BOOK ONE: Chapter 0001

•CAMILLA•

“Alisha.”

I was about to get inside my car and drive home when someone called my name. I turned around and looked at the person.

“Hi,” I replied, with furrowed brows, because she was wearing big shades that made it difficult for me to see her face.

“I wanted to confirm that it was really you,” she smirked as she leaned closer. “You don’t know me, but I’m sure you have an idea now about why I’m here. I don’t even have to say his name.”

Then it clicked.

Well, I’d be damned.

The last time she and I talked was when she called my husband while he was in the shower, and I answered the call.

I could recognize her voice since it was a few days ago when she called.

“I don’t know you, but if you don’t mind refreshing my memory, you can remind me.” I smiled at her.

She narrowed her eyes at me, irritated. “We talked. Three nights ago. Do you remember?”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t.” I folded my arms on my chest and looked at her.

“My name is Sasha.”

“Oh, you’re my husband’s mistress?” I chuckled. “What a lovely surprise. You must be a brave mistress to approach me so boldly. I thought wives had that tendency of sneaking up on their husbands’ mistresses.”

“That’s not the point,” she scoffed.

“Then why are you here? If you bothered me, I think I would’ve taken the first step to approach you woman-to-woman, but as you can see, I’m not bothered by your existence.”

“Thought this might be a good time for me to introduce myself, since Lucius has made me the mother of his child,” she answered as she caressed her stomach, and my heart sank.

It couldn’t be true. She had to be lying. If Lucius had made her pregnant, then our childlessness all these years had to be my fault.

It didn’t come as a surprise that he was cheating with her because I knew for months, and as long as he came back home to me, it gave me hope he would change and realize that I was enough for him.

But her pregnancy meant she successfully proved to him he wasn’t the one with the problem, and that was enough for him to leave our marriage.

“You know that I’m his wife, don’t you?”

“Yet, that didn’t stop him from planting his seed inside me. I’ve given him something that you’ve been failing to give him for three years. So now, tell me, what good does your title do?”

I gulped and didn’t know how to answer her.

It took everything in me not to shed the tears that were creeping to the corners of my eyes.

I clenched my fists in frustration, and my heart raced. How dare she? As Lucius’ wife, I deserved that respect.

Or was I no longer entitled to receive any kind of reverence from her because she was carrying his first child and heir?

Sasha chuckled when she saw my distress. She closed the small gap between us, and when I smelled the cologne that had always been left on the collars of my husband’s shirts, my blood boiled.

“Lucius will make me his wife, and me and this baby,” she scoffed as she looked down at her stomach before she returned her gaze to me. “My baby and I are going to be his family. If I were you, I would ensure that I leave the marriage before things get too bad.”

“What makes you think he will leave me to be with you?” I asked, scolding.

“What makes you think he wouldn’t, my love?” She chuckled. "You’re a barren woman. He can’t build a family with someone who can’t give him any children.”

“Listen, sweetie," I narrowed my eyes at her. "As long as Lucius and I remain true to our vows, I will remain his wife. So, if I were you, I would be in my little corner and remain hidden.” I turned to get inside my car when I stopped and turned to her.

“The fact that Lucius had never once said anything about you means you were nothing but his cum rag. So, you’re a fool to think that a baby will make him leave his wife to be with someone that he has never made a mistake for his wife to find out about.”

“I know it won’t be easy to accept that the man is now mine, but in due time, you shall see.”

I rolled my eyes, got inside my car, and drove home.

***

Walking back from the laundry room, feeling a bit lightheaded, I found the door in our bedroom slightly open.

“Where were you?” He asked as soon as the door closed behind me.

“I was in the laundry room doing our laundry,” I replied as I slowly walked closer to him. “I’m sorry.”

“Didn’t I tell you to prepare something for me to wear before I returned from work?” He seethed as he turned around and looked at me. “Why do I always have to fight with you when I’ve clearly given you instructions before I left the house?!”

“I’m sorry, Lucius, but your mother told me to cook and clean the house all day. With all the house chores I had, it slipped my mind. I’m sorry that your suit wasn’t ready when you came -“

I felt a hot slap on my face before I could finish my sentence.

There was a ringing sound in my ear before it registered in my mind that Lucius had laid his hand on me for the first time since we had gotten married.

“The next time I tell you to do something and you don’t do it, I am going to do something that you and I will regret,” he snarled as he pointed his finger at me.

“I am your wife...” was all I could whisper in my raspy voice, trying so hard to hold back the tears at the corners of my eyes.

“Then act like one,” he frowned before he walked out of the room and left me standing there with my hand on my cheek.

I closed my eyes and couldn’t believe that the same man who loved me so much and could’ve given me the world if needed was the same man today who made my life a living hell.

It suddenly became clear that I didn’t know the man I had married and called my husband for the past three years.

Taking a deep breath, I fixed my dress and hair and wiped my face before I walked out of the room and went to the dining room to prepare it.

But when I walked in, everyone was in their seats, including Lucius, next to a woman who looked familiar. I looked at her but couldn’t trace where I knew her from.

“Oh, you’re here, Alisha!” Olivia exclaimed. “You might as well be useful and bring us sharper table knives. Seems like your steak needs a lot of cutting. Should’ve kept it on the stove a little longer for it to be tender and edible.”

Everyone at the table chuckled, and I felt my heart being ripped apart. What hurt more was Lucius joining in and laughing.

I swallowed the little pride that I had and went to get the table knives, and when I laid a table knife in front of Lucius, I noticed his hand brushing over the woman’s thigh next to him.

“Did you get a new maid?” One of the three ladies who visited asked. “She’s an amazing cook. This food is so delicious.”

“She’s Lucius’ wife,” Brandon answered, earning a frown from Olivia and Nevada.

“This is your wife? I thought she was the maid.” The woman next to Lucius asked as she glanced at me and chuckled.

That’s when I realized who she was.

“She’s nothing but useless junk, sweetie. You don’t have to worry about her,” Olivia answered. “Lucius is only keeping her around because she has no home. You are the one who will make this family happy by being my son’s wife.”

“What?” I dropped the table knives I was carrying.

“Tell this thing that you’re engaged to be married to Sasha, Lucius. She needs to get herself ready to leave your bedroom for your fiancé. You can’t keep inhabiting a useless thing that can’t bear you heirs,” Olivia answered.

Lucius stood up from his chair and looked down at me. “You have heard my mother, Alisha. I want a divorce.”