheard Jane talking on the phone in the next room.
“I still can’t believe it’s Megan,” she said, half–laughing. “If they had chosen Mellan, we’d have a real asset on our side. Megan’s… fine. She’s not a disaster. She’s just… boring.”
I should have walked away.
But I didn’t.
I stood there and listened to every word like I deserved to hear it.
Our wedding was beautiful.
But even in white, I felt invisible.
Jaxon didn’t look at me during our vows. He stared at the officiant like he was counting down the seconds.
“Smile,” he said under his breath, right before the kiss.
I did. Because everyone was watching.
In the first year, I convinced myself it wasn’t so bad.
We ate dinner at the same table.
We slept in the same bed, even if we never touched.
He always came home, even if it was late.
I tried to close the distance.
“Are you ever going to tell me what you actually want out of this marriage?” I asked once, after a quiet dinner.
He barely looked up from his wine.
“Stability,” he said. “Isn’t that what you want, too?”
“No,” I replied. “I wanted something real.”
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He sighed like I’d asked too much. “Real isn’t part of this.”
By year two, the mask slipped.
He stopped pretending to care.
His family stopped pretending to respect me.
Jane made it a sport to humiliate me.
15.54
At a gala she threw under my name, she leaned over during a toast and said, “Try not to
talk too much tonight. You’re better in silence. Pretty, though.”
“I didn’t realize I was here to be decoration,” I said, steadying my voice.
She smiled. “Oh, Megan. You didn’t realize a lot of things.”
Jaxon never stepped in. Not once.
When I told him what Jane said, he shrugged.
“She has a sharp mouth. Don’t let it bother you.”
“I’m your wife,” I said.
Chapter 2
11:|: བཅུ ད 1:|:ཀུ
“And she’s my sister,” he replied. “Pick your battles.”
I picked silence. Again.
There was one night I still remember clearly.
A charity dinner. I wore a deep green gown, Mellan’s favorite color. The one color Jaxon had ever complimented.
“You look-” he started, then stopped himself.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.” He turned away. “You reminded me of someone, that’s all.”
Of course I did.
That was the moment it clicked.
He wasn’t looking at me.
He was looking for her.
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“You love her,” I said one night, unable to bite it back any longer.
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He was unbuttoning his shirt, getting ready for bed. He didn’t freeze. Didn’t deny it.
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”
“I want the truth.”
He stared at me like I was a problem to solve. “What does it change?”
“Everything.”
He walked into the bathroom without another word.
The light clicked off minutes later.
I lay awake beside him, eyes wide, heart shattered, again.
And Mellan?
She didn’t call.
Not for my wedding. Not for my birthdays.
Not even when our grandfather passed away.
She vanished from the family like a rumor, and in her place, I was expected to smile, step up, and pretend I wasn’t the second choice.
Sometimes I wondered if she ever felt guilty.
Sometimes I knew she didn’t.
Now, three years later, she’s back.
And I see it. I see it in Jaxon’s eyes.
The spark that was never there for me.
Chapter 2
“You look good,” he said when she walked into our party. His voice soft. Genuine.
He never said that to me.
Not once.
And her voice? God, her voice when she hugged me.
“So glad you’re keeping things warm for me, Meg.”
I pulled back, forcing a smile. “I’m not your maid, Mellan.”
“No. You’re my placeholder.”
She laughed and walked away, straight to my husband.
They all think I’ll stay quiet.
They think I’m still the girl who took what she was given, smiled through it, and called it enough.
But I’ve seen the truth now.
I heard them whispering behind that door.
Plotting. Scheming. Preparing to pin it all on me.
They think I’m soft.
They forget, I’ve survived three years in silence.
And they don’t know what years of
silence does to a person.
Chapter 2
