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Chapter 1

Aria Blake

~•~

“He’s not coming back… should I just refrigerate the food for you?” The maid’s voice dragged me out of my thoughts.

It was two days after my husband and I’s wedding anniversary. We had been married for three years.

Initially, things were going great between us, but all of a sudden, he switched. I’d been trying to talk to him, so we could fix things but he had been so adamant and uninterested.

For our anniversary, he didn’t do anything, and I didn’t acknowledge it either. I gave him a few days, hoping he would apologize for ignoring it or do something special for us.

But there was nothing.

So I decided to spend the entire day cooking and set up a romantic dinner date for us at home.

It was almost midnight and he hadn’t returned to the house.

That was really weird because even if things had been rocky between us, Julian had never spent the night outside the house without telling me first.

“Don’t worry,” I finally replied to the maid. “Maybe he’s having a late night at work. I’m sure he’ll come back soon.”

She gave me a pitiful stare.

“Are you sure?”

That was just an excuse. I wasn’t sure. Julian would never stay out so late just because of work. He was the CEO of the company, and he wouldn’t stress himself like that.

I nodded my head. “Yes… you can go to bed,” I answered, forcing my voice to stay steady.

Soon enough, the maid retired to her room.

I remained in the living room for a few more minutes before I finally let out a defeated sigh.

Julian wasn’t coming home.

As I cleared the table, I couldn’t help but wonder where he was. I had tried calling his phone several times, but it went straight to voicemail.

I could only hope that he was okay.

By the time I got back to my room, my phone started buzzing. I reached out for it quickly, hoping it was Julian who was calling me.

But I let out a disappointed scoff when I saw my best friend’s name flashing across the screen.

It wasn’t like I wasn’t happy to talk to her, but I just wanted it to be my husband.

Letting out a deep exhale, I answered the phone.

“Harper, hey…” My voice was almost inaudible.

“Aria, are you okay?” Harper asked, her voice filled with concern.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat. “No,” I admitted, my voice tight. “I’m not okay… he didn’t come back home today.”

Harper gasped. “What? And you spent the entire day cooking for him.”

My chest tightened as she reminded me of my miseries. “Yes, I did,” I replied, running a hand through my hair.

“I’m so sorry, Aria,” Harper said sympathetically. “Have you tried calling him? What did he say?”

I shrugged my shoulders, exhausted. “I tried calling him but I couldn’t reach him. I have no idea where he is,” I continued solemnly. “I even reached out to his best friend, but he wouldn’t tell me anything.”

Harper let out a sharp exhale. “So what are you going to do?”

I rolled my eyes. “What am I supposed to do, Harper?” I asked quietly. “I’m tired of fighting for him when he clearly doesn’t want me anymore.”

There was a beat of silence.

“I’m sorry about what you’re going through right now, but maybe it’s just a phase…” Harper tried to comfort me but it wasn’t working. “Both of you are perfect for each other, and I’m sure that things will get back to normal soon.”

I blinked back the tears that were threatening to fall. “You don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I don’t, but I need you to be optimistic.”

I rubbed my face tiredly. “I’ve been optimistic for a while now but nothing has changed.”

“Just wait for him to return and have a conversation with him. If something is going on, he should tell you.”

Harper and I talked for a while before the call finally ended. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to scroll through my phone.

While viewing posts, I came across one that involved my husband. He was seen at a jewelry shop, picking out an expensive piece.

I looked closely to make sure it was him.

My heart warmed when I saw that the jewelry was a silver necklace. That was my preferred choice of jewelry.

So it was for me.

For a moment, I forgot about all my sadness and kept smiling as I read the comments.

People were praising him and saying how lucky I was to bag a man who would spoil me with expensive gifts.

I’d been overthinking all this while.

The jewelry was probably my late anniversary gift. It was a good thing I also got him some presents.

Maybe my marriage wasn’t crumbling after all. I kept reading all the nice comments, but there were also some mean comments.

After being married to a popular billionaire for three years, I had already learnt how to ignore the hate comments. I didn’t let them bother me anymore.

A few moments later, I decided to try calling Julian one more time. Maybe he was actually working late.

But just as I was about to scroll away, something caught my attention. As I stared at it, my smile faded slowly.

The headlines made my stomach churn.

The photo that was attached made my breath seize.

My husband. Julian.

He was spotted with his ex-girlfriend.

And they were smiling at each other while he held her tightly like his life depended on it.

The jewelry wasn’t for me. My marriage was actually crumbling. Was he acting weird all that time because of her?