The News

Chapter 1: The News

AURORA .

“Popular tech mogul Bryan Liam was found dead in cold blood in his hotel room in Paris. Police say it might be the result of a botched robbery…”

The voice from the television kept going, but those were the only words echoing in my head.

That was my husband, Bryan Liam.

The man I had been married to for four years.

The same man I had escorted to the airport.

He was dead.

The glass I was holding slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor. Everything blurred. I saw flashes of my nanny rushing to grab my son, his piercing cries echoing in my ears, but it was all distant—like my world had paused.

And then suddenly, I screamed.

“Bryan! No, no way..” I cried at the top of my voice, the reality of the news hitting me like a blow to the chest.

“Ma’am, please calm down,” my nanny pleaded, rocking my son in one arm. My eyes fixed on him , my poor baby, just three years old, now without a father. I looked back at the TV. Bryan’s face was everywhere.

Bryan Liam.

Our marriage had started as a joke , he was the perfect suitor my father found for me, and because I had no other option, i was recovering from a heart break and i wanted to heal so i married him to revenge my Ex but he didn’t seem to care . I had no regrets. He was an amazing husband, sweet, perfect. He treated me like a princess. People said it was because he was a loyal godson to my father, but I doubted that. Bryan was in love with me, and I had started to love him too.

Then we had our son, Jake. He was just like his father,bringing joy into our home. He had turned four recently. Bryan couldn’t make it to his birthday, but he promised to make it up to us, he booked a family trip for next week.

Now he was gone.

“Mommy…” Jake cried, gripping the hem of my dress. My legs gave way, and I collapsed onto the couch, screaming and shouting in pain.

“Rosa! Take Jake inside now,” a voice called from behind. It was my mother. She rushed over, wrapping me in her arms and stroking my head.

“Shhh, it’s okay, honey. It’s okay. I know how it feels…” she whispered.

Her words made it worse. She was reminding me that I was now a widow, like her. My father had died two years after I married Bryan. That year was one of the worst of our lives ,we lost almost everything. Society abandoned us. A once-powerful family reduced to nothing without its head. It had affected my marriage deeply—but that was a story for another day.

“You cannot let the Wolfe family see you like this. They’ll use it to their advantage.”

“I don’t give a fvck, Mother! My husband just died! Am I not allowed to mourn him? He’s everywhere on the news, my husband butchered like he was nothing and you’re here telling me not to be vulnerable because of what? His family? I don’t care!” I yelled.

She quickly covered my mouth with her palm.

“Be quiet, Aurora. You of all people should know better. If you want to mourn your husband, do it but don’t act weak in front of those people. They don’t like you, and they—”

“Mother! Please, stop!” I cut her off before she could finish. “I don’t want to hear this again. You, of all people, should know what it feels like to lose a husband. And in that manner? Imagine finding out through the TV that your husband is dead not even a phone call from his family”

“They don’t see you as his wife. Why would they inform you? You lost that position when your father died. And now that Bryan is dead, they’ll kick you out of this house and take everything he owned unless you stand up for yourself.”

My mother was right. When my father died, the dynamics in my marriage shifted. The Wolfe family constantly maltreated me. I was bullied. Bryan was the only reason I stayed because he loved me and protected me. The Wolfes cut me off entirely, and only Bryan and Jake were allowed at family gatherings. Bryan would go with our son but never with me. He didn’t want me to be treated poorly by his family.

At first, it was a problem in our marriage, but I stopped caring. I didn’t mind being the outcast. But now that Bryan was gone, I had no shield. These people would come for me.

“Do you see what I’m talking about now?” my mother asked.

I stayed quiet, my mind spinning with thoughts of what would come next. Tears kept rolling down my cheeks.

“This wasn’t what you promised me… You promised to always protect me. Bryan, you promised you’d always be there. I don’t know what I’ll do without you…”

“Oh, Jesus…” my mother sighed.

I ignored her. She had the heart of a stone what she called “the perfect match for the Wolfe.” I was nothing like that. I was weak, fragile. When my father died, my mother didn’t shed a single tear in public, even though I knew she cried in private. That’s what she wanted from me now. But I couldn’t control my emotions.

“ Mom…Let me mourn my husband in peace.”

When I turned, my breath caught.

It was my mother-in-law.

And from the look in her eyes, I knew my mourning had only just begun.