You Crushed My Heart, So I Crushed Your Empire

"Vivienne, don't say I'm heartless. All you have to do is apologize and promise you'll never compete with Bianca again. Then I'll forgive you."

Bianca clung to his arm, smiling sweetly. "Come on, Viv. Anthony's already giving you an out. Don't be stubborn."

"Besides, gold diggers like you only care about money. Since when do you deserve a real title? Don't go playing the saint when we all know what you really are."

Anthony pinched her cheek indulgently. Not a word of objection.

I knew what he was doing. This was how he kept me in line.

Breaking me down until I learned to take it quietly, to stay in my place as his dirty little secret. The girlfriend who would never see the light of day.

I said nothing. I calmly slipped my phone into a waterproof pouch.

Then I climbed over the railing and threw myself into the sea without a second thought.

Screams erupted behind me. Anthony's eyes went wide with shock.

I swallowed my terror and swam hard toward the shore.

But the winter ocean was brutal. The cold seeped into my bones, and the coastline was impossibly far. My limbs grew heavier with every stroke.

Then, halfway there, a small boat appeared. Two men aboard said they were volunteers cleaning up debris in the area. They hauled me out of the water and handed me a warm bowl of fish soup. Slowly, the feeling returned to my fingers.

A few minutes later, the world started to tilt.

The men's friendly expressions melted away. They closed in on me, grinning like wolves.

"So you're the little tramp who's been threatening our goddess Bianca, huh?"

"We're here to teach you a lesson. You're not bad-looking, though. Once we've had our fun, we'll toss you overboard for the fish."

My blood ran cold.

They were Bianca's obsessive fans. She'd sent them.

My phone buzzed. Anthony's name flashed on the screen.

Panic sharpened my senses. I bit down on my tongue until I tasted copper, forcing myself to stay conscious. I grabbed a fishing spear from the deck and held it in front of me. The men hesitated just long enough for me to hit answer.

His voice came through the speaker, breathless and lazy with satisfaction.

"You dead yet? If not, come back and change the sheets."

"Some paparazzi suspect Bianca and I are faking it. They've been lurking outside the window trying to get shots, so we had to make it look real."

My stomach lurched. I choked it down and begged.

"Anthony, Bianca's stalker fans drugged me. They're going to assault me!"

"I'm about two miles northeast of the yacht. Please, come get me!"

His tone shifted instantly. "What?! I'm coming right now—"

Then Bianca's voice slithered through the line, dripping with mock concern.

"Oh, Viv. I have to say, you gold diggers really are something. Turning people against each other like that."

"A friend of mine just came from that direction. Not a soul in sight. You're making this up so Anthony will come running, aren't you? Trying to guilt him into going public with you?"

"Don't fall for it, babe. She probably has reporters planted nearby, just waiting for you to show up so she can force your hand."

Before I could get a word out, Anthony exploded.

"Vivienne, you're unbelievable! You want to make me a laughingstock that badly?!"

"You want to make up? Fine. Be kneeling at my front door by morning. Say you were wrong."

"Without me, you can't even hold down a real job. You'd starve in the gutter. Think about that!"

The line went dead.

Something inside me went with it.

The two men sneered.

"See that? Your precious Anthony only cares about our Bianca."

"You shameless little homewrecker. You think you can ruin our goddess's happiness? We'll kill you for that."

They ripped the spear from my hands and knocked my phone to the deck.

They shoved me down against the wet, freezing hull of the boat.

In the pit of my despair, a blinding white light cut through the darkness from somewhere in the distance.