Chapter 1

Inside a spacious room, designed with minimalist and monotone colors, a young couple were spooning each other. The man peppered small kisses on the lady’s neck as she tried to hold back the smile about to bloom on her beautiful face.

“Stop it.”

She mumbled, her voice still sleepy, but the man continued to assault her with kisses on the crook of her neck. When the lady ignored it and still fell back asleep, the man started tickling her, leaving her no choice but to wake up and open her eyes.

As her eyes fluttered open,  a dazzling pair of violet irises came into view, which could put even the angels to shame.

“So beautiful”

The man mumbled as he kissed both her eyes, one by one, leaving behind a lingering warmth.

“Now turn off the alarm.”

“Huh?”

“Turn off the alarm.”

“Wha-”

“It is giving me a headache, turn off the alarm quickly.”

Emma was snapped awake by the harsh voice, and her eyes met with the cold, piercing eyes of her husband, Shayne Watson, making her realize she was dreaming and in reality, her husband was not looking at her lovingly but with a soul-piercing glare, for ruining his morning sleep with her alarm. 

“Ye-yeah, sorry.”

Emma mumbled quickly, in a hushed but hurried tone as she scrambled to turn off the alarm. Turning it off, she sat up on the bed as she looked at her husband who went back to sleep, facing his back to her. 

Reminiscing her dream, she sighed softly as she longingly looked at her husband before shaking her head to clear her thoughts and get started with her day. 

Though their marriage was never out of love but out of desperation, at least they had respect and trust in it but with time even that is nowhere in sight as she failed to conceive even after 5 years of their marriage. 

After a quick shower, Emma dressed up in a powder-blue maxi dress with bishop sleeves and white flats pairing it up with plain tear-drop earrings, pulling her hair into a low ponytail, she took one last at herself in the mirror and went back into their shared bedroom. 

Looking at the still-sleeping Shayne she had a soft smile, full of understanding and hope before she wiped off any remaining emotions and wore the mask of a gentle and benevolent woman, with a picture-perfect marriage she was known for in the house. 

Emma entered a spacious modular, kitchen, where the servants already preparing for the day greeted her respectfully, to which Emma nodded back in acknowledgment.

“Amanda, what is being prepared for the breakfast, so far?”

Emma asked the chef, who was busy chopping up some chives to garnish the soup which was boiling beside, while a few other servants were going about doing their routine tasks. 

“Mrs. Watson, only salad and the morning drinks are remaining, the rest all are prepared.”

“Get the coffee ready first, Madam Watson would be going down any moment now. Also, prepare the detox drink Mr. Watson asked for yesterday.”

“Yes, Mrs. Watson.”

Amanda replied with a respectful nod, as Emma nodded and made herself busy preparing the honey-lemon water. After she was done, she placed it on a tray, along with a pill on a small decorative plate, and brought it back upstairs to her shared bedroom with her husband.

Entering inside she found, her husband, Shayne Watson, sitting up on the bed while he held his head in his palms, cradling to soothe the piercing pain in his head. 

Holding back her sigh of distress Emma walked to him, as this was now a regular occurrence in the last few weeks. Every day Shayne would come home drunk and the next day would be riddled with headaches, contributing to his sore mood. 

“I brought some honey-lemon water and aspirin to help relieve the hangover. Please drink it while it is still lukewarm.”

“Hmm..”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Hold on.”

Shayne said calmly and calculatedly as she raised his head and looked at his wife, his chocolate brown eyes piercing directly into her now hazel eyes because of contact lenses.

“You need something else?”

Emma asked softly, keeping her alarmed and confused expression to herself, as she gently smiled at him. 

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“Sign these papers.”

Shayne said as he passed her a manila envelope and pen from his nightstand drawer, before grabbing the pill and swallowing it with the honey-lemon water.

“What are these?”

Emma questioned with a slight frown as she took the envelope and opened it to look at the contents of the papers inside. A frown formed on her face, deepening with every passing moment, her gentle smile long gone was now an accusing scowl of betrayal. 

“Is it because we can’t get pregnant?”

Emma kept her voice in check, but her temper was flaring up at this one-sided decision from Shayne, asking her to sign divorce papers like it was some kind of joke. 

“Stella is back.”

“What?”

Emma’s voice so harsh and foreign, that she flinched at the intensity, even momentarily surprising Shayne with it. 

The ever so soft-spoken and calm-tempered Emma lost her temper for the first time and the intensity of her voice, momentarily stunned Shayne before he recovered and looked at her coldly, as if she was a piece of trash he couldn’t bear to look at a moment more than he already did. 

“Don’t make a scene. Sign the papers and leave. I’ve already prepared a villa for you in the city outskirts like you always wanted and you can keep all the properties I bought you for the last 5 years. I have also allotted you a hefty alimony, enough to provide a comfortable lifestyle for the remainder of your lifetime.”

Shayne said in a calm, measured voice, not once wavering as Emma stood there, her ever-so-expressive eyes turning blank by the second making Shayne uncomfortable and uneasy. 

He expected her to cry, throw a tantrum, and even worse refuse and tear up the divorce papers, all the while accusing him of ruining her life and questioning his intentions but this blank, almost dead reaction made him feel unsettled. 

“Wasn’t Stella dead?”

After a pause Emma asked, her voice void of any emotions as she stared dead into his eyes, accessing his reaction. 

“Emma!”

“I’m just curious, how come dead are coming back to life now, or was she even dead to begin with.”

“This title of ‘Mrs. Watson’ was never yours to begin with, then what is the fuss about?”

“Fuss? Oh, I’m just curious.”

Emma let out a bitter chuckle, as she looked at Shayne hatefully. 

He was the same man she dutifully looked after for the last 5 years, disregarding her everything, even breaking ties with her foster family for him but in the end, he did not bat an eye when it came to discarding her.

What a joke!

“I don’t owe you an explanation, you willingly became my wife when I offered, now willingly divorce me when I ask and disappear with the alimony I’m giving you.”

“What am I your puppet?”

“Or what else? Don’t give yourself too much credit. Don’t forget that you were always a replacement, a choice.”

“Shayne, one last question. Were you ever genuine to me in the last 5 years?”

Emma asked, her voice calm and deep but her eyes showing resentment, betrayal, anger, and the last bit of hope she had for him. 

“I was...”