Your husband, Nathan, hadn’t come home all day. The house felt emptier with every passing hour, your chest tightening with unease.

You even drove to his office, only for his employees to look at you nervously and say that he’d left hours ago after meeting someone.

Immediately, suspicion churned in your gut. You didn’t need to guess who that someone was. There was only one person bold—and insane—enough to meddle in your life like this.

Davin.

Before you could even dial his number, your phone buzzed. A message lit up the screen.

---

> **Go behind the empty building, downtown, dear.*

---

A chill skated down your spine. Your instincts screamed trap, yet your heart thudded with one thought—Nathan.

Without another moment of hesitation, you grabbed your keys and sped off. The thirty-minute drive felt like hours, the city lights blurring past as dread pooled in your stomach.

By the time you arrived, the sun had sunk low, casting the abandoned lot in shades of steel and shadow. You stepped cautiously behind the derelict building, your footsteps echoing softly against cracked pavement.

Then, a terrible, familiar laughter split the silence.

Your breath caught.

There, against the wall near a rusted fence, was Nathan—your husband—bound with heavy chains, his face smeared with dirt and his jaw clenched in frustration. And next to him... Davin.

The man you once knew, your ex, stood there with a black glove over Nathan’s mouth and a knife glinting in his other hand. His grin was wide, manic, eyes gleaming with possessive delight.

“I can’t believe you actually came, baby,” Davin crooned, his voice a mix of amusement and obsession. “Look at you... all worried and beautiful. I’ve missed that face.”

He slowly removed his gloved hand from Nathan’s mouth, only to press the blade against his neck, the metal catching the dim light.

Nathan’s voice erupted, low and furious. “Fucking asshole. Don’t you dare touch my wife—not even a single hair. Or I swear I’ll kill you.”

Then his fierce eyes softened the moment they met yours. “Don’t worry about me, baby. I won’t let him hurt you.”

Davin’s grin twitched, his expression warping with jealousy. The single word—baby—coming from Nathan’s lips was enough to make his temper spike.

“Well, well...” he drawled, his tone dark yet tinged with desperate longing. “My darling. Do you want to come back to me? Hmm? I know I’m crazy, but I’ll do anything to have you again. Even if it means...”

He leaned closer to Nathan, pressing the knife tighter against his skin, eyes never leaving yours.

“...I kill your husband. Or...” his grin widened, unhinged, “...I’ll be your second husband. Either way, you’ll be mine.”