My Perfect Husband Was My Destroyer

It was our first New Year's Eve as a married couple. My husband, Zion Gilbert, had told me he was working overtime to earn money for my medical treatments.

To lighten his burden, I'd secretly taken a temporary job as a server at the Grand Light Hotel. I wanted to surprise him.

Instead, the surprise was on me.

I spotted a familiar figure in the corridor. Zion. But he wasn't wearing his usual modest work clothes—he was clad in a bespoke suit, standing toe-to-toe with a woman dripping in designer elegance.

"Rose has suffered enough," Zion said, his voice low. "I just want to spend a little more time with her."

"I finally got her to trust you completely. Don't ruin it now." The woman's tone was sharp. "If Rose finds out you're the reason for her amnesia, her heart condition, those scars covering her body... and her hysterectomy..."

She paused, eyes narrowing. "Do you think she'd still see you as her savior? As her husband?"

"Enough, Lydia!" Zion's hands balled into fists. "She'll never know."

Hidden in the shadows, I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle a scream. Tears streamed down my face. My entire body shook.

The man who slept beside me... he wasn't my savior.

He was the wolf.

All that sweetness. All that romance.

Poison.

——

A cold draft swept through the corridor, but the chill I felt came from within.

Since waking up with no memory, I'd been a broken thing—terrified of the dark, plagued by nightmares. I dreamed of being hunted by wild dogs, dragged into dark rooms by faceless men.

My body was a map of scars. I'd lost the ability to become a mother. I felt incomplete, inferior, wrapping myself in layers of clothing to hide my shame from the world.

Until Zion Gilbert.

He promised to heal me. Said he didn't care about my past. Swore to protect me for a lifetime.

I'd fantasized about our future, painting pictures of a happiness I thought I finally deserved.

Now those pictures lay in shreds.

Lydia Chambers stared at Zion, her expression unyielding. "You're already 'married' to her. Have you ever thought about actually bringing her home?"

"Don't worry, Lydia. The marriage certificate is fake." Zion's voice turned clinical. "She poses no threat to your position as Mrs. Gilbert. In a few days, I'll tell her I won the lottery and send her to a private sanitarium. Somewhere isolated. She'll never be seen again."

A fake certificate.

I bit my lip until I tasted copper. My nails dug into my palms. I remembered the day he gave me that paper—I'd cried tears of joy. Thanked God for him.

All a lie.

What was I to Zion Gilbert? A toy? A worn-out shoe to discard when he got bored?

Dong!

The midnight bell tolled.

Zion and Lydia instantly composed themselves, exchanging knowing smiles. They interlaced their fingers and walked toward the banquet hall like royalty.

The crowd erupted as they entered.

"Mr. Gilbert and Miss Chambers have been married five years, yet they're still inseparable. Makes one envious."

"Miss Chambers is the only one suitable for him. She brings him prosperity—unlike that wretched Rose Henson."

"He's the sun, she's the moon. A match made in heaven! How could some village girl ever compare?"

I froze in the shadows.

When I was found at the rescue station, I'd forgotten everything—including my name. Zion was the one who told me I was "Rose Henson."

So that was my real name.

But why the venom? Why did these strangers speak of me with such disgust? Was I truly so hateful?

Before I could spiral further, Austin Moss appeared behind me.

"What are you standing there for?" he hissed. "Get that wine to the main hall. Now!"

I gripped the tray with trembling hands, lowered my head, and stepped into the light. I tried to make myself invisible, weaving through the crowd.

As I passed Lydia, she didn't look at me. She simply shifted her weight and stuck out a foot.

I stumbled.

Crash.

The tray tipped. Red wine splattered across Lydia's pristine gown and expensive heels.

The hall went silent. Every eye turned to us.

Austin didn't hesitate. He rushed forward and kicked me hard in the stomach.

"Useless trash!" He played to the crowd. "You can't even do this simple job? You've ruined Miss Chambers' dress!"

Pain exploded through my abdomen. I curled into a ball on the cold floor, gasping. "She... she tripped me," I whispered.

He kicked me again, harder.

"Still lying?" he spat. "You could sell your worthless life and still not afford a single thread of that dress!"