Ninety-Nine Letters, A Thousand Lies

Aubrey Burris POV:

Cooper' s eyes, cold and unwavering, fixed on my face. "Did you tell Jonna to confront us at the airport?" he demanded. His voice was low. Dangerous.

A shiver ran down my spine. The air in the room grew heavy. "No," I said. My voice barely a whisper. My heart was a stone in my chest. "I told her to go home."

"Then why did she show up? Why did she make a scene?" He took a step closer. His presence felt menacing. "And now her private photos are online. I told you, Aubrey. Mess with me, and I'll make sure you regret it."

My hands clenched at my sides. My fingernails digging into my palms. I felt a cold dread spread through my body. He wasn't just threatening Jonna. He was threatening me. And he had followed through on his threat to Jonna.

"She was upset," I explained. My voice tight with unshed tears. "She cares about me. She saw you and Kennedy. She reacted." I swallowed hard. "It's my fault. She was defending me."

Cooper' s expression softened. Just a fraction. "I understand she was defending you. But she went too far. I had to protect Kennedy's reputation." He paused. His gaze flickering to Kennedy. Who stood quietly beside him. Her eyes wide and innocent. "The photos will be taken down. I've already instructed my team. But Jonna needs to learn her lesson."

"Her lesson?" I repeated. Disbelief coloring my voice. "You humiliated her. You exposed her most private moments. All because she spoke the truth!"

"The truth, Aubrey, is often inconvenient," Cooper snapped. The softness vanished. "And sometimes, inconveniences need to be handled. Now, about your little friend's photos. They will disappear. But only if you cooperate." His gaze held mine. An unspoken threat hung in the air.

Kennedy stepped forward. Her hand gently touching Cooper' s arm. "Cooper, darling, don't be too hard on Aubrey. She's clearly distressed." Her voice was a sugary facade. But her eyes, they gleamed with triumph. "It's all so messy. But I'm sure Aubrey understands."

Aubrey understands. The words were a fresh wound.

"I need a divorce, Cooper," I blurted out. The words felt foreign. Yet liberating.

Kennedy' s eyes widened. A slow smile spread across her face. "Oh, Aubrey! Really? That's… wonderful news!" Her false shock was replaced by unbridled glee. "Cooper, darling! This is it! Our chance!" She turned to him. Her eyes shining with a dangerous ambition. "The Olsen family mentioned it. They said if you were free, truly free, we could move forward with the… formal introductions. With them."

My blood ran cold. The Olsen family. My family. The family he was grooming Kennedy to impersonate.

Cooper looked at Kennedy. A flicker of something complicated in his eyes. Not love. Something darker. Possession. "Kennedy, not now."

"But darling, it's perfect! Aubrey wants out. You're free! We can finally make our arrangement official!" Kennedy insisted. Her voice rising with excitement.

Arrangement. The word hung in the air. Like a shroud.

"Arrangement?" I echoed. My voice barely audible.

Cooper turned to me. His face a mask of cold resolve. "Yes, Aubrey. An arrangement. Kennedy and I have a future together. A destiny. One that needed you out of the way. I proposed to you because you were a threat. You knew about Kennedy's plagiarism. You could have ruined everything." He paused. His eyes piercing mine. "And now that threat is gone. So yes, Kennedy is right. This is perfect. We can finally proceed with securing her rightful place."

Rightful place. My breath hitched. He was talking about my rightful place.

I remembered what Ms. Thorne had said. Renounced his citizenship… French marriage to heiress Kennedy Patel. He was already gone. Already married. Our marriage, my love, was nothing but a convenience. A smokescreen for his twisted loyalty to Kennedy.

And our anniversary. He hadn't just forgotten it. He had desecrated it. Made it the day he officially declared his true allegiance. To her.

I felt a sudden, desperate urge to flee. Away from him. Away from her. Away from this house. This nightmare. I turned to walk away. My legs felt like lead.

"Aubrey." Cooper' s voice stopped me. It was low. Warning. "Don't think this changes anything. You're still under my roof. You're still my wife. Until I decide otherwise."

I turned back slowly. My eyes met his. A cold fury now simmered beneath my despair.

"Don't try to get clever, Aubrey," he continued. Stepping closer. His voice a menacing whisper. "Don't try to take me to court. Don't try to make a scene. You saw what happened to Jonna. Imagine what I could do to you. To your career. To your reputation." He paused. A chilling smile touching his lips. "You exist because I allow it. Understand?"

His words. They weren't just a threat. They were a declaration of ownership. He saw me as a possession. A puppet. To be controlled. Humiliated.

A sharp, searing pain shot through my chest. My lungs constricted. It felt like I was drowning. My head throbbed. The room spun. The image of Cooper and Kennedy, standing together, blurred into an indistinguishable mass of malice.

I stumbled back. Unable to meet his gaze. I retreated. Up the stairs. Into the empty shell of my bedroom. The door closed softly behind me. A fragile barrier against the storm.

My phone buzzed again. Jonna. "Aubrey? Are you okay? I'm so scared. Are you safe?"

Tears, hot and stinging, finally breached my eyelids. They streamed down my face. Silent. Relentless. I sank to the floor. My back against the cold wall. My body shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't answer Jonna. Not yet.

The pain was suffocating. But beneath it, a sliver of clarity. A cold, hard resolve. This brokenness. This humiliation. It was the catalyst. It was the fire that would forge something new. The divorce. The escape. It would happen. No matter the cost.

I must have drifted into a fitful slumber. Half-dreaming, half-conscious. I felt a presence beside me. A hand gently stroking my hair. A warm breath on my cheek. Cooper. His presence. His scent. The ghost of a comfort I once knew. My heart, against my will, fluttered with a desperate hope. A longing for the man I thought I married.

Then, a harsh whisper in my mind. He doesn't love you. He never did. It's a trick. A manipulation.

I jolted awake. The room was empty. The bed untouched beside me. The hand, the warmth, the breath-all an illusion. A cruel trick of my exhausted mind. The heavy duvet lay half-collapsed on the floor. He must have used it last night. After he came home. Without me.

I glanced at my phone. The battery was dead. Of course. Another subtle form of control. He had probably removed the charger while I was asleep. Or perhaps it was dead from the notifications. I crawled to the bedside table. Plugging it in. As the screen flickered to life, I quickly checked Jonna' s pictures. They were gone. All traces wiped clean from the internet. He kept his word, in his own twisted way. For now.

I went downstairs. Cooper and Kennedy were already in the kitchen. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and gourmet pastries filled the air. Cooper, dressed in a crisp suit, was stirring cream into Kennedy' s coffee. His back to me. She was perched on a stool at the island. Wearing a silk nightgown that was definitely not mine. Her hair, perfectly styled, cascaded over her shoulders.

"Cooper, darling," Kennedy said. Her voice a purr. "This is simply divine. You always know how to make my mornings perfect."

He turned. A soft smile on his face. "Only the best for you, my love." His eyes met mine briefly. Then slid away. As if I were invisible.

"Aubrey, joining us?" Kennedy asked. Her smile didn't reach her eyes. They held a glint of malice.

"I think I'll just have water," I replied. My voice tight. I couldn' t stomach anything. Not after seeing them.

"Oh, come on, Aubrey," Kennedy cajoled. Her tone condescending. "Cooper went to so much trouble. He even bought those special French croissants you like."

My favorite croissants. He used to buy them for me every Sunday. Now they were part of her morning ritual. A fresh wave of nausea washed over me.

"I'm not hungry," I said. Turning to leave.

"Aubrey, wait," Cooper said. His voice sharper now. "We have something important to discuss. Kennedy's arrival. Her future here. You need to be aware of the arrangements."

Arrangements. Again.

"There's nothing to discuss, Cooper," I said. My voice flat. "I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Kennedy gasped. A theatrical hand flying to her mouth. "But… where would you go, darling? You have no money. Your credit cards are canceled. And your career… well, let's just say it's been difficult for you lately. Hasn't it?" Her eyes glinted. "Unless… you're thinking of running to your little Olsen family, perhaps?"

My head snapped up. How did she know? How did she know about the Olsen family? My phone, the email, my secret contact…

Cooper' s face hardened. He slammed his hand on the marble counter. The sound cracked through the quiet kitchen. "Kennedy! That's enough!" He turned to me. His eyes blazing. "Aubrey, you will not leave. Not yet. You will stay here. And you will make Kennedy feel welcome." His voice was iron. "You will prepare this house for her. Every detail. Just as she likes it. This is your penance."

His words hit me like a physical blow. He wasn' t just controlling me. He was demanding I participate in my own humiliation. My own erasure.

A sudden, sharp ring cut through the tense silence. My phone. I glanced at the screen. Ms. Thorne. My lawyer.

Cooper' s eyes narrowed. "Who is that?" he demanded. His voice laced with suspicion.

I ignored him. My finger hovering over the answer button.

"Aubrey! Who is calling you?" His voice rose. A dangerous edge to it. He lunged for my phone.

I pulled back. Just as his hand reached mine. He grabbed my arm. Tightly. His fingers digging into my flesh. "Let go!" I cried. The phone slipped from my grasp. Clattering to the pristine marble floor. The screen cracked. A spiderweb of fractures.

The call connected. On speaker.

"Ms. Burris? I have an urgent update regarding Mr. Mcknight. And a rather… disturbing discovery about Miss Patel." Ms. Thorne's calm, professional voice filled the room.

Cooper froze. His grip on my arm loosened. His eyes darted between the broken phone and my face. A look of dawning horror.

"What?" Kennedy suddenly shrieked. Her composure shattering. "What is she talking about? Cooper, what did you do?"

Cooper released my arm. He stared at the shattered screen. His face pale. My arm throbbed. A red mark already forming on my skin. He had hurt me. Again.

"Ms. Burris, are you there?" Ms. Thorne's voice was insistent.

"Yes," I managed. My voice trembling. My eyes met Cooper' s. His face was a mask of fear. And rage. "I'm here."

"Good," Ms. Thorne continued. Oblivious to the chaos she had unleashed. "I have confirmation, Ms. Burris. Cooper Mcknight did indeed renounce his US citizenship. And he is already legally married to Kennedy Patel. In France. They have been for six months."

The words hung in the air. A death knell for everything I had ever believed.

Kennedy gasped. Her hand flying to her mouth. Not in shock. But in pure, unadulterated terror.

Cooper turned to me. His eyes wide. Unblinking. "Aubrey…" he whispered. His voice hoarse.

I stared at him. The cold realization finally settling in. He had never loved me. Not one moment. I was just a convenient lie. The pain was unbearable. Yet I felt strangely detached. As if I were watching a play unfold.

"And one more thing, Ms. Burris," Ms. Thorne's voice said. Clear and unwavering from the broken phone. "The DNA sample Mr. Mcknight provided? It was definitively not his own. And the Olsen family… they've been searching for their lost heiress for decades. They call her by a specific name. It's… quite unusual. Are you ready for this?"

My eyes, still locked with Cooper's, narrowed. The rage solidified. "Yes," I said. My voice a low, steady hum. "I'm ready."