Chapter 2

MY BIRTHDAY 

The master bedroom was lit up with a golden glow from the crystal lighting fixture suspended in the ceiling. The only beauty that glowed in the room-from the oiled oak floor to velvet curtains-was beauty, but there wasn't anything more glorious than the scene on the bed.

Aria was relaxed, dark hair in the golden glow of light. She was an angel, face so close to unnatural—something conjured up instead of real.

Daniel stood respectfully off to the side of the door. His gaze did not stray. It stayed locked on her, drinking her in as if he would never tire of still beauty of the woman who was his wife.

Aria climbed into bed, eyelids fluttering before she opened them, silver-colored iris smeared across a reluctant smile, the color vibrantly against the soft light of her skin. Silvery robe, like she'd been carved out of shadows and light.

Daniel stood several feet away from her, immobilized. Watching.

Sleepy, low-hung eyes, she asked, "Why are you staring?"

He stepped a little nearer, step by hot breath, his gaze sweeping over the length of her body. Passion blazing in him."Can't I look at my wife?"

Aria allowed her eyes to travel away from him, her expression serene. "That's your decision. Looking at your wife. or attempting to find something to soothe your conscience?"

"I didn't come here to fight!" Daniel averted his eyes from his eyes, suddenly finding it hard to look her in the eye.

She sat up slow, the robe rippling behind her, bubbling on the floor like water. "Then say something wise."

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"Horrors already churned in Aria's belly. Hadn't she caught her husband wrapped in a sensual embrace with his secretary just a few days ago, she would've assumed this act—this farce of love he had the audacity to term love."

Daniel remembered her face, warning surfaced in his mind. She responded the wrong way—alien. She never responded this way to him before, and it struck him more than he had expected.

"I wonder if she is the same girl who was in the office the other day!" He wondered.

Daniel brushed aside the cynical hostility. It doesn't compute, she was always working on about a thousand cases or so at the law firm. The harder he glared at her, the angrier he got. He grit his teeth and bruded his rage, "Happy birthday wifey!" He bellowed.

Aria sat straight up in bed and stared at him with eyes fixed on him. Ah, yes, he had not forgotten his birthday this time. Was he that transformed overnight? Was this a prank and all that I heard and saw? I used to think about all these things day and night. I should just let all this go and give him another chance.

She was brusquely returned to reality when the red rose was pulled out by her husband. Her lips stretched in an attempt to let a smile slip out but could not. Her heart fluttered between wariness and excitement as she took the flower he pulled out from behind his back, the petals smooth on her hand, but not her heart.

The way that he looked at her, it was nice, something she hadn't experienced in some time. Daniel scooped Aria up into his arms. Her breath was more stolen from her by the way that he did it so gently than from shock. She leaned her head against his chest as he walked. She'd missed this.

As he stepped into the dinning room, he halted on the threshold, letting her take it in. Everything that she had longed so desperately for was freshly laid and placed on the table, steaming and fragrant, the hues mixed into a work of art harmony. At the pinnacle was a velvet standing tall above the others, its surface silky and smooth, topped with luscious curls of cream. There was a single candle atop it, the frail flame flickering in the darkness.

"Daniel… did you do all this!" she shrieked, her voice little more than a shriek.

He grinned at her, his face pulled wide with a huge grin. "All of them. You have to be honored… properly honored."

Her heart expanded, but always behind her shoulder loomed the nagging voice of self-doubt. A night, could it perhaps make up for everything? Could love flow from broken pieces? But gazing at him, hope and empathy overwhelmed her, she wanted part of her to believe.

She came in close, lips to his cheek. "Thank you," She whispered softly, voice very clear, fingers running over the petal on the cake smelling it. "This means more to me than you can know!

They dined together, the soft clinking of silverware and the murmured words on the warm air between them. And for the first time in a very, very long time, everything was just. normal. Aria lifted her glass of wine, tasting the sweetness—and the second.

And Daniel's boisterous ring shattered the quiet.

Aria glanced at the screen out of habit. Her stomach dropped.

His secretary.

The name flashed across the screen, and her heart jumped, then careened away in its wild effort to recover. Her fingers tightened a little more on the fork.

Daniel's gaze followed hers, to the phone. A flash of an unreadable look crossed his features. "Excuse me," he breathed, already rising from his chair. Without a glance in her direction even once, he left, phone in hand, speaking low as he went into the hallway.

Aria stood motionless, hunger abandoned.

And as Daniel was leaving, Zara turned up as suddenly at the dinner table. "Ma'am, I found out this is Master's cloth. I think he bought it for me." She declared rushing off in joy to the bathroom.

Aria blinked stupidly. The necklace glimmered like a vow, but her heart was a war zone of feeling.

She smiled charmingly, her eyes folding at the edges. "It's lovely," she whispered. But under the surface, she wasn't so convinced.

Was it an act of love… or redemption?

Daniel came back to the dining room with his face severe and without expression. Hannah was by the window, looking out into the darkness of the garden. He was standing almost next to her ear, and his voice was soft but authoritative. "I need to leave Something unexpected just arose at work.".

Shock washed over Aria like a tsunami when she heard so from her husband. She was forced to swallow a silent head shake behind the face of shock, keeping hidden the storm brewing inside of her. "Whatever appetite was left of mine" didn't have a prayer once he appeared again, standing back out of the doorway.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out her hand towards her phone, her hand suspended in mid-air before she dialed her husband's principal secretary number. The phone rang as the tightness in her belly was getting worse. "Is there any emergency meeting this morning?" she asked curtly with a hint of underlying stress.

"No ma'am, there isn't any right now!" She explained

Aria dropped the phone from trembling hands, her own heart shattering with the filthy realization that assailed her. Tears ran down her flawless face, each a searing admission. 'I was so stupid to believe he'd changed overnight,' she struggled to gasp, her own stupidity suffocating her breasts.

She rose up to her feet as determination surged through her.She stared at the beautifully decorated table, the same table that made her smile made her feel sick. Her hands swiftly without caution swiped the beautiful dishes and glasses, sending them crashing on the floor. As the shards scattered around her, she swore to herself, her voice barely a whisper yet laced with evil, “I’ll make them both regret this.'”