The CEO's Rejected Wife And Secret Heir novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Chapter 3 – Shattered Illusions

She wouldn’t meet my eyes.

The elevator ride felt eternal. My reflection stared back at me from the polished doors—pale, thin, exhausted. I’d barely eaten in days.

The doors opened to reveal a sharp-faced woman in a designer suit.

Her smile was professional. "Mrs. Blackwood." She gestured down a hallway. "This way, please."

We walked in silence past glass-walled offices where employees pretended not to stare. I felt their eyes tracking me. The rejected bride. The humiliated wife.

The assistant stopped at massive double doors.

She knocked once. "Go ahead." Then she left me there.

I pushed the doors open.

Damien’s office was obscene. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entire city. Modern art on the walls. A desk that probably cost more than a car.

He sat behind it, barely glancing up from his computer. His voice was clipped. "I have a meeting in ten minutes."

I closed the doors behind me. "This won’t take long."

He finally looked at me. His ice-blue eyes showed nothing no warmth, no recognition, nothing.

I crossed the office. "We need to talk."

He leaned back in his chair. "If this is about the wedding"

I cut him off. "I’m pregnant."

Damien’s expression didn’t change. For a long moment, he just stared at me. Then he laughed. He stood, buttoning his suit jacket. "Of course you are."

My stomach dropped. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

He walked to the window, his back to me. "How much do you want?"

I blinked. "What?"

He turned. "For the abortion." His voice was boring. "And to sign the divorce papers quietly. Name your price."

The floor tilted beneath me.

My voice came out small. "You think I’m lying?"

He crossed his arms. "I think you’re desperate." His eyes were hard. "The wedding was a disaster. Your family is bleeding me dry for the agreed-upon payments. And now, conveniently, you’re pregnant?"

Tears burned my eyes. "It’s yours." I stepped toward him. "From the engagement, that night"

He cut me off with a harsh laugh. "That night you initiated?" His jaw clenched. "The one where you conveniently ’just happened’ to show up at that lodge?"

[FLASHBACK – One Month Earlier] 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The Pine Grove Lodge sat tucked away in the mountains, two hours outside the city. I’d come alone, desperate for space from my family and their endless wedding planning. I thought a small cabin and a quiet weekend would clear my head.

But then I saw Damien’s car in the lot.

I found him on the lodge deck, a glass of whiskey in hand, the sunset painting him in gold. Without his tie, shirt open at the collar, he looked less like the untouchable man I’d come to know—and more like someone real.

"Mr. Blackwood," I said softly.

He turned his head, surprise flickering in his eyes before he masked it. "Miss Monroe. What are you doing here?"

"The same as you, I think. Hiding."

Something softened in his expression. Not quite a smile, but close. He gestured opposite him. "Sit."

I did. For a long moment, we watched the sun dip behind the mountains, the silence stretching comfortably between us.

Then he spoke. "Your family is exhausting."

A startled laugh broke from me. "They are."

One drink turned into two. Then dinner. Then a walk beneath the stars, where he asked questions no one ever bothered to ask—about my degree, my dreams, the kind of life I wanted. When I told him I wanted to build something of my own, his silence felt heavy, like he actually cared about my answer.

When I shivered in the night air, he laid his jacket across my shoulders with such quiet tenderness it nearly undid me.

We stopped in the shadow of the pines. Moonlight cut across his face, and my heart beat wildly.

"Damien," I whispered.

"Aria," he said, and the way he said my name like it mattered broke me open.

He lunged first or maybe it was me. His hands tangled roughly in my hair, urgent and demanding, while my fingers clawed at his shirt, pulling him closer until our mouths crashed together. The kiss felt like the end of everything, fierce and desperate; teeth grazing as our tongues intertwined hungry for more.

"My cabin," I panted against his lips, breathless. "It’s close."

His eyes darkened, filled with need, and he nodded. We stumbled into the night, his fingers digging into my hips, mine sliding under his shirt, tracing the heat of his skin. At the cabin door, he pressed me against it, his body heavy and unyielding, caging me. His breath was ragged, and I could feel the hard strain of him through his jeans.

"Tell me to stop," he growled, forehead resting against mine, his voice thick with restraint. "Tell me this is a mistake."

"Never," I whispered my voice trembling. "I want you."

Whatever control he had snapped. He lifted me effortlessly, my legs wrapping tight around his waist, his hands gripping my thighs as he carried me inside. His fingers trembled as they fumbled with the buttons of my blouse, and that raw vulnerability made my chest ache with something deeper than desire.

I yanked his shirt over his head, revealing the hard planes of his chest. My hands roamed, memorizing every muscle beneath my touch.

"Aria," he breathed, lips trailing along my collarbone, leaving fire in their wake. "God, Aria"

I pulled him down desperately, needing to feel him even closer—wanted, chosen, cherished like never before. Our clothes became a frantic tangle as his jeans, my skirt, underwear were torn away in a frenzy.

His cock was thick and pulsing as it pressed against my thigh. I moaned, arching up instinctively, my body begging before words could form.

He positioned himself, the tip slick with my arousal, teasing my entrance with slow, deliberate pressure. Inch by inch, he slid inside me, deliciously stretching, filling me until I gasped, my walls clenching instinctively around him.

"Fuck," he groaned, pausing to let me adjust, his eyes locked on mine.

[END FLASHBACK]

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