My Husband Saved My Cousin Instead of Me Chapter 01

My Husband Saved My Cousin Instead of Me Chapter 01

The chandelier came crashing down, and my husband Gavin West threw himself in front of my cousin Cecilia Wright.

I didn’t scream or make a scene like I always used to. Instead, I started avoiding him.

My parents told me to let it go. Cecilia had just been named principal dancer, and she needed the West family’s backing.

I stayed quiet, so they slammed their fists on the table. “If we hadn’t poured every last dime into your cousin’s training and left you to fend for yourself, do you really think you would’ve ever had a shot at marrying him?”

I nodded. “There’s actually a better way. You want the West family’s money and connections for Cecilia, right? So convince him to divorce me and take a fat settlement. I promise I’ll vanish from everyone’s lives for good.”

The words had barely left my mouth when a familiar silhouette appeared behind me.

Gavin stood in the doorway, all the color draining from his face.

***

If there was one word Gavin West couldn’t stomach, it was divorce. His parents died in a car wreck on their way to the courthouse.

The day we exchanged vows, he held me so tight I could barely breathe. “Sage, you and me—we’re in this for life. In my world, there’s no divorce. Only death do us part.”

He loved me with such fierce, desperate love that I honestly believed, after more than twenty years of never being anyone’s priority, I’d finally found a place to belong.

But three months ago, my parents and Cecilia moved back from overseas. At the welcome dinner, the crystal chandelier began to sway. I reached out to shove Gavin clear of it.

Instead, he lunged straight for Cecilia. I stumbled and hit the floor hard, a long shard of glass slicing my skin. I didn’t feel a thing. I just stared as Gavin cradled Cecilia in his arms.

My parents blamed me for being reckless, said I almost ruined his chance to save her. Gavin rushed her to the hospital and never even asked if I was hurt.

It wasn’t until he spotted me getting treated that he grabbed me and stumbled over his words. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I swear I didn’t know you were behind me.”

I ignored the smug little smirk in Cecilia’s eyes and shook my head. “It’s fine.”

But after that night, I went dead quiet. Gavin sent apology gifts, and I accepted them. My parents invited him to dinner to network for Cecilia, and I nodded along. Cecilia demanded a custom haute couture gown, and I said I’d have him order it later. Everybody was thrilled. Problem solved, right?

Gavin, though, grew more and more unsettled.

“Sage, you used to tell me that when things weren’t fair as a kid, you’d raise hell until the whole house was on fire. So why won’t you fight me anymore?”

I didn’t answer.

Tonight, at my parents’ place, he overheard the one answer he never wanted. He muttered some hasty excuse to my parents, dragged me out and shoved me into the car.