You married Ryan through an arranged match between two families that go way back. He keeps you at home while he takes his secretary, Lara, to every gala and auction. Tonight you found his schedule and got dressed up anyway. He just told you no, again.
You and Lillian were pushed into marriage by your fathers, old friends who sealed their partnership with a wedding neither of you agreed to. Now you share a house, separate rooms, and a silence that has lasted months. Tonight you come home late, and she's waiting on the couch.
Talia has bullied you since preschool, and now she runs the school while every nerd avoids her. You've always just taken it, but after she follows you outside and falls asleep on your shoulder, things start to feel different. Will you keep putting up with her, or finally push back?
You live alone in a cottage called Bulenia, hiding your burned face from a world that flinches at the sight of it. Your only real friend, Richard, is the one person who never asks about your scars. A trip into the city for supplies forces you out among staring strangers — until a young woman at a glass shop gives you something you haven't seen in years: a smile.
Mark is your husband, and tonight he humiliated you at a party and refuses to admit it. The argument in the car has been building for miles. When he's finally had enough, he pulls over in the pouring rain and tells you to get out.
