PROLOGUE

The room was quiet except for the gentle clinking of glass.

Eleanor Valemont reached for her wine. Her gown shimmered with pale gold threads under the chandelier, tailored perfectly to frame her elegance. Everything about her spoke of wealth, power, and poise. She had been raised to embody grace in every setting. Even now, as silence stretched longer than it should, she kept her chin up and her expression calm.

Sebastian, her second husband, sat at the other end with a glass in his hand. His tie hung slightly loose, and his expression was unreadable.

"Happy anniversary," Eleanor finally said, forcing a smile.

He raised his glass, but didn’t answer the greeting. Instead, he took a measured sip and set it back down.

Eleanor waited for him to speak. Some apology for being so distant lately, perhaps. Or an awkward compliment to soften his coldness. But none came. Just the silence.

Eleanor shifted in her seat. 

"It’s strange… What’s with the sudden invitation to celebrate our anniversary?"

“I wanted this dinner,” he said calmly. “Because there’s something we need to talk about.”

“Sebastian…”

“I want a divorce.”

The words hit harder than a slap.

Eleanor stared at him. For a moment, she wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly.

“A divorce?” she repeated.

“Yes.”

“That’s a hell of a thing to say over an anniversary dinner.”

“I thought it would be better than pretending any longer,” he replied coolly.

Eleanor’s hands tightened around the stem of her wine glass. “So that’s it? You’ve just decided? After everything?”

“I gave you a chance, Eleanor. But we both know this marriage was never about love. It was about power. Titles. Inheritance.”

“You were the one who proposed!” she snapped. “You chased me.”

“And you accepted because marrying me was better than dying as a lonely widow.” He didn’t even flinch. “You needed a husband. I needed your name. It worked… for a while.”

Her eyes stung. “Why now?”

Eleanor looked him in the eye, expecting an honest and direct answer. They’ve been cold toward each other for months, and suddenly bringing up divorce was unexpected. Sebastian didn’t hesitate. 

“Because Jane is pregnant.”

The silence that followed was deafening.

“You… You had an affair?”

Sebastian didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

“Jane…” Eleanor murmured. “You mean, Jane Thorne?”

Sebastian nodded. “I never stopped loving her.”

Eleanor’s world tilted. She gripped the edge of the table.

“That conniving servant’s daughter? After everything we gave her. After I gave her—”

“Stop, Eleanor. She has nothing to do with this. It was all my fault.”

Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. “So this is how it ends? You abandon me with your betrayal and expect me to just walk away?”

Sebastian looked down at his glass. There’s no remorse… no regret, and no hesitation.

“I didn’t want it to come to this.”

Eleanor followed his gaze.

Then it hit her.

Elaeanor’s pulse quickened. The warmth in her limbs began to fade. Her stomach turned.

She stared at the half-full glass in her hand, then back at him.

“No…” she whispered. “You didn’t.”

Sebastian’s eyes didn’t waver as he watched Eleanor’s strength slowly fade away. 

“You wouldn’t let go. I know you will drag this out in court. Expose everything. I know you'll take everything down with you.”

“You poisoned me...” Her voice cracked with a whisper of disbelief.

“I had to make a choice. You, or the mother of my child.”

The room began to spin.

She stood, but her legs gave way. She caught herself against the table, gasping.

“I didn’t want to do this, Eleanor. But you wouldn’t step aside. You always made everything about pride, about image.”

“Because I had nothing else!” she hissed. “You think I cared about titles and power? I wanted to be loved!”

Eleanor sank to her knees.

Her vision blurred. Her throat burned. Her limbs were numb.

Sebastian stood and approached her slowly.

“I told you once that I could give you a life of comfort,” he said. “You said that was enough.”

“You liar! You… used me.”

“I did,” he said. “Just like Damien did.”

The name hit her like a slap.

Damien. Sebastian’s older brother.

Her first husband.

The one who made her believe in love. The man who whispered promises in her ear at night, held her hand in public, called her “darling” even when they fought.

And on his deathbed, he uttered another woman’s name.

Jane. The damn Jane Thorne.

Jane had been there too. Always in the background. Always playing the part of the quiet, loyal servant’s daughter.

Eleanor remembered the moment clearly. Damien was coughing blood, his hand was cold in hers, and then, his last words were…

“Tell Jane I’m sorry, and that I loved her most.”

And Eleanor, the wife, the legal heir, the woman who had given everything, was nothing more than a wall between them.

“Why?” she croaked. “Why her?”

Sebastian crouched down beside her, his expression calm. 

“Because she was never like you.”

Eleanor looked up at him through the tears burning her eyes.

All those years.

Two marriages. Two betrayals. And one woman behind it all.

Jane Thorne.

The butler’s daughter. The woman Eleanor had grown up around, treated with generosity, allowed into her home and her life. And all along, Jane had wanted everything Eleanor had.

As her body weakened, the rage inside her burned hotter.

“You’ll regret this,” she whispered.

Sebastian stood. “You won’t be around long enough to see it.”

She felt her strength draining fast. Then, the door opens, and Jane comes in.

“Sebastian…” she murmured like a lost kitty.

“Shh.. It’s over now.”

Sebastian hugged Jane tightly. And as Jane and Eleanor’s eyes met, a cunning, devilish smile flashed on Jane’s innocent face. No, she was never innocent. 

But Eleanor’s mind… her mind was still sharp. Clear. And furious.

“If I could go back, I would never let this happen. I would never marry either of them. I would never be this stupid again.”

She closed her eyes, her breath shallow.

And in that moment, a strange calm settled over her.

A final thought.

“If I get another chance, I’ll change everything. I won’t look for love. I’ll look for power… and I’ll win.”

Then, everything went black.