Chapter 0002

Aria’s POV

When I woke up, the sterile scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils, and the harsh fluorescent lights above me made my head throb. I blinked, trying to make sense of where I was. The hospital.

Panic rose in my chest as I reached down, my hands trembling as they settled over my abdomen. The baby–

“Aria! Oh, thank God!” Isabella’s voice broke through my daze.

She was sitting beside me, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

When she saw I was awake, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly, as if afraid I might slip away again. “You scared the hell out of me! I thought I’d lost you.”

I could barely process her words, my thoughts immediately jumping to the baby. “Isabella... the baby...”

She nodded quickly, her expression softening with relief. “The baby’s fine, Aria. The doctor said you fainted from stress and exhaustion, but the baby’s okay.”

A wave of relief washed over me, but it was quickly followed by a sharp pang of anxiety. “Did Liam come?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Isabella’s face hardened with anger and disgust. “No, he didn’t. Probably too busy with Sophia to care,” she spat, her words laced with venom.

My heart sank. No, he must not have received my message. Liam wouldn’t ignore something like this—he couldn’t.

“He didn’t get the message,” I insisted, my voice shaking. “He doesn’t know. Isabella, please, keep calling him.”

Isabella hesitated, her eyes filled with pity, but she pulled out her phone and started calling again. I watched her, my heart pounding. With each unanswered ring, the silence between us grew heavier.

No answer.

I tried to convince myself it was just a misunderstanding, that something had gone wrong with the message, that Liam would walk through the door any minute now.

But then, Isabella’s expression hardened. She cursed under her breath and thrust the phone toward me. “Look at this.”

I took the phone, my hands trembling as I stared at the screen.

There, in vivid color, was a photo of Liam and Sophia. They were close, too close– her head rested against his bare chest– and the atmosphere between them was unmistakably intimate.

I felt the blood drain from my face as I scrolled down to see another message. This one was even worse.

Liam had turned off his phone to be with Sophia. The message was clear: I shouldn’t waste my efforts anymore.

It felt like someone had punched me in the gut. My hands went numb, and the phone slipped from my grasp, clattering onto the bed. I couldn’t breathe. How could he do this? How could he just... abandon me?

Isabella’s voice was distant, muffled, as she continued talking, but her words barely registered.

“The news is reporting that today’s award-winning interview was basically a love letter to Sophia. And guess what? She was in the audience, smiling like she’d won the lottery.”

The tears came before I could stop them, hot and silent as they slid down my cheeks.

I had been married to Liam for three years, but I had never been afforded any public attention. He had strictly forbidden me from appearing at his races, from being part of his world. I was nothing more than a secret, a hidden mistress. And now... now I was disposable.

Isabella’s voice softened as she reached out to touch my arm, as if reading my thoughts.

“Aria... you can’t keep doing this to yourself. He doesn’t deserve you. He never did. You need to leave him. I think… you need to divorce him.”

The word hung in the air like a death sentence, but it was also a lifeline.

Divorce. The one thing I had been too afraid to consider, too afraid to say out loud. But now... what choice did I have?

“Then, we’ll divorce,” I whispered, the words leaving my lips like a bitter poison.

It hurt, but it was also freeing in a way I hadn’t expected.

I had spent too long tied to a man who didn’t love me, who would never love me.

Back home, the house felt emptier than ever, the silence suffocating.

I hadn’t expected to feel so hollow after making the decision to leave, but I supposed it was the weight of years of hopes and dreams crashing down around me.

As I stepped into the living room, something caught my eye. A pair of women’s shoes—red stilettos—stood by the entrance. My heart lurched. I knew those weren’t mine.

Sophia’s voice, annoyingly cheerful, called out from the kitchen.

“Liam?”

My blood ran cold.

“Why are you here?” I asked, my voice as cold as ice.

Sophia appeared in the doorway, a smug smile on her face.

“Liam allowed me to live here. If it weren’t for you taking advantage of the situation, I would have been the mistress of this place long ago.” She paused, her smile turning into a sneer. “But that’s going to change soon. I suggest you pack your things.”

I felt a cold fury rise within me, but I refused to let her see how much she was getting under my skin.

“Get out of my way,” I said, my voice eerily calm, echoing Liam’s tone.

Years of living under his shadow had taught me how to mirror his cold detachment.

Sophia blinked, taken aback by my tone. For a moment, she hesitated, her bravado faltering as she stepped back. But her foot caught the edge of the stair, and before I could react, she stumbled.

I reached out instinctively, but it was too late. She tumbled down the stairs with a scream.

My heart raced as I rushed after her, my hand shaking as I tried to help her up. But before I could reach her, Liam burst through the front door, his eyes wild with panic.

“It was her!” Sophia cried, clutching her abdomen. “She pushed me! She wanted to kill my child!”

Her words hit me like a train.

Child? Sophia was pregnant?

I stared at her in shock, my mind reeling.

Liam’s expression shifted from panic to fury as he knelt beside Sophia, his eyes narrowing at me.

“Is that true?” he demanded, his voice low and dangerous.

I could only shake my head, too stunned to speak.

How could this be happening? Everything was spiraling out of control, faster than I could keep up.

Sophia continued to sob, clutching Liam’s arm as if her life depended on it.

“She’s jealous, Liam. She’s always been jealous because you love me, not her.”

I wanted to scream, to deny it, but the words caught in my throat.

Liam’s eyes bore into mine, full of accusation and anger.

I could see it now—the life I thought I had, the future I had clung to, was slipping away, crumbling before my eyes.

Liam’s voice was the coldest I’d ever heard it.

“Leave, Aria. Now.”

The look in Liam’s eyes left no room for argument.

He believed her. He chose her. There was nothing left for me here.