HEIRESS REBORN

Alina's Pov

The dress was zipped too tight at the ribs. I hadn’t gained weight—at least not recently. But the satin clung to me like it resented the curves I had no control over.

I adjusted the neckline for the fifth time and stared at my reflection. I didn’t hate her—not really. I just didn’t recognize her anymore.

I was a whole new plumply version of my old self... It was almost as if I had let myself go.

“Alina, he already left,” our housekeeper said softly from the doorway, pity lacing her voice. “Mr. Cross asked the driver to take him early.”

I blinked. “What do you mean, early?”

“He said he couldn’t wait.”

Of course he couldn’t. Nathaniel Cross never waited—not for me. Not anymore.

I gave a small nod and grabbed my purse. My heels clicked sharply as I walked through the marble-floored foyer, echoing in the cold, silent house.

The car ride to the venue of the gala was short, but I spent it rehearsing my smile like armor, fingers curled too tightly in my lap. Would Nathaniel like my dress? Would he be disappointed?

Tonight, I wore sapphire blue—the same shade Nathaniel once said made my eyes look like oceans. I had curled my hair. Fixed my makeup three times. Smoothed down my dress even after it was flawless. All because tonight, I was supposed to stand beside him again. His wife. The woman he promised forever to.

But after the past few months, I wasn't so sure anymore.

By  the time I reached the ballroom, the event was in full swing. Lights glittered like fake stars overhead, casting everyone in a soft gold hue that didn’t quite reach their eyes. I scanned the room, hoping—no, expecting—to see him waiting for me.

Instead, Nathaniel, my husband stood in the center of the room, laughing too hard, smiling too wide. His hand rested possessively on the back of a tall, slender woman with cascading auburn hair. His “assistant.”

She leaned in when she spoke, her smile too intimate, her hand brushing his chest and he didn’t even flinch away.

I paused as my  hands curled into fists. He hadn’t waited. He hadn’t even sent a message. A few months ago, that might’ve been surprising. Now, it was just another cut I’d pretend not to feel.

Before I could take another step toward them, a hand like a claw latched around my arm and yanked me sideways.

“What the—”

The grip tightened, and I stumbled. She dragged me through the crowd, ignoring my startled murmurs. I caught a few curious glances, but no one stopped her. No one dared stop Elena Cross when she had a mission.

The door to the women’s restroom slammed shut behind us.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice was ice wrapped in silk. “Did you think showing up uninvited would suddenly make you relevant again?”

“I—what?” I breathed, my pulse thudding. “I’m his wife. This is my place.”

Elena scoffed, stepping back to look me over. Her gaze slithered from my face to my waist, down to my shoes and back again.

“Wife,” she repeated, as though the word tasted rotten. “You should be grateful my son ever said those vows. Do you see yourself?”

I blinked, heart cracking.

Her eyes narrowed..“You weren’t invited,” she said, low and sharp. “This is a business gala, not a buffet.”

“I’m here to stand beside my husband,” I replied, trying to sound firm. I didn’t even believe myself.

She laughed. “Husband? Please. You mean the man dragging our reputation into the dirt by being married to you?”

My breath hitched as tears flooded my eyes.

“You should be grateful, Alina,” she sneered. “A woman like you—overweight, plain, pathetic. Nathaniel rescued you from whatever empty life you came from.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The words hit too deep, too hard. She saw it—my silence—and smiled like she’d won something.

“Don’t embarrass yourself, Alina.” She moved closer, her perfume sharp and suffocating. “Or us. Just go home. Quietly. You’ve always been good at being invisible.”

And then she was gone, leaving only her perfume and poison behind.

I stood there for a second, unsure of what to do. The bathroom was closest. I stumbled in blindly, slammed into the nearest stall, and locked it.

And that was when the tears came.

I muffled them into my sleeve, shaking, breath ragged. I’d given everything—everything—to this man and his family. And still, I was never enough. Not pretty enough. Not thin enough. Not worthy enough.

I wasn’t even allowed to stand beside my husband.

What had I done wrong? Where had I gone wrong?

I don’t know how long I sat there. It could’ve been twenty minutes. Could’ve been an hour. The music from outside filtered in like a taunt. The sound of champagne glasses clinking. Laughter. Celebration.

Not mine.

Then came voices—two women entering the bathroom, heels tapping against the tile.

“Did you see her?” one said, laughing. “That assistant. Looks exactly like Sasha.”

My ears instantly perked up, I only knew one Sasha in my life... Not that I've ever met her in person.

“She is Sasha,” the other whispered. “They just changed her last name on the company site. I asked one of the interns.”

“No way. I thought she left the country after he got married.”

“Apparently not. She’s been around for a while now. Business trips. Late nights.”

They both cackled.

“If only Nathaniel’s poor wife knew.”

My blood instantly ran cold as my stomach twisted, turned, and dropped.

Shortly after, the door shut behind them, leaving silence in their wake. Silence—and me who was still locked in the stall, my hands shaking terribly.

I pressed my hand against my chest. Sasha.

Suddenly, all the late nights, the business trips, the unanswered texts—they stopped being question marks. They became facts.

I got up slowly, legs unsteady. When I stepped out, I didn’t bother checking the mirror. I didn’t want to see the fool staring back at me.

I walked back into the ballroom, heart hammering in my throat. It was quieter now, guests trickling out. I spotted a junior employee—someone from Nathaniel’s tech division—and grabbed his arm.

“Have you seen my husband?” I asked, voice almost steady.

He blinked, startled. “Uh—he left. About half an hour ago. With his assistant. Said something about a client emergency.”

“Where did they go?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

I nodded. Slowly. Too slowly even as my vision blurred with unshed tears.

I pulled out my phone with shaky and dialed Nathaniel and it went straight to voicemail.

I tried again.

“This number is unreachable, please try again later.” was the automated response I got.

The floor felt like it might give way beneath me, but I stood still. Frozen in place.

He left with her.

The memories came back like acid: the nights he came home late and refused to touch me. The times I caught him smiling at his phone. The time he told me to stop being paranoid.

I pushed past the guests, out into the night, needing air—needing truth.

He wouldn’t cheat on me. Not really. Not after everything we’d been through. Not after the years I gave him.

But… something inside me had already snapped.

And once something snaps, it never quite fits the same again.