Scarlett Ashford

The house was quiet, but it wasn't a peaceful silence. It was the kind of heavy, suffocating stillness that comes before a storm breaks. I spent the entire afternoon locked in the master suite, pacing the length of the rug until I knew every thread in the pattern.

Preston's words from earlier were still ringing in my ears, echoing like a threat that wouldn't fade. Consummate the marriage. The thought made bile rise in my throat. He looked at me like I was a broodmare, a piece o