LOGINAmelia was arranged to marry the son of her parent's friend in order to tighten the bond of the family. She goes on with the plan and even falls for him, James. Amelia began to notice that James begins to complain about every slight thing Amelia does. He doesn’t appreciate her and he begins to think she’s a liability to him shortly after their marriage, like a few years after. She finds out that her husband was actually having an affair with his ex-girlfriend and instantly she understood why James had been acting up. Isabel goes on with her schemes which were carefully executed, slowly turning James against Amelia. Isabel is very crafty and tricky and has always wanted everything Amelia had but acts like a saint. She always pretends to be sick or something and always wants attention especially when James is around. To Amelia's surprise Isabel takes her scheme to another level by framing her making everybody believe that Amelia tried to hurt her out of jealousy.
View MoreAmelia's POV
He had said he was going on a trip, but here he was, beaming a wild smile as he hugged her in a selfie.
There were so many pictures of them hanging out and having so much fun. It looked so much like it was more of a date than a business trip. He earlier said it was business matters that he needed to handle.
Weeks turned into a month. James came back from his trip today, and I had arranged the house to be perfect. Every piece of furniture was sparkling clean.
But as I sat in the living room, thoughts filled my head. Our marriage was nothing more than an arrangement. A business deal between our families.
Love wasn't really ever a part of our marriage; we just played the part, but I had convinced myself that maybe, just maybe, we were starting to build something real.
After the years we spent together. I sighed, smoothing out the creases in my dress. I had always tried to see if maybe if I tried hard enough, he would finally see me.
Then there was the worst. I hadn't been able to give him a child after three years. Coincidentally, she came back just when things were terrible between us. His beloved ex-girlfriend. She had traveled to study overseas before we married, and now she is back.
James walked into the living room with a bright smile on his face. Someone else was with him. It was Isabel. She walked in behind him, and I froze in surprise.
“Welcome,” I said, forcing a smile as I walked towards him to hug him. He hugged me with no expression of excitement on his face before he turned to point at Isabel.
"Oh, Isabel will be staying over a few days. Treat her as our visitor.” James said as he took her upstairs with him.
Isabel just beamed a sheepish smile at me, and I just had to force myself to smile back. Ever since she had come back from overseas James hadn't let her out of his sight, giving her all the attention he had never given me in the past few years.
“Come with me; I'll show you around.” He beckoned to her and took her up the stairs, not even bothering to talk to me.
I didn't have to be told. I knew it already; something was going on between the two of them, but even when I complained to James, he waved it off as me just overthinking.
The next few days he spent it studying with her. “Don't bother preparing food for me; Isabel already prepared something for me.” He said to me when I brought breakfast to him the next morning.
I went to work angry and with thoughts of confronting him when I got back. I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind and focused on the large stacks of documents on my desks. There was a lot to do.
I was barely an hour into work when I started feeling nauseous and dizzy. I still continued working, but I slowly sank into my chair, exhausted and dizzy. I couldn't continue this anymore.
I hurriedly grabbed my stuff and headed back home. I would go for checkups later, but right now I just wanted to get home and sleep.
I had a driver take me back home and went straight to bed. I felt tired and nauseous.
I woke up to the sounds of weird noises from outside the door. I rubbed my eyes and dragged my feet outside my bedroom’s door. I still felt nauseous, although not as fatigued as before. I got closer to the sounds, and they became clearer. That was Isabel, and it came from the study.
I placed my ear near the door as I opened the door. It was Isabel moaning. My eyebrows rose in surprise and my heart raced faster. I had suspicions about them, but it did hurt hearing this myself.
I pushed open the door slightly, and I looked in. There was James with his back facing the door. He lifted her onto the table in the study. He was cheating on me right there with his ex-girlfriend that he had claimed was just a business partner.
They had probably not expected I would be back this early.
That wasn't enough.
“Why don't you just leave her? We're better off together.” I could hear Isabel asking amidst her moans.
“I really love you, Isabel, but our families. I just had to be engaged to her.” James simply replied as he grabbed her head and kissed her.
I watched them until they were done. Unable to take my eyes away from them.
“I have news to break to you,” Isabel suddenly said with a smile on her face.
“I hate suspense. Spill it already.”
Isabel let out a light laugh. “I'm pregnant for you.”
At that moment my heart shattered into pieces. This had been really on for months. That explained all of James' cold shoulder in the past few months.
“That's really nice; I didn't think I would be a father anytime soon.” I could hear James' elated voice. I felt my chest hurt, and I took deep and heavy breaths.
I couldn't stand this any longer. I rushed to my room with tears in my eyes. My nausea became worse. I rushed into the bathroom and vomited. I kept vomiting for a few minutes.
I washed my face clean from the tears and left the house. I called my doctor and set an appointment with her. I just needed to get away from this house at this moment and, at the same time, go for a checkup.
I did all the tests and was asked to come back at a later date. It was now or never, so I finally drove myself back home and acted like I didn't know anything that happened.
Isabel was staying with us for a while as a visitor until she went back. She used that opportunity to throw herself at James.
She had even taken control of the kitchen, and when I complained to James, he blatantly stated that it was okay; she was a better cook, and he liked her food so much.
At least I had to prepare my own food myself. I can't bring myself to be eating her own prepared food!
I walked into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast when she walked in just immediately after.
“You don't have to do that; he isn't really interested in your food. He had always loved mine.” Isabel said as she walked in trying to purposely piss me off.
I shrugged my shoulders and ignored her. She leaned on a counter and scoffed.
“How does it really feel to actually be nothing to James? You can't even give him a child.” "Isabel said, her lips curving into a smirk."
I didn't reply.
“Why don't you just walk out of the marriage? He doesn't love you.” She added.
“You might not know it, and I don't know why he hasn't told you yet, but I'm carrying his child, and sooner or later he will divorce you.” Isabel dropped the bomb.
I didn't say anything; I just walked out on her. But suddenly, just as I stepped out, I heard a sharp scream. Followed by a loud, gut-wrenching crash.
My heart lurched. The sound came from the kitchen. Without thinking, I bolted toward it.
And then I saw her.
Isabel.
She lay sprawled on the ground. Her face contorted in pain, and her trembling hands clutched at her stomach.
"My baby! Please, God—" she wailed, her fingers clutching her stomach.
I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. "Oh my God—"
"Don't just stand there! HELP ME!" she screamed, her voice slicing through my shock like a dagger.
I scrambled for the phone in the hallway, my hands shaking so violently that I fumbled and dropped it. The device hit the floor with a sickening crack, breaking into two.
The door burst open.
James.
He strode in, his suitcase still in hand, his expression shifting from confusion to sheer horror as he took in the scene.
"What's going on here? What’s the—Oh my God!" His suitcase clattered to the floor as he rushed forward.
Isabel sobbed, reaching for him. "James, please! My baby!" She pointed at me.
This was definitely a pretense! Isabel was using this mischievous trick to paint me bad.
"What the hell happened?!" he barked, his wild eyes snapping to me.
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came.
Then, before I could even begin to defend myself, James asked. "What did you do, Amelia?" He yelled at me.
I turned to look at Isab
, her face twisted in fury. "She pushed her."
James' gaze darkened. "Amelia." His voice was low, dangerously cold. "Tell me you had nothing to do with this."
"I—I didn't—"
"You're evil, Amelia!" Another guest sneered, pointing an accusatory finger at me.
James's face contorted into something unrecognizable. Disgust. Fury. Hatred.
"Stay away from her!" he roared when I took a step forward. "You’ve done enough!"
"No, James, I didn’t—"
"Enough!" He lifted Isabel in his arms, ignoring me completely.
“I'm done with you.”
Isabel's POVIt was me.The thought didn’t come with hesitation, nor did it come with guilt.It also did not come with regret, with any form of regret coming from my part.It simply existed—clear, sharp, undeniable.I stood on set, my expression carefully composed as the crew rushed around in frantic motion, their voices rising in panic, their movements disorganized in a way I had never seen before.Someone shouted for help, and another called for medical assistance.There was chaos.The set was suddenly in complete and utter chaos. It was a pure, unfiltered chaos.And at the center of it all was Amelia. She was still lying on the ground below. And she wasn't moving.My immediate thought was that I had broken her into pieces. This could be the possible end of my long-running rival.My chest rose slowly as I inhaled, my gaze fixed on the scene unfolding before me, taking it all in without missing a single detail.This was what it had come to, and this was what I had done.In my head, I
Amelia's POVToday was the last day of filming.This was the final scene and the final stretch.After months of filming, sleepless nights, emotional exhaustion, and everything in between—it had all come down to this.I stood just off set, script in hand, though I barely needed it anymore. Every line, every movement, every emotion tied to this moment had already been etched into me. I had lived and breathed this role for so long that stepping into Sera now felt almost second nature.There was a quiet buzz of activity around me.Crew members moved with purpose, making final adjustments.The lighting team tested angles, and camera operators checked their equipment.And somewhere in the background, Glen’s voice could be heard, directing, correcting, refining.It felt different today. Everything felt heavier and much more significant.Maybe it was because this wasn’t just another scene.This was the ending of the first book. And in the ending was the cliffhanger that would leave audiences
James' POV I shouldn’t have followed him.That thought sat heavily in my mind as I stood just beyond the exit, partially concealed by the structure of the hallway that led outside.I had only intended to get some air.That was what I told myself when I stepped away from the mayor’s circle, when I excused myself with the vague mention of needing the bathroom.But the truth?The truth was far less composed.From the moment Amelia walked into that hall, something in me had shifted.Something I didn’t want to acknowledge.Something I refused to name.And when I saw Henry leave, and when I noticed the direction he was heading, my instincts took over before my logic could catch up.And so I followed him. I did it quietly and in a way that I wouldn't be seen.I told myself it was nothing and that it was only just curiosity.But deep down, I knew better.Because the moment I stepped outside and saw them, everything inside me stilled.Amelia and Henry were standing together. They were facing
Leaving the gala with Henry felt surreal.It wasn’t just the act itself—the quiet exit, the subtle avoidance of attention, the deliberate steps away from a place I was expected to remain in—it was everything that decision represented.I had chosen him. Again.And as I walked beside him, my hand still lightly held in his, I couldn’t even bring myself to regret it.The city lights blurred past us as we got into his car, the silence between us not awkward but filled with a quiet understanding. Neither of us rushed to speak. There was no need to fill the space with unnecessary words when everything that mattered had already been said or felt.Henry drove with calm precision, his focus on the road, but every now and then, I caught his gaze flickering toward me, like he was making sure I was still there.Like he still couldn’t believe this was happening.Truthfully, neither could I.After a while, the car slowed to a stop in front of a quiet, upscale building tucked away from the main stree
Amelia's POVMrs. Brooks was at the apartment door when I came out of the bedroom.She looked me over once, the way she always did, with the calm thoroughness of someone checking that everything was in order and had found it satisfactory. She did not say anything. With Helen, silence was usually he
James's POVMy phone rang at half past nine.I was in the back of the car, jacket loosened, the city sliding past the window in streaks of light. Today had been a long day. It was the the kind that left you with a headache behind the eyes and the specific exhaustion of having spent eight hours in r
Amelia's POVI did not speak for the first ten minutes of the drive.Priya knew better than to fill that silence. She sat in the front seat with her tablet, leaving me alone, and I stared out the window, letting the meeting sit in my chest and burn.Not because he had won. He had not won. Garrett w
Amelia's POVNobody moved.Not me and not him. The noise of the party had carried on around us like we were standing inside a bubble that the rest of the room couldn't see into.Greg Peters looked down at his shirt one more time. The champagne had soaked through clean. A wide, dark stain was spread












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