Chapter 1

At the annual Evans Jewelry launch event,

Tessa Sanders shoved me so hard I hit the ground with a thud.

Before I could even process the pain, she lifted her foot and slammed her four-inch stiletto into my swollen belly.

A sharp, searing agony shot through me. Warm blood gushed down my legs, staining the pristine white fabric of my dress in an instant.

Lucas barely glanced at me, his expression one of mild annoyance.

"You're pregnant. You should've stayed home instead of making a scene. What, are you trying to embarrass Tessa again? Now look, you've bled all over the carpet. How inauspicious. How pathetic."

With that, he wrapped an arm around Tessa's waist and walked off without a second look.

Even as the sound of ambulance sirens filled the air.

The hospital was cold. The instruments even colder.

By the time the surgery was over, the life inside me was gone.

When I finally opened my eyes, the sharp pain in my abdomen was nothing compared to what I saw on the hospital TV,

Lucas, kissing Tessa.

Deeply. Passionately.

Pain twisted through me, clawing at my chest, making it hard to breathe.

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and turned to the woman sitting beside my hospital bed, Lucas's mother.

"Mom," my voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. "It's been eight years. The Evans family crisis was resolved a long time ago.

I just want out.

Please, let me go."

...

Before my mother-in-law could respond,

the sharp ring of a phone shattered the silence in the hospital room.

Lucas's cold, indifferent voice filtered through the speaker:

"Book me a hotel room. And have someone bring over that lace lingerie I bought the other day. If you won't wear it, there's a line of women waiting to."

His tone was casual. Unbothered.

As if he wasn't speaking to his wife.

As if I weren't lying in a hospital bed, recovering from the child I had just lost.

The words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.

My mother-in-law's face darkened. Fury flashed in her eyes. She reached for the phone, ready to say something,

But before she could, Lucas hung up.

She stood there for a long moment, gripping the phone tightly, then exhaled a slow, weary sigh. When she finally looked at me, her voice was soft but firm.

"Aria, the Evans family has wronged you terribly. If you want a divorce… I won't stop you."

Hot tears slipped down my palm.

"But," she hesitated, "I have one request..."

I closed my eyes. I already knew what she was going to say.

"Mom, I get it. You don't want Lucas to know what really happened eight years ago. Don't worry, I'll take it to my grave."

My words broke her. Her shoulders trembled. A sob escaped her lips.

Eight years ago, Evans Corp collapsed overnight.

Lucas's father, once a powerful man, was driven to the brink by debt collectors. He couldn't handle it. The pressure, the shame,

So he ended his own life.

In the span of a day, the mighty Evans empire stood on the edge of ruin.

And everyone knew, I loved Lucas.

So when the Evans family fell, his mother came to me.

She stood outside my door for three days and three nights, begging my family to save them.

Begging me to marry Lucas.

I was young. Naïve. I thought love could fix anything.

After relentless pleading, my father finally agreed. He poured his resources into Evans Corp, pulling it back from the abyss.

And that night, I learned the truth.

The real reason behind the Evans family's downfall.

The Sanders family, Tessa and her father, had orchestrated everything.

They destroyed Lucas's family.

But Mrs. Evans didn't want him to know.

She knelt on the ground, clutching my hands, her face streaked with tears.

"Please," she begged, "for Lucas's sake, never tell him."

I understood a mother's desperation.

So I swore I'd never say a word.

Even now.

Even as Lucas holds Tessa in his arms.

As he kisses her. As he takes her to bed.

I will keep my promise.

My mother-in-law reached out, her frail hand brushing against my face, her touch filled with sorrow.

"Lucas doesn't know what he's lost," she whispered. "His biggest regret will be letting you go. Your birthday is in seven days. Let's celebrate it together… after that, you're free."

I nodded at the woman who had fought for me in the only way she knew how.

Seven more days.

After eight years of this hell, what's seven more?

That night, she left after making sure I had dinner.

The moment the door closed behind her, my phone buzzed.

A message from Lucas.

A video.

I clicked on it, and bile rose in my throat.

Bare skin. Twisted limbs. The unmistakable sounds of pleasure.

The woman's face was blurred, but it didn't matter.

My stomach churned. My hands trembled as I moved to close it,

Then my phone rang.

Lucas.

I hesitated, then answered.

His voice was lazy, laced with mockery.

"Did you watch it?" he drawled. "If you don't send me the hotel room number by 8 p.m., I'll send you countless more. Maybe you'll finally learn something, see how real women please their husbands."

My fingers clenched around the phone.

"Lucas, I'll go."

He exhaled, satisfied.

"Aria Newman, remember this, you brought this on yourself. Eight years ago, you forced me to marry you when my family was at its lowest. You tore me away from Tessa. From the moment you walked into the Evans household as my wife, you should've known, you would never get a shred of real love from me."

Then he hung up.

Tears burned down my cheeks.

Lucas was right.

This was the hell I had created for myself.

Eight years ago, I stupidly believed that if I gave him enough time, enough love,

One day, he'd turn around and love me back.

But now I know.

He never will.

Over these years, Lucas has slept with hundreds, if not thousands, of women.

At first, he tried to hide it.

Now, he makes me book the hotel rooms myself.

I know if I don't go tonight, those videos won't just end up on my phone.

By tomorrow morning, they'll be plastered across every media outlet in the city.

The Newmans have built their legacy over a century.

I won't let my father's name be dragged through the mud because of my personal mistakes.

This isn't the first time.

Lucas has spent years trying to break me.

And yet, his hatred only burns brighter.

Just as the thought crosses my mind, a sharp pain rips through my abdomen.

A warm rush of blood soaks through my hospital gown.

I stumble, gripping the edge of the bed, my vision swimming.

For a moment, I consider calling for help.

But then I remember,

No one is coming to save me.

I wipe the blood from my legs, straighten my back, and walk out of the hospital.

Ignoring the searing pain tearing through me.