"What is this?"Bella kept her head bowed. Despite hearing the anger in his voice, she didn’t respond; she had nothing to say. Her silence only angered him more."Isabella, what the fuck is that necklace doing in your bag if you didn’t pay for it?!"She raised her head, stunned at the use of her full name. Vaughn had never referred to her by her full name before, and they’d been together for years. It seemed she had successfully managed to piss him off, and this was only phase two of her plan. She was very content with herself.Bella spoke with a nonchalant voice, "I guess I forgot to pay for it."Vaughn was so angry that even the staff became terrified. The manager quickly stepped forward to help resolve the issue. "Mr. McCoy, the fault is ours. Your wife was clearly tired; she truly forgot to pay for the necklace. It’s just a misunderstanding.""Step aside," Vaughn told him coldly. The older man shuffled away. The billionaire advanced toward his wife, and the fact that she seemed un
Westbridge Academy of Music and Arts was one of the most well-known universities in the country. It boasted a large number of celebrity graduates each year, including some of the most famous artists in the world. It was the place to be for anyone seeking connections or looking to boost their fame further.It was safe to say that the school's criteria were very high, and it was extremely difficult to gain admission. For someone like Bella, who had no talent in art, it would have been nearly impossible to be accepted. But here she was, a first-year student of music and dance, something she didn't even have an interest in.But it was alright because she wasn't actually here to study. Bella had enrolled at Westbridge because it was the only way she could meet a certain person without raising Vaughn's suspicion. This person would be her key to escaping her abusive marriage and exacting revenge on her husband.Bella had to move out of the mansion due to her new college being a three-hour dr
“Boss?” Vaughn’s attention was diverted back to his bodyguard, who had also noticed Bella’s fleeing figure. “Should we go after her?”“No need. I doubt she’s the one.” If that had indeed been his wife, why would she have run away after seeing him? Just now, it was as if she had seen a monster. No, that couldn’t possibly be his Bella. Vaughn walked forward, ignoring the crowd that was gradually forming.As someone famous, he always caused a stir wherever he went, which was why he had his security team with him at all times. He hated interacting with people he regarded as beneath him.“Mr. McCoy, welcome,” the Vice-Chancellor of the school, Mr. Adams, greeted him. They shook hands, and he led the young billionaire to his office. “I want to state what an honor it is to have you at our institution.”“Sure, but I’m sure you know the real reason I’m here.”“Of course. Your wife…” Mr. Adams shuffled through a stack of papers until he found what he was looking for—Bella’s schedule, which had
"Indeed," Damien said simply. He accepted Vaughn's outstretched hand, but the handshake only lasted a moment. Both of them were too disgusted with each other to continue touching.Their mutual disdain was palpable; no one could ever guess the deep hatred that ran between the two men. Bella had overheard Vaughn complaining about Damien and his family on countless occasions. While Vaughn's father, Stephen McCoy, was a gold merchant with his main company in South Africa, the Beriosova family had a dark history.There had been speculations that Luciano Beriosova was a drug lord who used his legitimate business as a cover-up. It might have been just rumors, but Vaughn had said the same thing, and Bella didn’t believe he was making it up.“While I would love to catch up, I was just about to take Bella home,” Vaughn said.“Wasn’t she supposed to start classes today?” Damien asked.“She’s tired, aren’t you, baby?”That voice... there was no way she could say otherwise. Vaughn's harsh gaze pro
Her shock was evident on her face. Bella pondered over the question carefully; it was the first time someone had asked her about the abuse. Her parents knew about it, but to remain in her husband's favor, they never brought it up.Damien didn't want to repeat himself. "I suspected this." His heartless cousin, who only seemed to care about himself, wouldn't be able to stand living with another human being.Vaughn's marriage had come as a shock to their family. Luciano Beriosova had even joked that whoever was unfortunate enough to marry the little devil wouldn't live past the honeymoon before getting herself killed. Damien hadn't gone to the wedding, but he'd seen it in the media. It was all the internet gushed about for months.His cousin was a very good actor. He played the role of a perfect husband in public to the point of deceiving the whole world. But Damien knew that Vaughn was only putting on an act, and now his suspicions were confirmed.His lips curled into a dismissive smile
Damien was thoughtful enough not to drive all the way to her apartment—Bella feared that Vaughn might still be waiting for her there. He wouldn’t be too happy to know she was spending time with his cousin.If possible, she wouldn’t even want to return to the apartment. She didn’t want to face Vaughn; who knew what kind of torture he’d put her through?But she would need to convince him to let her remain in school. When morning came, she’d be easily swayed because then he’d think she was back to being the stupid girl who loved him and did whatever he said."Thanks for everything."Damien nodded absently. "Come find me tomorrow. We’ll talk about the rest.""Okay."Bella got out of the car and watched Damien drive away. With a sigh, she walked the rest of the way back to her apartment. She paused to collect herself at the front door before going inside. The door gave way easily; she knew Vaughn was still inside—she could smell him.She took off her shoes and tried to make as little noise
His tongue pried her lower lips apart and then thrust into her pussy. His blue eyes darted to her face as he smirked mischievously before sucking hard on her clit. Bella’s eyes rolled to the back of her head. Her mouth fell open, and a strangled moan escaped her. Her body was slick with sweat, and the sheets beneath her felt damp as well. Bella's gaze was fixed on the ceiling, her fingers buried in the blond mop of hair that stuck out between her legs. Oh God, he used his tongue so well. He had her legs around his shoulders, and when he sank between them and gave her her very first tongue fuck, he didn’t come up for air even once. It seemed he was enjoying himself far more than she was. He sucked, licked, and nibbled at her cunt, making her moan so loudly that if the apartment hadn’t been soundproof, someone would no doubt have heard her. She couldn’t hold back her cries of ecstasy as he sucked at her clit and hungrily lavished her entrance with his skillful tongue. Bella’s hips
Some people were so hypocritical to the point of playing two characters so flawlessly at once. In Vaughn's case, one was the kind and loving husband who would do anything for his wife, while the other was the heartless psychopath who cared about no one else except himself.While having breakfast that morning, Bella found it hard to suppress her emotions. The fear and anger from yesterday would always resurface whenever her husband looked at her with false, gentle eyes or even kissed her. She would always recall the multiple times he had hit her, hurt her badly to the point of being hospitalized.Did this man not have a conscience? Was there no self-guilt? How could he live with himself knowing that he was putting on an act? He clearly didn't love her, so why insist on leading her into thinking he did? Why couldn't he let her go?"Eat some more, you've lost a bit of weight these past few days," Vaughn said softly. He put some more pancakes on her plate and even offered to make her some
Jessica's life had never been more challenging than it was at this moment. Don’t get her wrong; she’d always wanted her sister to get divorced, but what’s the point of that anymore when Vaughn didn’t even give her a second look? She’d never seen the man so obsessed before.The news of the divorce had taken the world by storm. Many people were in disbelief as Vaughn and Bella were viewed as the perfect couple. They’d been seen together acting all loved-up, and now they were separating?While Bella seemed to have disappeared completely from the public eye, Vaughn, unfortunately, was left to deal with the aftermath of the divorce. The paparazzi followed him like a second shadow. The blinding flash of their cameras and the inappropriate questions they threw at him pissed him off to no end. At this point, he might just work directly from home.But even while at home, there were still some people who came to bother him from time to time. Damien blamed him for his split with Bella, like Vaug
Bella met with the lawyer the next day. He was a middle-aged man who had been working with the Walker family for almost a decade. According to Ethan, he was one of the best lawyers money could buy."Ms. Page, you need to understand, if you insist on not filing for domestic violence, you'll likely end up with very little after the divorce. Your husband has such a good reputation in the public eye. Also, since you filed for the divorce, he has more advantage in this case.""It doesn't matter. I didn’t want anything to begin with. I want a smooth parting if that's possible."The man hummed in understanding. "We'll still have to meet up with your husband's lawyer. Your husband has asked that you speak to him in person.""Fine. Where?" Vaughn was probably going to try to convince her not to go through with the divorce. However, her mind was made up. If he came all the way to China for that, then she'd like to see the disappointment on his face when she rejected him. Also, she had some thin
Her words didn't garner the reaction she had been expecting. Her father and brother looked like they had anticipated her saying this."I have a lawyer ready. In two days, all arrangements to go to court will be concluded," Ethan said, assuring his daughter with a soft smile.He was usually a detached person who rarely showed such emotions. Ever since the tragedy years ago, he’d felt as though he had lost his reason to wake up every day with a smile. But now, with his daughter back, he vowed to honor his deceased wife by being a good and supportive father.Bella was surprised. She hadn’t expected Ethan to have already found a lawyer for her. She wondered if Damien had told him about the divorce earlier. Either way, she still felt uneasy about having to ask for their help.“I… thank you. You didn’t have to do this for me, but I’m grateful.”“This is what we must do. You are the daughter of the Walker family, and nobody is allowed to get away with bullying you.”“We’ll easily amass half
Bella's mouth fell open. She wanted to curse but couldn’t find it in her to utter even a single word. She felt completely drained. Jess took her silence as submission, and with one last hateful glare, she stormed out of the house, slamming the door hard behind her.Bella slowly rose to her feet and walked to her bedroom to strip off her clothes. Mindlessly, she walked into the bathroom to shower. Even the hot water didn’t manage to calm her down. Today was turning out to be one of the worst days of her life, and that was saying a lot, considering she had had a lot of bad luck in the past few years.She didn’t sleep a wink that night. Whenever she closed her eyes, even for a moment, her mind quickly flashed back to Damien and the conversation they’d had earlier. Bella wasn’t frightened by Jessica’s threat. At this point, she didn’t think her life could get any worse. But the fact that the woman was pregnant couldn’t be ignored. And Damien had so ruthlessly lied to her face for weeks. T
Bella blinked, startled. "Your... sister is Jess?" It was hard to imagine that the stubborn girl Dylan talked so fondly about was none other than Jessica—the woman who clung annoyingly to Bella's lover. "That's a surprise. I don't see any resemblance.""Yeah, she takes after our mom. Lucky her. By the way, are you familiar with Jess?""Well, not that much. She hangs out with Damien a lot, so we've met a couple of times." Bella tried not to let the bitter jealousy seep into her voice. She wasn’t sure if she pulled it off because Dylan was looking at her with those attentive eyes that seemed to see right through her very soul. She turned her gaze away, afraid that if she kept looking at him any longer, he might see how much bitterness she was masking."Didn't think they were back together."Back together? What the hell did that even mean? Her eyes darted back to him so quickly she went dizzy for a moment. "What?""You know, the guy I was telling you my sister's been dating—the rich boy.
'What am I doing? 'Bella thought to herself as Vaughn's kisses trailed to her neck, his fingers slowly working the loose ends of her dress. He had never kissed her like this before—slow and loving, almost as if he thought she would slip out of his grasp at any moment."Vaughn..." Her words were cut off when his lips pressed against hers once more. He backed her against the sofa, his fingers slipping through her dress to caress soft skin. Things were escalating so quickly that Bella feared if she didn’t do something now, she might not get the chance in a few more minutes."Vaughn!" Her trembling hands came up to push her husband's chest.The billionaire pulled back with a small frown, but he didn’t give her the distance she so desperately needed."What’s the matter?""I don’t want to do this!""Come on, it’s just sex. We’ve had sex before, remember...?""It’s not just sex! It’s sex with a man who literally betrayed and destroyed my life! I’d be crazy to let this happen!""Your body...
And damn, that revelation made him anxious. Vaughn prided himself on his ability to manipulate others; he was a businessman, after all. With money, he could get whatever and whoever he wanted. But now... even with half his fortune on the line, billions of dollars laid on the table, just begging to be taken, his woman didn't even glance at it a second time.Was I that much of a monster?Vaughn wasn't the kind of asshole who lied to himself—he knew he wasn't a good person. And honestly, he'd never cared before. Good people didn't get what they wanted. Just look at Bella—kind, gentle, and good—yet she was stuck with a monster like him. Goodness made people stupid; it made them ignore all other signs and signals. It was what made her marry him, despite the fact that he hadn't exactly hidden his flaws back then. She must have noticed how he got around her sister—the inappropriate touches must have been obvious. But she believed he was good enough not to break her heart. That was her mistak
Damien has been acting weird lately. On the days they are together, he clings to Bella like a second shadow, and on other days, he seems to disappear off the surface of the Earth, not even leaving her a text to ease her anxiety. Bella worries, but she knows better than to push things at this point. He is a busy man as well; it's understandable.She attends her horrible classes and spends her leisure time dreaming of freedom—of a divorce. Vaughn doesn’t contact her either, thank God for that. She saw on the news that he was cooperating with Eric's company on a project. How totally bizarre was that? Two businessmen who hated each other’s guts working together? It sounded too unreal.At this point, Dylan Snow seemed to be the only normal aspect of her life. They hung out once in a while, and their friendship was proving to be a wall she could lean on.“Hey, how are you?”Bella cringed, not even needing to look back to know who it was. Silas Walker, the latest thorn in her flesh. She didn
"I want to see him! I'm not leaving unless I do!"The secretary felt her irritation soar higher with this woman's behavior. She'd worked in the company for only a few weeks after the boss's last secretary had quit her job all of a sudden. She couldn't understand, for the life of her, why someone would want to give up a job working for America's most generous billionaire. The pay was good, and the boss was kind and easy to deal with.But there were some days when the middle-aged woman was tempted to bang her head on her desk. And it was all because of this blonde bitch. She knew who Jessica Page was—a famous model and sister-in-law to Mr. McCoy. Though Martha had never met the boss's wife in person, she'd heard from her coworkers that the woman was kind and down-to-earth. Her sister, on the other hand, was a bitch! She thought being related to Mr. McCoy meant she could treat his staff disrespectfully."Ms. Page, please understand that the boss is currently busy with work. If you have a