“I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes.” Damien reaches under his pillow.

I want to tell him to fuck off. We finished having sex a few minutes ago, but the high has worn off, and pure, undiluted hate now simmers inside my veins. “What is it?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Come on—close those beautiful eyes and give me your left hand.”

I shut my eyes and hand him a limp hand. It feels small in his warm grasp.

I hear a snap, and then feel something cool slide onto my finger. I open my eyes before he gives me permission.

It’s not one ring on my finger, but two. The simple band is silver, or maybe platinum—I never can tell the difference. Next to it is the biggest, most beautiful diamond ring I’ve ever seen in my life, an emerald-cut diamond and platinum ring. I gape at my hand in astonishment.

“Like them?” He sinks back against the pillows.

“I don’t want these.” I attempt to remove them, but he stops me, holding my hand tight.

“Never remove them. They’re a symbol of our union.”

“I thought the ankle bracelet served that purpose.”

“I wanted to give you more things to remind you who you belong to.” He plays with a strand of my hair. “You’ve been such a great wife lately. I wanted to show you my appreciation.”

I leave the damn rings on. The thread of warning in his tone is unmistakable. “You really do love me, don’t you?”

“More than you can even imagine. I’d kill for you.”

A cold chill touches my spine, but I ignore it and the fear that trickles into my bloodstream as I remember Jennifer. He killed for her too.

“But when you love someone, don’t you want them to be happy?” I ask.

“Absolutely. And you should be. I give you everything. What more could you want?”

“Damien.” I touch his naked shoulder. “Being locked up in this room every day is not my idea of happiness.”

“I know. I do agree that you need a change of scenery.” My heart leaps at his words. “That’s about to happen. From now on, I’ll be taking you out to dinner… to a restaurant. You deserve a treat.”

I bite my tongue. I don’t want to say anything that might cause him to change his mind. This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time. It’s taken a while, but it seems agreeing to have sex with him was the right move after all.

“How do you feel about that?”

“Good. I’d love to accompany you to dinner.” Inside my head, the wheels are already spinning as I think of all the possible ways I can escape from a restaurant.

“Look at me.” He places a hand on my cheek and turns me to face him. “I will take you out on one condition. You will not betray me. If you even think of doing something stupid, there will be consequences.”

I blink in response.

“You’re wondering what those consequences might be, aren’t you?” He moves his hand from my cheek to my neck. “If you ever try to leave me, I’ll have to kill you. I’ve been good to you up to this point. But things could change like that.” He snaps his thumb and forefinger. “Do you understand?”

“I do.” The hell I do. As soon as I step out of the gates of his mansion, there’s no way I’ll be coming back. Being threatened with death has further strengthened my resolve.

He narrows his eyes. “You don’t seem excited.”

“Trust me, I am.” I force a smile. “When’s our first date?”

“Maybe sometime next week. I’ll let you know.”

My heart deflates a little. Knowing how many days I have to plan would help. No matter; I’ll just have to start weaving my escape plan right away.

He places a hand on my naked waist, turning me to face him fully. “You do understand that the reason I keep you in the house is because I don’t want to lose you, right? Maybe I’m a selfish son of a bitch, but I love you so much that I want to have you all to myself. I never want to lose you.”

“You won’t.” Lying has never come easily to me, but when you’re in a life-or-death situation, you find yourself doing things that are out of character.

“That’s what I want to hear.” He kisses me on the forehead, releasing a flutter inside my belly. “Hey, don’t look so sad.” He takes my hand into his and weaves his fingers through mine.

“I’m not.” I force another smile that doesn’t come close to reaching my heart.

“There’s no need to be. We are married, with a wonderful future waiting for us.”

“Have you ever been married… before?” I ask without thinking, but now that the words are out, I find I actually want to hear him say it. I can’t get that wedding dress out of my mind.

The silence between us is taut, like a rubber band about to snap. “Why do you ask?”

I shrug. “I’m just curious.”

“What if I was? Would that be a problem?”

“No. I just... I was wondering, that’s all. I want to know you better.”

He turns away from me and gazes up at the ceiling, hands behind his head. “In that case, yes. I was married once, several years ago.”

I force myself not to analyze anything, to listen what he has to say without judgment. Still, I have a sinking feeling that his first marriage is what made him the man he is today.

“What happened to her?”

Shit. I swallow hard and rephrase my question before he reads between the lines. “I mean, why did you get divorced?”

“We didn’t. I don’t do divorce. I take marriage vows seriously.” He clears his throat. “Only death has the power to end a marriage.”

An involuntary shudder races through me, but I do my best to remain calm. Did he kill her?

He turns his head to look at me. “How about you? What’s your opinion on divorce?”

“Hmmm...” I decide to be honest. “The reality is, some marriages don’t work out. If two people decide they’re happier apart than together, then I don’t see a problem with that.”

“I see.” He grinds the words between his teeth. “Well, at least you never have to worry about going through one. You and I are never getting divorced.”