The Stolen Wife

ARTEMIS

I stood at the far end of the grand ballroom like a stranger. The champagne glass in my hand felt too heavy, and I was almost tempted to drop it, but that was the only thing keeping me distracted.

My eyes swept the hall, and even with the large number of people in the room, I still felt like a ghost.

The guests chatted and laughed while treating me like I was invisible, even though my husband, Van Calloway, was the party's host.

I tried my best not to feel scorn towards them, but I couldn’t help it.

I once belonged to this crowd. These people had been my friends first. Hell, some of them used to do anything to ensure they never got on my bad side, but now, they treated me like trash.

My life changed drastically three years ago because of my husband. He had carelessly caused my father’s shipping company to go bankrupt, and it was partially my fault.

My father fell ill with cancer and needed surgery to remove the growth from his brain. He needed a year to recover and wanted me to handle the company, but I had stupidly insisted that he give it to Van, whose construction business was still finding its footing.

I wanted to help Van as my husband, but that was the biggest mistake I would ever make. He promised me he would take care of the business, but he went behind my back and used the company as collateral for a business deal, he had been promised by some foreign investors he met online.

Van didn’t tell me about the deal until it fell through. He knew I would have never agreed, and when everything collapsed, he used my father’s company to clear his debt and mess the deal had caused.

Everything my father had worked for disappeared in the blink of an eye, and Van was never remorseful about what he had done to me and my family.

Instead of fixing the mess he created, he ensured we would never be able to retaliate against him and went further to cut off all my family’s access to money.

I stayed with him because I believed it was a mistake and loved him too much to walk away. My parents also didn’t blame me and told me not to blame myself, but I couldn’t do that. It was all my fault.

“Emmy!” Van sang as he called for me, making me freeze in fear.

I recognised the hint of mockery and amusement in his tone and eyes when they locked on me.

“I almost forgot you existed for a minute,” he smiled, and the sight unnerved me because it lacked sincerity and was only filled with schemes. “You’ve been so quiet tonight.”

“Hasn’t she always been the quiet type?” someone cruelly remarked, and my gaze caught Annabelle as she smirked in my direction.

Annabelle was one of the many people who benefited greatly from me when I was a member of high society. When her consulting firm was a few days old, she came begging for investment but was one of the first to turn her back on me.

“Has she?” Van mused, “I always remembered her as the chatty type when her father still had money. She would not shut up about offering help to everyone.”

The guests laughed as if I were the joke of the century, and a burning sensation crawled up my throat as I fought to hide the tears that burned at the back of my eyes.

My stomach twisted because I knew what was coming. Van was going to do it again. He was going to use me as entertainment for his guests, as though the music wasn’t already enough.