Divorcing Mr CEO

“Happy anniversary,” I whispered to the woman in the mirror. The words tasted like dust. Outside, the city glittered, a thousand lights celebrating a thousand stories. Laughter spilled from rooftop bars. Couples leaned into each other under streetlamps. Somewhere, someone was being kissed like they mattered. But not here, not tonight and not for me. I adjusted the strap of my silk dress, the fabric cool against my skin. It was the color of midnight, elegant and expensive, just like everything else in this penthouse. My makeup was flawless. My hair was perfectly curled. I looked like a woman who had it all. And I did. I had the fame, fortune and adoration. Everything except the one thing I’d quietly, desperately wanted for the last 1,095 days. My husband, Damian Blackwood. The man whose last name I wore like a crown, even though he never treated me like a queen. I glanced at the clock on the marble mantelpiece, the time was 10:47 p.m. He's late again. I knew the signs. The empt

(Flashback) Three years ago.Damian Pov:The deal was simple. Marry Lia Hart. Strengthen the alliance between our families. Secure my position.Feelings weren’t part of the equation.I’d been raised to control, to conquer, to never show weakness.Love was a distraction. An unnecessary risk.When my father sat me down that evening, the contract between our families already drafted, I didn’t hesitate.I told myself it was business. Nothing more.Meeting Lia was… different.She was quiet, polite, and had a fire in her eyes that refused to be dimmed. She wanted me to see her, not the CEO or the Blackwood heir, but the man behind the mask.I didn’t know how to be that man.The engagement felt like a chain wrapped around my wrist.I wore the ring because I was expected to.I treated Lia with the distance of a stranger because I was scared of what closeness might do.The first night in our home, I turned away because I didn’t know how to say what I really felt.I was afraid that if I let her

Damian POV: The steam clung to my skin as I stepped out of the shower, water still dripping from my hair. I grabbed a towel, slung it low around my hips, and rubbed another one across my chest. I glanced at the time beside the bed stand, it was 10:56 pm The room was too quiet ,until it wasn’t. Click. The door creaked open behind me. "Lira." I didn’t turn around immediately. Just said her name like it was normal, like I hadn’t spent the last five minutes trying to forget the way her laugh used to sound echoing off these walls. She froze in the doorway like a deer caught in headlights. “Oh. God. I didn’t…know you were…half-naked..” she stammered, throwing a hand over her eyes but failing miserably at pretending not to look. A smirk tugged at my lips. “Correction. I’m fully naked. The towel is just a courtesy.” She let out a strangled sound, half cough, half groan, and spun around. “Could you, like….not be so comfortable in your nudity?” “Could you not barge in like you live h

The Blackwood estate was imposing in the way only old money could manage, gleaming marble floors, towering ceilings, and a chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning. Tonight was different. Tonight was the first time I’d be formally introduced as Mrs. Blackwood at a family dinner. The weight of that fact pressed on my chest harder than I expected.For the first time in three years, I was invited to their family dinner Damian walked beside me, his hand cool and steady around mine. He hadn’t said much since the summons came, but I could feel his tension. It was rare to see him nervous, and I wondered if it was because he knew this night wouldn’t be easy.The dining hall doors opened with a creak, revealing the full ensemble of Damian’s illustrious family. Lord Blackwood sat at the head of the long obsidian table, posture like a statue, his eyes sharper than the carving knife by his plate. Beside him, Lady Blackwood glimmered in a sea-green silk gown, rings crowding her fin

Damian Pov:I sat down by the pool side, hands buried in watching the city lights flicker like tiny stars scattered across the earth. The silence in the penthouse was too loud. I had just returned from dinner at the Blackwood mansion,it left me with an emptiness i couldn't name.I scoffed under my breath. "That damn dinner," I muttered.Lira had walked into the lion's den that night with her head held high. She wore elegance like it was armor, not shaking not flinching even when Harold took those low jabs. She’d held her ground, smiled with a quiet grace, and reminded everyone, even him, why she was more than just a pretty face.I let out a short breath. "She didn’t let them get to her. Not even once."And that was when the thought struck me. That poised woman who stood at my side tonight reminded me of just how alone i’d always felt in that house.I was five years the first time i realized I didn’t belong.I remembered standing at the bottom of the grand staircase, my school certific