Most people rise from darkness into the light.
But not me. I was swallowed whole, dragged into an abyss I never escaped-because of the man I once loved.

Zayne Lancaster.

The man who gave me everything... and then ripped it all away.

But in the wreckage of my world, he left behind one precious piece-our son, Asher. The only light in my never-ending night.

I should have had a good life. A perfect love story. Zayne made me the happiest woman alive. I would have done anything to keep that smile on his face.

The vows we exchanged became chains. The promises, nothing but lies. I didn't know who to blame, but I knew one thing-we could never go back to what we once were.

So we ended it.
We signed the papers.
We became strangers.

I thought it was over. I thought he was gone.

But storms don't fade-they return when you least expect them.

After two years, Zayne came back. Not just to haunt me. Not just to make me remember. He came to take everything back.

Me. Our son. The family which was already destroyed.

His grip tightened around my arm, pulling me against him-so close I could feel his breath ghosting over my skin. I tried to pull away, but I was too weak. Too tired. Too broken.

His voice was a dark promise that sealed the words into my soul.

"If you're not mine, you're no one's. I'll kill every man you meet. I won't let you belong to another. I am your husband until your last breath. I am the only father Asher will ever have. There was never anyone before me, and there will never be anyone after me."

His words burned into my mind, a cage I couldn't escape.

I didn't know how to escape him.

And yet... some traitorous part of me still ached for the life we once had. The love we once knew and Even when I knew the truth.

And this time, I wasn't sure I'd survive the storm.