Chapter 1

All she wanted was for people to see her as who she is now, not that once spoiled brat when she was a little girl. Why did she have to be misunderstood when her desire was way too simple? The worse, was by people too close to her.

...

Elyana's Point of View

"He's finally here!" My heart jumped for joy when I heard a car's engine outside. I was only expecting my husband, whom I knew would arrive that exact night.

It had been nearly a week since he left for a business trip. I immediately rushed outside out of too much excitement and longing for the few days we hadn't seen each other.

I waited for him right at the foot of the grand staircase, barefoot and in a silky black robe to hide a surprise underneath it.

"Honey!" I exclaimed right after I saw him. He was looking down while walking and only raised his head the moment I called him.

I ran like a child to greet him with a tight hug, but when our eyes met, I was surprised to see his reaction—there was no reaction at all.

I tried to ignore that and continued to hug him tightly to let him know that I missed him so much; however, I could not stop noticing that it seemed like I was hugging a stump. The stiffness of his body was too much.

Maybe he was just surprised by what I did, so I let the thought go again.

I raised my head while my arm was wrapped around his body. I caught him looking at me, and it put a smile back on my face. I tiptoed to reach his lips, but I stopped when I didn't get a response to what I did.

I moved away to look at his face.

"I-is there something wrong? The business trip did not go well?" I instantly thought the reason was this—that maybe his father scolded him for it.

"I'm too tired to talk, Elyana," he answered, avoiding my eyes.

My eyebrows met in shock, but the reason was the way he called me because he commonly called me by my nickname or any sweet made-up name.

He walked away and left me standing in the same spot. I wanted to chase him to ask him, but I changed my mind.

I turned around and watched him climb the stairs. He was loosening his necktie while walking, and based on his body movement, he seemed tired.

I decided to follow him, and when I was inside our room, I didn't see him. I heard the strong rush of water coming from our bathroom. He left the door open, but I fought myself not to go in and disturb him. That was why I laid down on the bed first and waited for him to finish.

At the time, the door was pulled wide open. I let out a sly smile and jumped out of bed. Lucas loved those moments when I was the one initiating on times like those.

I jumped out of bed to show him what I needed. I buried my face on the side of his neck; however, the moment I tried to plant kisses on it, he slightly pushed me away.

"I-I already told you I'm tired." He walked away right after pushing me. He went to the walk-in closet and stayed there for a few minutes.

My mood fell to the floor—he instantly killed it. I had no choice but to give up, let out a heavy sigh, and go back to bed.

Lucas went out shirtless, not only wearing boxer shorts with his typical sleeping wear, but he was in pajama pants that night. I found it weird, but I was too embarrassed to give too much attention to it.

I lay on my side while waiting for him to lie down. I waited for him to pull me close, to wrap me around his arms, and to apologize for what he did, but I didn't get any of these until the sun went up the next day.

He was ready when I woke up.

"Where are you going so early?" I asked with a yawn, but Lucas didn't seem to hear me because he was in a rush.

"How about we have breakfast together first before you leave?" I suggested, hoping he would finally hear me.

"I'm leaving now. I have an important meeting," he said without even looking at me.

He continued putting on his necktie by himself when, mostly, I was the one fixing it for him every day, but I couldn't remember the day when he started doing it for himself.

"But you just came—" I was about to object, but then I changed my mind. That could only lead to one thing, and that was an argument.

"O-okay," I answered sluggishly, even though deep inside it felt like something was squeezing my heart.

He left the room without even kissing me or saying goodbye, like before. I felt rejected twice in a row.

He was gone when I noticed he had left other things he usually brings to business meetings. I had so many maybes and what-ifs, yet I let my blind mind choose the good.

'But how if it felt too much already?'

I peered at his moving car from the window of our room and stayed there until I could no longer see it.

I had been married for five years to the only man who made me believe in love and, at the same time—fairy tales.

His family had been known throughout England for having one of the largest real estate companies, with branches in different parts of the globe. My parents are the same, but they are well-known in Turkey in the fields of hotels and tours.

Our only issue was that we were having a hard time conceiving. Having a baby in their family was a big deal because Lucas was an only child, just like me.

There was pressure from both sides, but his father exerted most of the pressure because he wanted an heir as soon as possible.

Because of that reason, I thought Lucas was serious about trying some methods for us to conceive, but later on, he had so many excuses that convinced me to agree with his idea of just staying patient while doing things the natural way.

I could do whatever he thought was best and comfortable for him. I love him immensely, and whatever he liked, I would instantly agree.

I knew what kept my husband busy—only his job—their business, and he spent most of his time away from home meeting with clients and occasionally traveling all alone.

"What is that scent?" I asked, sniffing the strong scent Lucas left.

I didn't often mingle with what he does and where he goes, but that morning my mind was bugging while smelling the strong perfume.

He'd already taken a bath, and his perfume had spread throughout our room. He smelled like he'd used the entire bottle on his body that morning, and it wasn't pleasant at all.

I went straight to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready to go to the office that day. I was working for the same real estate company his family owns as a peer, his father's wish, before we got married.

We were in the same field. We're both civil engineers; that's why we got along easily the first day we met. But our interests were so alike; everything was perfect for us, and that pushed me to love him so much.

I tried to forget my suspicions while letting the lukewarm water from the shower drip down my body. I kept repeating in my head that Lucas was not someone who would do something behind my back, but my heart and mind disagreed with each other at that time.

When I couldn't bear it any longer, I immediately called his secretary, even though I was also going to the same place that day. I checked the time, and he surely reached the office that hour.

I just wanted to confirm something, but before that, I just had to bribe his secretary to get the information I needed.

"Hello, Lucy! Good morning! Can you please order me a coffee? Order yourself too, my treat!"

"Sure, ma'am!" she answered enthusiastically from the other line. I was hoping she wouldn't doubt that because I have my secretary to ask for the same favor.

"Thank you! By the way, can you please check my husband's schedule today? He just came back home. I'm planning to prepare an early dinner for us both, but I'm not sure if it would be possible with his hectic schedule lately," I hurriedly said in a low tone, hoping I could win her sympathy to give me that information.

"About that, ma'am, Sir Lucas canceled all his engagements today, so your plans could be possible," his secretary politely answered.

"Are you sure? I don't want my plans to go to waste. Can you please check if there's something he changed?" I pleaded.

"A moment, ma'am." I waited just like she said.

"His schedule is clean, ma'am."

A grin was already forming on my lips right after hearing what my husband did that day. something he stopped doing for me for a long time now, but he told me he had some important meetings that day.

"That would be great then! Thanks, Lucy! Is he there?"

"Sir Lucas hasn't arrived yet, ma'am," she answered quickly, and my lips parted because the company was not far away from where we lived.

"O-okay, Lucy. Thanks again!"

"No worries, ma'am," she said, and I ended the call.

My heart started pounding. My intuition was telling me something.

A month ago, a trusted person gave me a number as a joke in case I needed a private investigator. I was hesitant at that time, but I decided to keep the number in my phonebook just in case, and I didn’t expect I would call at that moment for help.

I dialed the number. The owner immediately answered, giving him all the necessary information he needed.

"It seems my husband is going somewhere today. I want you to follow him. He's alone and using a black car," I informed him without hesitation, and I gave him the exact plate number of the vehicle.

"Right away, ma'am," the guy from the other line answered immediately, without leaving any questions. I was not sure how he was going to find my husband at that time with the information he got from me, but I wanted to trust his ability.

After talking to him, I checked the time on my cellphone. It was just around seven in the morning. I planned to go to the office, but I was having second thoughts about it.

I took a seat for a while to think. I sat there, staring blankly at the king-size bed that I fixed earlier that day. I was slowly tapping one of my fingers on the armrest while waiting for an update, and as a few minutes passed, I heard the message tone on my phone and immediately checked from whom it came.

It was from the person I hired. According to him, my husband was in a coffee shop with a woman.

I sent a reply right away. I asked him to send me some pictures because I wanted to identify the woman. Later on, I received pictures. He sent five pictures from different angles. All the pictures were vivid enough for me to recognize her.

I knew who he was with. His so-called friend

I didn't want to give malice to the way she was looking, giggling, and touching my husband's arm, but there was something off inside me that told me there was something more between them.

My blood was boiling, and my hands were shaking. I told the agent to follow them if they ever decided to leave. I remained sitting. The day felt frustrating already, even though nothing was already happening before my eyes, but not until a few more minutes had come to pass.

Huddled and restless, like my instinct was telling me, there was something absurd going on already—and there it was. Another message came, and it was only a single picture.

I wasn't prepared. My world was shaken in an instant as my knees trembled like jelly. Lucas and Diane were too close in that picture—not just close. They were kissing, and they were still in the parking lot of ​​the famous coffee shop where the agent caught them.

If anyone sees them, the first thing that will come to their mind is that they look like long-lost lovers who missed each other so much.

They were making out in public without fear! They seemed like hungry animals who couldn't wait to relieve the longing they were feeling for each other at that time.