Chapter Three

CLAIRE

I lay back against the stiff hospital pillow, every muscle aching, my mind spinning in a haze of disbelief and exhaustion. Sasha had taken everything—my home, my company, my marriage. Even my pride had been ripped away, leaving only a hollow ache that no amount of tears could fill. My chest tightened, lungs struggling, as though grief itself had weight.

“Lena…” My voice cracked, fragile, barely audible.

She turned immediately, eyes wide, worry etched deep. “Yes?”

“Can you… get me something to eat? Please,” I whispered, forcing calm into my trembling voice. “I can’t think on an empty stomach.”

Her brow furrowed, suspicion flickering. “Fine. But promise me you won’t move.”

“I promise,” I said softly, my throat tight, trying to steady the tremor that ran down my arms.

The door creaked. My stomach lurched. It wasn’t Lena.

Jason appeared first, immaculate as ever. Every hair in place, his navy suit sharp and perfect. He looked at me like I was fragile, a minor inconvenience in his flawless world. Behind him floated Sasha, her perfume thick and suffocating, her smirk sharper than any knife.

“You caused quite the scene last night,” Jason said smoothly, voice sliding over me like ice. “Collapsing in front of everyone… Claire, you always did have a flair for drama.”

“Drama?” I croaked, my throat raw. “You call being betrayed drama?”

Jason’s lips twitched—an almost smile, cruel in its precision. “I call it… reality catching up with you.”

I bit my lip until it bled. My hands shook. “You humiliated me,” I whispered, voice breaking. “I trusted you. I loved you. And you… this?”

“No, Claire,” Jason said, leaning lazily against the doorframe, as if he had all the time in the world. “You humiliated yourself. Everyone saw the truth—you were never strong enough. You clung to me. You clung to this marriage, while Sasha”—he glanced at her with approving warmth—“delivered. Investors trust her. I trust her. You… you’re just a shadow of what could have been.”

His words cut through me like icy knives. My stomach twisted violently. My chest burned. I wanted to scream, to fight, to vanish. I swallowed the rising bile, trying to hold myself upright as tears blurred my vision.

“You lied to everyone,” I whispered, voice trembling but sharpening with anger. “We aren’t divorced, Jason. I never signed anything. And Aetheria is mine—not Sasha’s. I’m sure she can’t even pronounce the component properly.”

Sasha’s smirk faltered, just for a heartbeat. Jason’s eyes narrowed, irritation flickering across his perfect mask.

“We’ll be divorced when you sign this,” he said, lifting a thick folder. “Don’t drag this out, Claire. You’ve lost. I’m in love with Sasha. The papers are filed. Sign quietly, and I’ll make sure you’re… taken care of. Resist, and every door in this city will slam shut in your face. You’ll have nothing. Not even your name.”

Sasha’s laugh cut through the room, bright and cruel. “Just do it, Claire. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”

I swallowed hard, forcing my trembling hands to unclench. My chest burned with humiliation, but underneath, a spark of defiance flared, trembling but alive.

“Fine,” I whispered, barely audible, “on one condition.”

Sasha froze. “Wait—you think you have a say? You don’t—” Her hand shot toward my face, instinctive, but Jason caught her wrist midair.

“Enough,” he said, voice low, dangerous.

I took a shaky breath and sat up straighter, my heart hammering. My fingers gripped the sheets as though holding on to sanity itself. “Before I sign,” I said, voice trembling but clear, “I want to know why. Why did you do this to me, Sasha? Why take everything—Jason, the company, even my name?”

For a heartbeat, silence. Sasha’s smirk twitched. Then something ugly flickered in her eyes.

“You really don’t get it, do you?” she hissed. Her voice cracked on the edges, sharper than glass. “You stole everything from me while I was still a child. Daddy’s attention. His money. His love. Your perfect little mother tore my family apart, and you—” she jabbed a manicured finger at me—“you waltzed in like you owned the world!”

My stomach turned. My mouth opened, but no words came.

“You think you’re the victim here?” Sasha went on, voice rising, harsh and sharp. “Even Jason—” she glanced at him, her face tight—“I loved him first. I loved him before he even saw you. And he saw you for what you are and chose me. You think I stole him? He just finally saw you for who you really are.”

Jason shifted, but said nothing. His silence was louder than a confession.

Tears burned behind my eyes, but my voice was steady. “That’s your excuse? That’s your justification for destroying me?”

Sasha’s laugh cracked like ice. “No excuse. Just the truth.”

I turned to Jason, my chest heaving, my voice breaking. “And you?”

He met my gaze without blinking.

“I just found out,” I whispered, my throat raw, “that you’ve been using me. You never loved me. Only Sasha did.”

I paused, my pulse racing. “Is this… what you want?”

Jason’s eyes softened slightly, a flicker of warmth behind his steel. He nodded once. “Of course.”

The room tilted. My hands shook as I reached for the pen. My chest ached with a mixture of rage, grief, and a cold, final clarity. Every stroke across the page felt deliberate, cutting away the past, sealing it with cold finality.

I set the pen down.

“It’s done.”

Jason picked up the folder without a word. Sasha’s smirk flickered for an instant, then she linked her arm through his.

Without looking back, they turned and left the room, the door clicking softly behind them.

Silence fell over me, heavy and absolute. I pressed my palms to my face, exhaling in a shuddering gasp. Every heartbeat echoed in my skull, a drum of endings.

I closed my eyes, letting the weight of what had just happened sink in. My tears were spent. My body was weak.

I sighed deeply muttered inaudibly.

"This isn't over."