Prologue

When did it all go wrong?

"Stephan, wait, listen to me, please—"

BANG!

The sound of champagne glasses falling off the table and shattering on the tile echoed across the room as a very beautiful young woman was roughly shoved by her shoulders onto the floor. Her curly chocolate brown hair which had been perfectly curled and styled for the evening was now a mess, her makeup ruined and her expensive red dress was torn where her heels had caught in the fabric, causing her to topple over from the forceful shove to her shoulder. She looked nothing like the stunning, haughty 5'9 figure that had strutted into the ballroom less than an hour ago.

Standing in front of her was the person who had shoved her, his brown eyes full of disgust and hatred. His handsome face was filled with pure venom. It was impossible for one to call this man her fiancé. But he was, and they were expected to wed in a year's time.

Where did it all go wrong?

This was the question she was constantly asking herself as she looked up at him.

Shifting her gaze, her eyes landed on a petite and delicate woman whose face scream of innocence. She was wiping her eyes with the handkerchief her fiancé had handed her and sniffling lightly, a look of being extremely wronged on her face. If you wanted to describe Sophia Taylor one could use the words pure, docile and anything innocent. The woman was beautiful, her heart shape face fit her small stature perfectly with big blue eyes, pink lips, high cheeks bones and perfectly blonde hair; like a Malibu Barbie doll.

Because of her meek nature and her prefect characteristics suited for a female lead, the fact that she was beautiful made up for the fact that she was poor and unsuited for the rich, upper class life of wealthy socialites. Many men found themselves drawn to her pretty looks and dainty manners, and Stephan Harper was no different.

Stephan Harper had been her fiancé for as long as Ariana could remember. The Harpers ranked fourth in the five wealthiest families in the world while the Montmorencys ranked third. Although they were a rank below, the fact that the Harpers had a spot in Big Five was enough to have the Montmorencys deem them as suitable candidates for marriage. Stephan had been best friends with the British Heiress since childhood and their parents had arranged a marriage the second they realized how close their children were. Unfortunately, before the marriage could occur, Stephan's attention was stolen away and Ariana was unfortunate enough to experience the harsh treatment of a man whose attention was no longer focused on one woman.

"How dare you sprout such lies?" Stephan spat out each word like it was poison on his tongue. "Have you no shame?"

Ariana felt like the antagonist in the perfect love story, a story in which the ruthless heart of the incredibly handsome billionaire was captured by the sweet, loving Sophia and she was the villain trying to break the loving couple apart. Words couldn't describe her humiliation. It wouldn't be so bad if everything happened behind closed doors, but it wasn't. Everything was happening at the biggest charity ball of the year with countless socialites of all kind from all over the world watching from every corner of the million dollar ball room, their mouths moving non-stop as they gossiped, sneered and laughed mercilessly at the young heiress whose reputation was being dragged through the mud and brought to ruins.

Ariana felt her heart shatter to pieces from the bone-chilling stare Stephan was giving her. He looked at her like she was the dirt under his shoe and the pest in his way of having a happy life. She felt broken and abandoned and in an attempt to fix everything she tried to reach out to him again.

"Steph, I—"

"—Do not call me by that name!" He snarled at her.

His tone had her flinch and look down away.

When did it all go wrong?

All her life, her mother had prepped her to be the perfect wife, teaching her to dedicate all her time and attention to the man she would marry. Ariana had followed her mother's instructions to the 't'. When Stephan needed help with his company, she was there, not only as his fiancée but also as an influential daughter of the Montmorency family.

She helped him pull strings, threatened people, invested time and money into helping his company succeed, pushed herself over the limit and got herself a business degree, driving herself to the edge of insanity, worrying over issues that he should've cared about. And while she slaved away trying to be the perfect woman while sitting behind his office desk running his company in his stead, Stephan was with his lover halfway across the world.

Ariana clenched her fist. After everything she did, all before the age of nineteen, he still took it for granted. Because of her naivety, she had fallen for a man who didn't appreciate a single thing she did for him. How foolish!

Stephan scoffed at her pathetic state. He couldn't believe he thought this lowly woman deserved the title of 'best friend' when they were younger. When she was a child, despite her status, she was like every other normal girl. But now that she had gotten older, he saw how much of a crazy woman she was.

He was fine when she displayed signs of jealousy. What man didn't want a beautiful woman desiring after him? But he felt like she had crossed the line when she decided to taunt and bully his new lover, Sophia. Who does she think she is? He had allowed her to exploit the title of "Stephan Harper's Fiancée" as much as she wanted to, and in return, this was how she repaid him? By attempting to slander his lover?

"You're nothing more than a worthless pawn. Who are you to think you have enough power to come after a Queen?" Stephan held nothing back as he berated the woman who stood by his side through everything. She had already fallen from her grace but that didn't mean he was merciful. If there were more chances to tear her from her throne, he would be the first to grab it. His parents may see her as his future wife and a life time partner, but to him, she was nothing more than a joke. "Use my kindness as a warning and stay the hell away from me and my wife."

If looks could kill, Ariana would have been more than a hundred feet underground. She snapped her gaze up to the woman at his side who was watching with a pitiful expression, her eyes wide and filled with tears, brimming of innocence, like she was incapable of doing any wrong. Ariana wanted to laugh. Wife? More like his scheming Mistress. Ariana knew something about Sophia that Stephan didn't. The Harpers would never approve of such a woman. In their world, money was the root of all evil just as much as it was the judging factor of who was qualified and who wasn't. And with such a low background and heritage, Sophia was definitely unqualified and she would have a hard time gaining approval.

"Stay. Away. From. Sophia." Stephan threw her a glare so fierce it made several of the onlookers stumbled back.

Ariana wanted to cower away from him but a surge of confidence filled her veins. Her broken heart was fueling her need to have him feel the same pain she was feeling. She was a woman with a fiery temper and at the moment, the fuse was lit. "What if I don't?"

Her words were like a challenge and before anyone could blink, a hand had smacked her across her face, her head snapping to the side with the force of it.

SMACK!

The crowd gasped in shock. Never in a billion years, would they expect Stephan Harper to strike a woman. Ariana felt tears gathering at the sight of abuse on her cheeks but she pushed them down. Unknown to the onlookers, this wasn't the first time he raised his hand on her. The first time he had hit her, she had flown into a rage and confronted him about cheating on her. The two had gotten into a fight, she even threw photographs at him, all of which he denied and claimed where Photoshop.

"Stephan! My love, are you alright?!" Sophia had a look of horror on her face as she grabbed her lover's hand, turning it over and examining it with a worried look. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Stephan softened at her concern for him. "I'm fine, sweetheart."

Ariana hatefully stared at the couple. When Stephan held Sophia like she was the most precious thing in the world, a bitter feeling grew in her chest. He never held her like that—well not willingly. In front of the cameras and prying eyes, they played the part but behind closed doors it was a different story. Who would've thought a ruthless monster was capable of love?

"My love, I think we should leave now. Let's not upset the guests anymore." Sophia's words were like a cold drink on a hot summer day. Instantly, Stephan agreed with her and he nodded his head.

"As you wish, sweetheart." He whispered to her.

He always agreed to whatever she desired. He was smitten by her. It was obvious. They had recently begun to date and were most likely in the honeymoon stage. But his parents saw it as foolish puppy love, something which would wear off after a while. That's what Ariana tried to convince herself. But deep down she knew it was deeper than simple puppy love. Stephan was really in love with Sophia.

It destroyed her.

Ever since her first confrontation with Stephan, every interaction after ended in a painful cycle of yelling, harsh words and pointless conversations. This wasn't their first confrontation, it was just their first one in public, with the woman in question present and confirming everything. Ariana felt her heart screw painfully. Her pride was destroyed, her mother disowned her, her family turned against her and her reputation was blasted into nothingness.

What more did she have to lose?

Something hot, angry, and bitter trickled down her eyes.

Stephan's dark eyes flickered in surprise. It was the first time he had seen her tears as she was someone with a lot of patience. He nearly laughed until he realized it wasn't tears of sorrow. There was a saying that the quietest ones were the ones with the biggest tempers, and Ariana's tears were tears of anger, coming from the violent waves of her broken heart. Ariana saw red as she slowly stood up. She looked like a phoenix rising from the ashes with an eerily calm look on her face. She wanted blood to spill.

But something held her back.

"Stay down." It whispered to her from behind her. "This isn't the time to fight back. Stay down."

Before she could turn around to see who it was, the light went off and everything went black.