Emma Smith had returned after five years of being missing and presumed kidnapped. She had expected her husband to weep with joy at the sight of her, overwhelmed with emotion.
But to her shock, he had long since reported her disappearance as an accident, obtained a death certificate in her name, and remarried—a wealthy socialite who now stood as his new wife.
At the grand banquet, the socialite publicly humiliated Emma, tearing open old wounds with vicious rumors and sneering that she should have stayed dead. All the while, her former husband stood by, refusing to utter a single word in her defense.
Just as Emma, helpless and heartbroken, turned to leave, the heir of the most powerful family in the city pulled her into his arms. His eyes glinted with dark amusement as he murmured, "Emma Smith, if he doesn’t want you... I do."
