The bride that never was
When her meticulously crafted marriage to Elijah Rossi shatters on her wedding night with a brutal revelation: "There is no us, Imogen. There never was." Imogen is abandoned by her husband and further faces an even crueler twist when her husband refuses a divorce. With the arrival of Isaac Rossi, Elijah's revenge-driven half brother, Imogen strikes a clandestine deal with her brother-in-law to navigate a dangerous game of deceit, seeking to outmaneuver her indifferent husband. As loyalties are tested, Imogen must decide which brother is right for her. The one she was made for or the one she burns for.
The Ortolan 1
IMOGEN'S POV
I waited in the darkness behind my closed eyes, every muscle in my body tensing as if that would somehow lessen the pain. But nothing could prepare me for what came next, for the violation that shattered the remnants of my trust and dignity. I retreated deep within myself, disconnecting, letting my mind drift to a place far away from the reality of what was happening.
Time lost all meaning. I was no longer in my own body but floating somewhere distant, somewhere numb and void of feeling. I focused on the silence, the absence of thought, because thinking meant acknowledging, and I couldn't do that. Not now. Not ever.