Now that I was married to Chris, I figured it was time to leave Owen’s villa for good. He wasn’t around when I came back to pack up. 

I dumped everything that had anything to do with us—the jewelry he had given me, the scarf I had knitted for him, the oil paintings we had done together, the scrapbook full of our memories, and every photo from the nightstand and the walls. 

In the end, I took off the wedding ring he had put on my finger and tossed that in the trash too. 

I hauled my suitcase out and made a beeline for the door. But just as I was about to make my getaway, I ran straight into Owen. When he saw my suitcase, his brows furrowed, and he grabbed my arm. 

“Where are you going?” he asked. 

“I’m moving out.” 

“Moving out?” His voice spiked with anger, and his grip on my arm sent a sharp jolt of pain through me. 

“Stop being so difficult, Mia. I told you—Monica’s nothing more than a sister to me. I’ll make it up to you with another wedding. Now, stop this and come home with me.” 

I tried to yank my arm free, but before I could, he had already told the bodyguards to snatch my suitcase. Then, he dragged me back into the villa and slammed the door behind us. 

He flopped onto the couch and said casually, “It’s Monica’s birthday tomorrow, and she’s throwing a party. You’re my plus-one.” 

“Why on earth would I go?” 

“She wants to apologize to you face-to-face. So yeah, you’re in.” 

I said no in a heartbeat. 

Owen’s eyes turned to slits, and it made my skin crawl. He clamped his hand on my chin. “You go, or I cut off your mom’s treatment.” 

I froze. Mom was seriously ill and receiving treatment at Anderson Hospital. Owen knew she was the only family I had left, and still, he used her as leverage against me. 

I was shaking like a leaf. Finally, I nodded in despair. 

“That’s the spirit,” he said with a smug smile. 

Then, his eyes zeroed in on my bare left hand. “Where’s the ring I gave you?” 

“I tossed it,” I said without batting an eye. 

He thought I was making a scene and couldn’t care less. “Whatever. I’ll just get you another one.” 

The ring hadn’t been worth much to begin with. But little did he know, I had no use for it anymore. I was already married to Chris.