I woke up alone.

The other side of the bed was cold and untouched_ almost as if Lucian had never slept there.

I stayed still for a moment, staring at the ceiling, wondering if I had imagined everything that had happened last night.

Eva’s text… the way Lucian hadn’t even pretended to hesitate.

He’d checked his phone, grabbed his jacket, and left the house, claiming he had work to take care of.

No explanation.

No reassurance.

Just the sound of the front door closing behind him.

I noticed my phone vibrating on the night stand.

Then I reached for it, almost dreadfully.

The screen lit up.

BREAKING NEWS: ACTRESS EVA STERLING SPOTTED IN INTIMATE MOMENT WITH BILLIONAIRE CEO LUCIAN DHARK.

It felt like my soul left my body.

The first image loaded slowly, as if the universe wanted me to suffer.

It was a picture of Lucian and Eva on the balcony of a luxury hotel suite. His hand was placed intimately on her waist, while her fingers curled into his hair.

Their mouths were joined in a passionate kiss.

I scrolled.

More pictures. More angles. More headlines.

“Lucian Dhark Rekindles Romance with Ex”

“CEO Cheats on Wife with Famous Actress”

I dropped the phone like it had burned me.

This wasn’t speculation. It wasn’t suspicion. This was my humiliation, broadcast to the world.

I called Lucian.

Once. Twice. Ten times.

My calls went straight to voicemail.

Hours passed.

Then a day, then another.

Lucian still didn’t come home.

I called him everyday, but every ring went unanswered and every message I sent was ignored.

“Please come home.”

“We need to talk.”

“Lucian, I’m begging you.”

Three days passed.

Three nights of sleeping alone in a mansion that felt too empty.

The media only grew more vicious. My name trended while Eva smiled for the cameras. Lucian, who was the reason for the chaos, had vanished into thin air.

By the fourth day, something inside me snapped.

If he wouldn’t come to me, I would go to him.

Dhark Holdings towered over the city, all glass, steel and power. Just like the man inside.

The receptionist recognized me immediately I walked in.

“He’s in a meeting,” she said, smiling stiffly.

“I’m his wife,” I replied. My hands trembled, but my voice did not. “Tell him I’m here.”

Minutes later, I was escorted into Lucian’s office.

He looked up from the computer when I walked in. For a second, something flickered in his eyes— surprise, maybe even guilt.

But it vanished just as quickly.

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