Part 2The Billionaire's Retainer

After all, the old estate was the one place Ethan absolutely refused to touch. It was his ultimate psychological taboo.

The women in our social circle always mocked me, saying I couldn't survive without Ethan.

Honestly, they were absolutely right.

They were trust-fund babies born with silver spoons in their mouths.

Even if they got dumped, they had massive family conglomerates backing them up.

But I had nothing.

I was just an impoverished student whose tuition was paid for by the Sterling Family Charity Foundation.

When I was eighteen, I got accepted into an Ivy League university with top honors, and was invited to the Sterling estate for a celebratory dinner.

That was the exact same day Ethan's mother—the most envied society wife in New York—threw herself off the roof of the mansion, unable to endure the relentless humiliation from her husband's mistresses.

A human body plummeting from that height.

Ethan and I were completely covered in her blood.

Because of that day, Ethan developed severe, crippling PTSD.

He was terrified of the color red, and the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground would send him into violent panic attacks.

Every single night, the moment he closed his eyes, he dreamed of his mother lying in a pool of blood right in front of him.

He smashed every mirror in his bedroom, and he absolutely refused to ever set foot in the old estate again.

Ethan's grandfather hired the best psychiatrists in the world, but nothing worked.

Finally, he came to me, begging.

"Mia, you're the only person who can calm him down when you're by his side."

"I'm asking you to stay. Please, keep him company."

Perhaps it was because we shared the exact same, horrific nightmare.

Ethan trusted me implicitly.

He silently allowed me to stay by his side.

My heart ached for this pale, shattered, fragile boy.

And I was deeply grateful for everything the Sterling family had done for my education.

I wanted to do whatever I could to help him.

When Ethan couldn't sleep, I sat on the edge of his bed, staying awake with him all night.

When Ethan couldn't eat, I studied recipes and cooked every single meal for him.

When he woke up screaming in the middle of the night, I held his hand and sat with him until the sun came up.

In those early years, there was no Chloe. There were no corporate power plays, no financial calculations.

There was only him and me.

Like two wounded animals trapped in the dark.

Holding onto each other, surviving together.

I knew my background meant I would never be accepted as his legal wife.

But.

When Ethan's fingers brushed through my hair...

When our lips met, and he whispered that he loved me...

When he spent millions of dollars to fill an entire city block with my favorite flowers...

I couldn't stop a tiny, foolish spark of hope from blooming in my heart.

That hope lasted exactly until my 25th birthday.

We were laying in bed after making love. Ethan reached out and casually pinched the tiny bit of soft flesh on my waist.

Leaning against the headboard, he let out a quiet, mocking laugh.

"Mia, you've gained weight."

"If you don't start managing your figure better, you might not get your allowance next month."

My brain exploded with a deafening buzz.

In a single second, I plummeted from heaven straight into hell.

It was in that exact moment I violently woke up to the truth.

No matter how well Ethan treated me.

No matter how deeply I loved him.

In his eyes, I was nothing but a commodity. An unpresentable, high-priced escort.

He was never going to fall in love with someone like me.

And he was never going to truly commit to me.

But I also knew Ethan would never just let me go.

He was born arrogant and possessive.

Even if he didn't want a toy anymore, he would never allow anyone else to play with it.

I refused to drown in a toxic relationship with no future.

I needed to secure an exit strategy before he got completely sick of me and threw me out with nothing.

That was exactly when Chloe Thorne caught my eye.

She was bright, lively, and instantly captivated Ethan's attention.

I intentionally leaked information to her, helping her mold herself into the exact type of woman Ethan was obsessed with.