“I Thought You Had No One,” My Husband Mocked After Slapping Me. Then The Ballroom Doors Opened And My Father Walked In.
Chapter 1: The Toast That Drew Blood
"Look at you," Salem whispered, leaning down to press a fake, dry kiss against my temple. His hand on my lower back felt less like an embrace and more like a leash. "My mother actually smiled at you, Ava. Do you know how hard that is to achieve?"
"I smiled back, Salem. That’s how manners work," I replied, keeping my eyes fixed on the six hundred guests swirling around the gold-lit ballroom.
"Don't get snarky tonight," he warned, his voice dropping into that quiet, sharp edge he’d developed over the last year. "This party is a huge deal for my father's firm. Just... play the part of the grateful wife."
"The grateful wife," I repeated under my breath, feeling the weight of the massive diamond ring on my finger.
Before I could say another word, the sharp clinking of a silver spoon against a crystal glass rang out. My father-in-law, Arthur, stood at the microphone on the stage. The string quartet died down, and six hundred rich, judgmental faces turned toward him.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Arthur’s voice boomed, smooth as expensive bourbon. "Two years ago, my son Salem married a woman with... no background. No family. No name."
A soft, elegant ripple of laughter moved through the crowd.
My blood ran cold. I grabbed Salem’s sleeve. "Salem, tell him to stop. Right now."
Salem didn't look at me. He just adjusted his tuxedo cuffs, a tight, nervous smile plastered on his face for the cameras. "He’s just joking, Ava. Relax."
"She brought absolutely nothing into our estate," Arthur continued, staring directly at me from the stage, his eyes cruel and amused. "No value, no connections, no worth. But we took her in anyway. Because the Arthur family believes in charity."
The laughter in the room grew louder. It was a controlled, expensive kind of mocking, and every eye in the room was burning into me.
"Salem," I whispered, my voice trembling with a mix of fury and disbelief. "Stand up for me. Say something."
"Shut up, Ava," Salem hissed through his teeth, his smile never fading. "You're making a scene. Just laugh along."
"No." I stepped back, tearing my arm away from his grip. I looked him dead in the eye. "Stop it, Salem. This is disgusting."
The ballroom suddenly seemed to inhale. The whispers cut off entirely. Six hundred pairs of eyes locked onto us.
Salem’s fake smile completely vanished. His face flushed a dark, angry purple. He crossed the small distance between us in one terrifying stride.
"I told you," Salem growled, "to shut your mouth."
CRACK.
The slap echoed off the marble walls. The force of it threw my head back, the metallic taste of blood immediately hitting my tongue. My cheek burned like fire.
The silence that followed was suffocating. On stage, Arthur simply adjusted his cufflinks, nodding in approval.
I didn't cry. Something inside me just went entirely, beautifully cold. I reached into my diamond clutch, pulled out my phone, and dialed a number I hadn't touched in months.
It picked up on the first ring.
"Dad," I said softly into the receiver, my voice dead calm. "Please come get me. Ravenshore Estate."
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"Who are you calling, you pathetic loser?" Salem mocked loudly, stepping closer, emboldened by the crowd's silence. "I thought you had no one."
I wiped the blood from my lip, looking him dead in the eye. "I don't have anyone here. But he'll be here in five minutes."
