Chapter 4

“Sorry, young madam,” the head of security at the main gates said, his tone firm but not unkind. “The young master isn’t here. The matriarch has given strict instructions—you’re not to be allowed inside.”

Aria’s heart plummeted. She clutched the edge of the gate, desperation bleeding into her voice. “Please… I just need to talk to him. Even for a minute. Tell him Aria is here. Tell him it’s urgent. I’m begging you.”

The guard shook his head, looking almost apologetic. “He’s not here. I wouldn’t lie to you. Please, ma’am—go home. Don’t make this harder for both of us.”

The rejection landed like a physical blow. Aria stood frozen for a long moment, tears burning her eyes, before she turned away with the last shred of dignity she could muster.

She wouldn’t let them see her crumble. Not here. Not in front of the very people who had always looked down on her.

For over 3 years, she never understood why Madam Hunt would treat her like an outsider.

And now it seemed she had finally achieved her goal—Jayden wanted to divorce her.

“Take me home,” she whispered to the driver as she slid back into the car.

The city blurred past the window, but Aria saw nothing.

‘Why, Jayden? Why destroy everything we built? Our memories, our promises…’

She refused to believe it was real. Something was wrong. It had to be.

Lost in her spiralling thoughts, she barely registered the familiar sleek black Rolls-Royce pulling into the driveway of the Hunt Hotel.

“Isn’t that the boss's car?” The driver mumbled under his breath.

Aria followed his gaze. That limited-edition Rolls-Royce—there was only one in all of Manhattan.

“Stop!” she cried, bolting upright. “That’s Jayden’s car. Turn around—now!”

The driver obeyed. Aria’s pulse thundered in her ears as the car screeched into the hotel entrance. She didn’t wait for it to fully stop. She flung the door open and ran, her heels clicking frantically across the polished lobby floor.

There—stepping into the elevator—was the man she was searching for.

She increased her pace, seeing how the doors were about to shut.

“Jayden!” she gasped, shoving her foot between the closing doors just in time. She slipped inside, breathless, her heart shattering and reforming in the same frantic beat.

Kayden froze the moment she burst in.

Ariana.

Her name echoed through him like a ghost from a life he had tried to bury.

Three years in prison, three years after she had betrayed him—the woman who had chosen his brother.

The woman he had met first. The woman who had once made his cold heart feel something real… before she shattered it.

“Ariana,” he whispered, his voice rough with emotions he refused to name.

For one dizzying second, he couldn’t hear her.

He saw her lips moving, but he couldn't process anything except her tear-streaked face, her wide, desperate eyes fixed on him as if he were her salvation.

‘Does she know I've been out of prison for days now? Did she come to apologise? To explain why she left me for him?’ Kayden inwardly thought.

However, when he decided to pay attention to what she was actually saying, her words crashed over him like ice water.

“Jayden, thank God I finally found you…” Her voice cracked as she spoke, trembling with raw panic. “I nearly went crazy. Babe, what is this? Divorce papers? You already signed them? How could you prank me like this—on our anniversary?”

Kayden’s world tilted. She mistook him—she thought he was Jayden.

She was falling apart over divorce papers his brother had apparently sent.

The realisation hit him like a gut punch—pain, fury, and a dark, twisted satisfaction twisting together in his chest.

She didn’t know about the accident. She didn’t know anything.

Jayden had told him when they met this afternoon that he was returning Aria to him.

He had spoken about her like some cheap property he was tired and was discarding. He had thought Aria deserved it, but seeing her now, he felt even more gratified.

However, before he could speak, Aria threw herself into his arms, clinging to him with the kind of desperate strength only a breaking heart could produce.

Her familiar scent—vanilla and lavender—flooded his senses, stirring memories he had sworn to destroy.

“Get your hands off me,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous. “Get out of my sight before I do something I won’t regret.”

But she only held tighter, sobbing softly against his chest. “Jayden, what’s wrong, babe? Talk to me. Please…”

The elevator dinged. Kayden stepped out on his floor, shaking her off with a murderous glare that finally made her release him.

He stalked down the hallway toward his suite, jaw clenched so tight it ached. Her quiet footsteps followed.

He swiped his key card, pushing the door open—only for her to hurriedly slip past him and dart inside first.

She peaked at him with a small, shaky, hopeful smile that twisted the knife deeper.

“What is the meaning of—”

She shrugged off her long coat, not allowing him to speak.

Revealing the elegant white sleeveless dress beneath. The same one that had probably been chosen for a romantic evening with ‘his brother’.

Kayden stood in the doorway, heart raging. Everything she was doing, every loving word, every touch—it was meant for Jayden. Not him. Never him.

“Get out, Ariana,” he said coldly. “I won’t repeat myself.”

“Those divorce papers… I know they’re not really from you,” she said, stepping closer.

“Suit yourself." Kayden wasn't in the mood for this. He wanted to turn and leave the suite for her, but her words stopped him.

“Please, tell me this is some sick joke. Tell me you still love me.”

“If my name is on them, how can it be a joke?” he shot back, fighting to keep his mask in place. He wanted to see her broken.

“No—I don’t believe you. Stop messing with me.” Her voice broke completely. “Babe!”

“You can have the room,” he snarled, turning away. “Just seeing you makes my skin crawl. But I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m not Jay—”

“Please, hubby!” Aria rushed forward again, wrapping her arms around him from behind before he could finish. Her body trembled against his, warm and desperate.

“Don’t do this to me. What did I do wrong? Tell me what to do to change your mind. I’ll do ‘anything’. Please… don’t leave me. Don’t break us apart…”

Her sobs filled the luxurious suite—the sound of a woman whose entire world was collapsing.

And Kayden stood rigid in her embrace, his hands fisted at his sides, torn between the burning need for revenge… and the dangerous flicker of something far more complicated.