1.

Callista

I realized I was going blind the same night my husband married another woman. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that yet, all I knew was that my vision had suddenly turned to shit.

The glossy black nails in front of my face looked like smeared shadows instead of the flawless manicure I’d paid a ridiculous amount for. The restroom floor tilted slightly beneath my heels, and the expensive marble sink beside me felt like the only thing keeping me upright.

“What the fuck…” I muttered.

Then someone started banging hard on the door. “Hello?! Is somebody in there?!”

I blinked hard, forcing my eyes to focus, but the world swam like I’d been thrown into deep water.

What the hell is wrong with me?

My lips stretched into a weak smile, though no one was there to see it. The kind of smile rich women practiced in mirrors. Only this one trembled, and my hand shook harder.

My chest tightened painfully. “What is going on…” I whispered hoarsely, my voice barely audible.

Another BANG. “Hello?!” a female voice called from outside the restroom door. “Is somebody in there?”

I slowly lifted my head as footsteps shuffled outside and the door handle rattled. The restroom door suddenly swung open, bright light flooded inside the stall as the woman pushed the stall door open without waiting for an answer.

I blinked. For a moment everything was white, then my vision sharpened. Standing there was a young woman, maybe mid-twenties…perfectly styled hair, designer heels, lips twisted into an expression of pure disgust.

Behind her stood three other girls, hovering like a pack of vultures. They stared at me and then they started whispering. “What the hell…”

“Why would someone lock themselves in a public restroom for hours?”

“Seriously, that’s so fucking weird.”

“Maybe she’s drunk or pleasuring herself.”

I stared at them silently, my head throbbing again. The pain started behind my eyes like someone was hammering nails into my skull, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I slowly stood up and smiled. The kind that had fooled cameras, investors, and millions of followers online.

My heels clicked softly on the tile as I stepped out of the stall.

The girl at the door wrinkled her nose. “Uh… you know people actually need to use the restroom, right?”

Her friend behind her snorted. “Yeah, like what the hell were you even doing in there?”

Another girl laughed. “Probably crying over some broke boyfriend.” The group erupted into quiet giggles.

I tilted my head slightly and let my cold gaze slide over them. The laughter slowly died because something in my expression changed.

The girl closest to the door suddenly stiffened and her eyes widened. “…Wait.” She leaned closer, squinting. “Oh shit.”

The others frowned. “What?”

“That’s…” She grabbed her friend’s arm.

““That’s Callista Madden… look at that posh, customized bag.” Suddenly, the room went silent. That bag had been all over the internet, rumored to be unsellable, not even for the richest woman on Earth. Yet I, Callista had walked into my brand’s store after the news broke and claimed it as my signature piece.

The girl who had been talking the most…the one who’d been mocking me froze like someone had poured ice water over her head. Her face drained of color. “…No way.”

I studied them calmly like a queen examining insects, the realization spread through the group one by one because everyone knew who I was. CEO of Avenior. Social media empire, fashion icon and a ruthless businesswoman. A woman whose brand deals could make or destroy careers overnight.

The loud girl swallowed. “Oh my God…”

I leaned slightly against the sink counter. My head still throbbed, but I ignored it. My lips curved slowly. “Weren’t you the one,” I said softly, “begging my company last month to partner with your pathetic little skincare brand?”

The girl froze.

I remembered everything. I always did…especially desperation.

“You sent three emails,” I continued calmly. “Two voice messages. And a ridiculously long proposal about ‘mutual exposure.’” My smile widened. “Exposure to what exactly?”

The girl’s face turned bright red. “I…I didn’t realize it was…”

I laughed. It was quiet but cruel. “Oh, now you recognize me.”

Behind her, her friends looked like they wanted the floor to swallow them whole. One of them whispered under her breath. “Holy shit…”

I tilted my head again and my eyes darkened. “Funny how your mouth was running like a broken faucet a second ago.”

The girl looked like she might cry. “I’m sorry, Miss Madden. I didn’t…”

“Didn’t think the woman in the locked stall might actually matter?”

She had no answer. I smirked. I almost felt entertained. Then a brutal, stabbing pain exploded behind my eyes. My breath hitched sharply and it felt like my skull was splitting open.

My fingers dug into the marble sink. The girls in front of me blurred again. My heartbeat slammed violently against my ribs. I inhaled slowly, forcing the pain down.

I straightened and smiled again. Without another word, I grabbed my purse and walked past them. My heels echoed sharply against the tile.

They parted automatically to let me through like the Red Sea. As I stepped out of the restroom, the hallway lights seemed painfully bright.

My vision swayed again but I kept walking. Behind me, the whispers exploded the moment the door closed. “Oh my God.”

“That was actually Callista Madden.”

“Why didn’t you shut the hell up?!”

“I didn’t recognize her…I should have noticed the bag earlier!”

“Well congratulations, you just insulted a billionaire to her face!”

“My life is fucking ruined.”

The noise of the wedding hall crashed over me like waves, the entire place smelled like money.

Crystal chandeliers glowed above a massive ballroom, white roses decorating every damn corner like the place had been dipped in a florist’s fantasy. Photographers moved around like hungry flies, cameras flashing. And right there stood the bride and groom on a raised platform.

I leaned against the far wall near the tall glass windows, one hand gripping my phone. My other hand pressed lightly against my temple.

I smirked anyway. Even while in pain, the smirk came naturally and that made people both admire and hate me. “I really need to see my fucking ophthalmologist,” I muttered under my breath.

My vision blurred again for a second. “I swear my eyesight gets worse every damn month.”

My voice was low, irritated. Maybe the idiot I’d been seeing for years was just another overpriced fraud with a medical degree.

I rolled my shoulders slightly and forced myself to relax. It was just stress, that’s what everyone kept saying. Stress from running an empire that employed thousands of people and made millions every damn week.

Still, I refused to ruin tonight. Tonight was supposed to feel normal…it's my best friend’s wedding.

The emcee’s voice suddenly rang loudly through the hall. “Ladies and gentlemen!”

“May the bride kiss the groom!”

The crowd erupted with cheers.

I let out a small amused breath. “Well shit…It seems I’ve been in that restroom for ages,” I murmured. I lifted my phone lazily and opened the camera. Through the screen, I framed the couple standing at the altar.

My lips curled into a mischievous smile. “Let me send this to my dear husband,” I whispered.

My precious Daelan, the name alone flickered through my mind like a warm memory. He’d been gone for a business trip… some important meeting overseas.

He’d barely been answering calls because of “time zones” and “busy schedules,” but that wasn’t unusual. Our lives were chaotic still… I missed the bastard.

I zoomed the camera slightly. The bride and groom leaned toward each other. The crowd screamed and clapped.

The kiss happened and the room exploded with applause.

I snapped the picture… a perfect shot. I looked down at the image and smiled.

The wedding decorations really did remind me of my wedding. Five years ago. White roses…the ridiculously expensive lighting and the dramatic stage.

I almost laughed. “God, this looks exactly like ours,” I muttered. I could already imagine Daelan’s reaction when I sent it. He’d probably text something sarcastic like “copycats.”

I lifted my head again, still smiling faintly and that was when my mind drifted toward the bride, Elysia, my best friend.

I snorted softly. “Bitch finally got married,” I whispered under my breath. The word wasn’t even hateful, just brutally honest.

Elysia had slept with half the wealthy men in three different cities before finally deciding to settle down. The woman had a reputation so wild it could fill a damn book. She’d always joked she’d die single with a champagne glass in one hand and a billionaire in the other.

Yet here she was in a wedding dress. Life was funny as hell.

I adjusted my grip on the phone and finally looked properly at the groom standing beside her. My vision blurred annoyingly. I squinted slightly.

His face was unclear…just shapes. My eyes strained then suddenly, my vision cleared like someone wiped fog off a mirror.

The smile slowly slid off my face as my heart thudded harder. The groom’s face came fully into focus. His dark hair, sharp jaw and familiar crooked smile… this dosen’t look like the guy she introduced earlier.

That sheepish expression he always made when cameras were pointed at him. My stomach dropped violently as my heart began pounding harder. “No. No fucking way.”

My fingers tightened around my phone until the edges dug into my skin.

The man standing at the altar…The man holding Elysia’s waist was Daelan, my husband. The same husband who had supposedly flown across the world for a “business trip.”

My lungs forgot how to breathe but the music continued playing and people cheered.

Champagne popped somewhere in the room, but I heard none of it. My pulse roared in my ears like thunder and my heart slammed violently against my ribs.

A broken chuckle slipped out of my mouth. “…Am I seeing things?” I whispered.