Chapter 1

“Please, don’t do this to me! What did I do wrong?” Aria pleaded, her voice trembling with desperation as she rushed to him and hugged him before he could turn away from her.

“Just tell me what to do to change your mind. I’ll do anything to make it right. Please, don’t leave me… Don't break us apart…”

"Would you stop interrupting me when I speak?" Kayden growled, causing Aria to flinch at his harsh voice, but despite her fear of this new side of her husband, she was determined to get to him.

Fueled with determination to win back her husband, Aria hugged him tighter, putting all the seductive skills she had learned online into practice. She stared up at him with a seductive gaze and sensually licked her lips.

Kayden felt her soft molds pressed against him, and an intoxicating sweetness of her feminine scent, like that of lavender in a sunlit garden, filled his nostrils and enveloped him, igniting memories that sent his heart racing and his throat to feel dry, causing all the blood in his veins to rush in a certain direction.

He could feel that part of his body come alive. He thought he hated her; he thought he didn't even want to breathe in the same air as her, but why was he responding to her touches and obvious provocation?

“Get out!” He snarled; his voice was firm, with a hint of finality in it.

"Please don't reject me; I can't take it," she pleaded, her eyes looking even more desperate as she stared up at him before she added, almost in tears,

"Make love to me like you used to, or anyhow you want to. I'm yours… Just don't kick me out of this room."

Those words were like a bad omen, making him exude a chilling aura, and his gaze became downright predatory, looking as fierce as a prowling panther.

As Kayden stared at Ariana offering herself to him with such determination and desperation, he was filled with intense jealousy and possessiveness; she was supposed to be his alone.

‘She was fucking his! But now everything felt like a joke…a very sick joke… And now seeing her like this, trying to seduce him with all her might, made him even madder.

If it were him, would she fight for him like this? Would she beg him so shamelessly like this?’

The more his mind drifted to the past, the more anger he felt, and then, in the next second, he felt like something snapped within him. He began to crave something he thought he had long forgotten.

He began to crave all those things he had once yearned for but had decided to lock them away in that deep, dark part of his heart.

He was tired of being the cursed one, the one who was left behind, the substitute…the replacement.

He wanted to be the main character now; he didn't want to keep living in the shadows any longer. But most importantly, he wanted her; he wanted her to beg and scream as she writhed under him. He wanted it all.

"Fine!" He said, and Arianna felt like she had been pulled from underwater after lacking air for 24 hours.

“Thanks, babe,” she whispered and lifted herself on her tiptoes to kiss him, but he glared at her with a deathly gaze, causing her heart to skip a beat.

Her earlier confidence deflated like a balloon, causing her lips to shift course and weakly press a kiss on his chin, trying her best to act unaffected by his actions.

“You will obey me and do as I say; you are not allowed to do anything without my permission. Do you understand?” His voice was low but full of authority.

Aria hurriedly nodded to agree.

“I understand,” she said.

Aria didn't know why Jayden was acting so cold toward her, but she was sure after a night of passionate lovemaking, her caring husband would return to her.

"Don't you dare regret it later!" He scowled, and in the next moment, he stared at her emotionlessly and commanded,

"Strip!"

~~~

Four hours ago,

“Good evening, ma'am; this just arrived for you,” the maid said, holding a brown envelope in her hand.

“Oh, just keep it there on the coffee table; I'll check on it later,” Aria said and moved her attention back to the living room.

She carefully inspected the decorations she had put up in the hall one last time and smiled.

There were scented candles lined up in a heart shape and rose petals scattered on the pathway and lined on the side by candles. Slow romantic music was playing in the background with the lights dimmed, giving off a candlelight effect.

On the dining table sat an ice bucket with one of the expensive wines from their wine cabinet, and the table had a spread of delicious foods, all prepared by Aria herself as she awaited the arrival of her husband.

Today was her wedding anniversary with her husband, Jayden Hunt, a day to celebrate the best three years of her life.

Aria didn't need a magician to tell her she had struck gold after meeting Jayden.

The man loved her, pampered her, and never cared that she was from a poor home. She was the "Cinderella of Manhattan,” a nickname the people of New York had given her, but she didn't care.

She didn't care about what those jealous socialites gossiped about or said about her behind her back; she only cared about what Jayden thought of her.

Thanks to him, even her father and stepmom dared not to bully her any longer; her younger brother was also attending one of the best universities in New York.

Jayden was her lucky star, and his love and approval for her were all that mattered.

She checked the time again and realized it was past 7:00 pm already, but Jayden wasn't still at home yet.

She had spoken to him this morning after he returned to the country from Spain.

They had talked about everything and anything, and Jayden had told her how much he missed her and how he couldn't wait to get back to her.

He had told her he'd just conclude some pending paperwork that needed his approval due to his absence and would soon come back home to her.

She decided to call him and see why he was running late, but all her calls went to voicemail. Aria was feeling worried and called her husband's secretary, James, but the same thing happened: no one picked up her calls.

Feeling worried, she decided to do something to distract her from her husband for the time being.

‘He might be in an important meeting with James, and that's why they are both not picking up,” Ariana consoled herself and decided to check the contents of the envelope she had just received.

‘This is not the first time Jayden has kept long due to an emergency meeting,’ she inwardly told herself.

“He's going to get an earful from me when he returns. I always tell him to at least send me a text in such cases to prevent me from worrying, but he never listens,” Aria whispered to herself as she carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the papers.

What she saw nearly made her collapse. The words “DIVORCE AGREEMENT” in bold text stared back at her.

Her eyes widened, and her knees buckled under her. She weakly inched close to the sofa and sat on it, her whole body trembling.

A gasp escaped from her lips when she saw the names at the end of the agreement: Ariana Gray and Jayden Hunt, accompanied by those strong, powerful strokes that depicted her husband's handwriting and his powerful signature.

'It was real!'