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Chapter One
Sadie White’s footsteps thudded on the hardwood floor as she rushed into the bathroom, her breaths shallow and uneven. Panic gripped her chest, and with trembling hands, she fumbled to lock the door behind her. Pressing her back against the cold surface, she took a moment to collect herself, but her heart continued to race.
Sadie momentarily shut her eyes, then she took a deep breath. She couldn’t hide in the confines of the bathroom forever. Sooner or later, she would have to face Mason Prescott, the man her father had chosen for her to marry.
At 23, Sadie considered herself an adult capable of making her own decisions. So, why had she agreed to this arrangement in the first place? Sadie scoffed. That answer was easy. Her father always targeted her weaknesses. All he had to do was flash her his big, sad eyes and the moment he uttered the word “debts,” she caved like she always did.
She promised she’d do anything for him. To save his business, he said there was only one solution. Sadie had to marry Mason, the mayor’s son. Her father neglected to mention that Mason was a monster in human skin.
Turning her attention to the bathroom mirror, Sadie winced as the harsh light revealed her face. Sadie didn’t recognize the terrified woman staring back at her.
Her cheek throbbed where Mason had struck her. Sadie didn’t even have time to process what happened. Mason didn’t apologize. He merely stared at her with those cruel green eyes and Sadie knew what her future and her marriage would be like.
She ran her fingers through disheveled hair, frustrated. Sadie wanted to be anywhere else but in that lavish town house, probably a gift from Mason’s wealthy parents. Sadie let out a bitter laugh. He probably had never worked a single day in his life while Sadie juggled two jobs just to pay her rent and support her and her dad.
Heavy footsteps echoed ominously outside the bathroom door, and Sadie’s heart quickened with dread. The sound of the doorknob rattling intensified the unease knotting in her stomach.
“I know you’re in there,” Mason said. “Open this damn door right this instant.”
“Go to hell,” she answered, her words laced with an unexpected defiance.
It surprised even her, this assertiveness she hadn’t known she possessed. Growing up, friends had often labeled her a pushover—a good girl who shied away from confrontation, always compliant.
Only one man had seen a hidden fire within her, but he was long gone now. A fleeting figure from the past, existing only in her memories. Sadie wondered if that man from her past were here now, would he encourage her to keep fighting?
Remembering him sparked a flicker of strength within her. Sadie couldn’t help but imagine his voice whispering words of encouragement: “You don’t have to put up with anyone’s crap, Sadie. You’re strong, but you just don’t know it yet.”
“What did you say to me, you bitch?” Mason thundered.
Pissing him off wasn’t the right move, but if Sadie didn’t make her stand right here and now, Mason would think he could do whatever he wanted with her.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” she said.
Mason laughed. “I’ll do worse if you don’t come out right this instant. You’re my fiancée, Sadie. My bitch. I own you now.”
His words sent a chill down her spine. Sadie felt like an animal caught in a trap.
“Nothing has been finalized yet,” she told him. Who the hell did Mason think he was? What kind of parents raised him to speak that way to a woman?
“You should be grateful,” Mason said. “When your father went to mine, begging for scraps, he reminded me of a kicked dog. You’re just like him.”
“You’re wrong,” she answered back. Sadie clenched her fists by her side. She was so angry, she almost felt like bursting.
Sadie took a deep breath before saying the next words slowly and carefully. “The deal is off, Mason. I have no intention of marrying a pig like you.”
At that moment, Sadie felt reckless and so sure of herself. Screw this and damn her father to hell. Sadie never had the courage to leave her hometown but this might be the right push she needed.
Sadie would pack her bags and tell her old man to go screw himself. Her dad had to make his own bed sooner or later. She could start somewhere fresh. Reinvent herself. Why did it take this long for Sadie to come to this realization?
After her mother passed away from cancer when she was 12, she thought it was her responsibility to take care of her father. It should’ve been the other way around. It was time she took care of herself and focused on her own future.
“Well, too bad, because all the arrangements have been made. My mother paid a shit ton of money to hire the best wedding planner in the country.” Mason’s words dripped with arrogance.
“I don’t give a damn,” Sadie retorted.
Every little girl dreamed of having her perfect wedding day, but being shackled to a man like Mason would be a living nightmare. All her dreams of escaping the suffocating confines of this small town would crumble into dust if she didn’t find a way out of this house.
A glimmer of hope sparked as Sadie remembered her cellphone tucked safely in her pocket. Pulling it out, she hesitated, her thumb hovering over the contacts.
