Chapter 5

Sebastian

"Won’t you give your wife one more chance to show you how much she’s changed?"

Those words loop in my mind, tangled with the lingering sensation of her lips on mine. The way she moaned so softly, the way her eyes clung to me as if I were her entire world—Olivia has to be suffering from brain damage.

How is this the same woman who, every damn day since we married, couldn’t meet my eyes without spitting venom—without cursing her fate…without cursing me?

And now, suddenly, she’s pleading for a second chance?

The thought alone is maddening, fucking confusing.

In three years of marriage, not a day passed without Olivia throwing a tantrum, creating some new drama, doing everything in her power to gravitate closer to that dunce of a man, Philip Morris. But this morning? This morning, she was so...

“Sir?”

A voice halts my thoughts, and I blink back to reality, realizing I’m still sitting in the boardroom.

“Yes?” My voice is composed, as if I hadn’t just been drowning in my own mind.

“We were asking for your thoughts on the blueprint.”

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I exhale slowly. Focus, Sebastian.

"Meeting adjourned. We’ll reconvene this afternoon. Have the revised blueprints, financial analysis, and risk report on my desk before then. Make sure all projections match the latest market trends, and get legal to double-check the contracts. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

Without hesitation, they bow slightly and file out, leaving me in the heavy silence of my own mind. My feet carry me back to my office on autopilot, but my thoughts are a scrambled mess.

Could this finally be our…turning point?

Pushing open the door, I’m greeted by the sight of Tony pacing like a caged animal.

My brows furrow. “What?”

The single word is clipped, my patience already thinning.

He stops mid-step, eyes blazing with indignation. “I told you. I always told you your wife was a sleazy woman!”

Here we go again.

Olivia’s number one hater is none other than my best friend, Tony. With my arms crossed, I pin him with a sharp stare.

“What evil thing did she do now, Tony?” My voice drips with sarcasm as I reach for a glass of water on my desk.

“She’s still at the hospital, bedridden.”

His lips twist. “Apparently, that didn’t stop her and her lover from being all lovey-dovey.”

My grip tightens around the glass, but I hide the tension with a blank stare.

“I told you to divorce that vile woman years ago, but you never listen.”

“What are you talking about?” My eyes narrow as suspicion coils in my gut.

Tony pulls out his phone, dragging the chair in front of my desk as he settles in. “I came to see you at the hospital,” he continues. “You were there by her side for three whole days, man. I was worried. Imagine my surprise when I saw this.”

He thrusts his phone into my hands, and my breath hitches as I instinctively watch the video play.

It's Olivia.

"I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be without you for a single second!"

Her voice is desperate, dripping with devotion, and my stomach knots itself in rage as she faces Philip like a woman reunited with the love of her life.

A crushing pressure builds in my chest.

"I want you! Not a name or status! I can’t stand Sebastian anymore, please!"

Her tears fall like shiny pearls, and the video cuts off just as Philip pulls her into his arms, holding her like she’s his to claim.

I stare at the screen, the bitter taste of betrayal thick on my tongue.

Tony exhales, his gaze sympathetic. “Look, man, I’m sorry. But this was the only way to get you to believe me.”

"I understand."

The words leave my mouth in a calm, controlled tone—far too calm.

But inside?

Pain tightens around my body like a steel vice.

It hurts, I wanted to believe.

I wanted to believe we’d be okay. That she'd finally changed.

Well, look who got fooled. Yet again.

Tony mutters a few more words before leaving, but I barely hear him. My ears ring, and all I can hear is—

"I can’t stand Sebastian anymore!"

CRACK.

The glass shatters in my grip, sending shards flying across my desk.

Blood drips from my palm, warm and slow, but I barely feel the pain.

I stare at my hand, at the scarlet staining my skin, at the tiny fragments embedded in my flesh, and all I can hear is her voice.

My jaw clenches so tight it aches. I have to admit—Olivia has talent. To fool me over and over again…

But not anymore.

Reaching for the intercom, I press the button.

“Yes, sir?” Mark’s voice filters through.

“Prepare the divorce papers.”

There’s a pause of confused silence. “Sir, but this morning, you said I shou—”

“Prepare the divorce papers!”