2| HIS LIES, THE TRUTH

Valerie’s POV

The next morning, I was still in bed, wallowing in self-pity when my phone pinged with the long-awaited message. My eyes were still red from crying myself to sleep but none of it mattered anymore.

I fumbled for the device and clicked on the message. It was a formal notification from the St. Claire estate legal team, declaring that the final probate was complete. The multi-billion dollar inheritance was finally mine. My heart hammered against my ribs as my heart soared with happiness. Finally, I had the one thing that Cassian had always wanted. I could finally see that charming smile he used to give me in the hospital.

He had already left for the office but I did not wait for him to come home. I couldn’t.

Cassian had spent five years telling me I looked disgusting and that the world would recoil at the sight of my broken body, which led to him being in control of everything I owned but the joy in my chest gave me a sudden, reckless courage to leave the house.

The twins weren’t home so I called a private car before getting dressed hurriedly. I wanted to look good just this one time for Cassian but five years without any form of makeup made me realize I owned nothing of that nature.

The only things I owned were ugly and overly big clothes that I wore to hide my skinny frame. After looking for something less disgusting to wear, my journey began.

When I arrived at the Thorne Empire, the mere height of the massive building took my breath away. When I had met Cassian, it was nothing but a crumbling bungalow but after funding it with my father’s assets, I felt a swell of pride at the sight in front of me.

When I wheeled myself into the entrance, I approached the receptionist. "I’m here to see Cassian Thorne," I said. "I’m his... I’m Valerie St. Claire."

The woman behind the desk looked at me with a mix of confusion and pity, probably wondering what a crippled woman had to do with her boss. Yes, Cassian had kept our marriage private for reasons best known to him.

"Mr. Thorne is in the middle of a press briefing in the main hall. You can't just go in."

"Please, it’s a surprise," I insisted nervously. "He’ll want to see me, we are family.”

With one last pitiful glance my way, she grudgingly pointed me towards the direction of a big hall. As I approached, I could hear his loud voice, booming with so much confidence.

A smile crept up my face as I thought of his happy smile as he hugged me and announced to the world I was his beloved wife after giving him the big news.

I pushed the door open and the room was filled with reporters, cameras, and some prestigious guests. Cassian stood on the podium, giving a speech with the lights on him.

“Yes!” I thought. “The perfect opportunity to give him the news and finally announce my actual place as his wife to the world. Now, I wouldn’t be ashamed of me anymore.”

"Cassian!" I called out with my voice shaking from so many thoughts filling my head.

The room went deathly silent as hundreds of eyes turned toward me. I saw the flash of cameras and heard the confused whispers but my gaze remained on Cassian. Only his validation mattered. They wouldn’t look at me this way when he announced who I truly am.

Or so I thought.

Cassian’s gaze went cold instantly as he stared at me like I was contaminated.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice nothing like I remembered. It felt as though I was talking to a stranger.

I blinked in shock, my smile faltering. "Cassian, it’s me, Valerie. Your wife."

A mocking laugh filled the hall as Cassian walked down the podium. He didn’t come to hug me like I had thought; he stopped several feet away with his eyes filled with irritation.

"I don't know who you are or what kind of sick game you are playing," he said clearly for everyone to hear. "This woman is a disturbed stalker who has been obsessed with me for years. Security, why is this person in my building?"

"Cassian, what are you saying?" I gasped, my heart squeezing painfully. "We live together! I raised your children! The twins—"

"My children have a mother," Cassian interrupted.

At that moment, a woman I hadn’t noticed before came to stand beside Cassian. She was tall, strikingly thin, and wore a gown that screamed luxury. She was dressed the exact way Cassian told me he hated. I watched in horror as Cassian wrapped an arm around her lovingly.

"This is Lydia Thorne," Cassian announced to the stunned crowd. "My wife and the mother of my children. We have been together since before I even started this company. I don’t know who this deranged crippled lady is."

Lydia looked down at me, a sharp smirk playing on her lips. She looked exactly like the twins, which hit me even harder than Cassian’s betrayal.

The "late ex’s" children Cassian made me raise were theirs all along. He assured me I was unfit to bear his children for years but I never fully understood his reason until now.

I had been raising his family all along.

"Please, leave," Lydia said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. With her tone, I could tell she knew all about me. They all knew. "It’s embarrassing to see someone so... desperate. Cassian doesn't like broken things, dear. You should have stayed in whatever hole you crawled out of."

A broken sigh escaped my lips as the crowd burst into another round of laughter. I refused to break down. Instead, I looked at Cassian, the very man I had given my all to.

“Cassian—”

"I don't know this woman," Cassian interrupted, kissing Lydia lovingly on her cheeks. He gave her the same look I had begged for for years. "Security! Get this disgusting opportunist out of my sight."