~ONE~

~Arya~

It started with a strange text from an anonymous source as soon as I landed in the airport, one I brushed off as spam.

-Catch the next flight back home now, Mrs Sinclair. Your life is in danger.

With a roll of my eyes, I silenced the device, dragging my suitcase behind me on the airport floor. The place was packed with people waiting to receive their loved ones, but I was searching for an agent assigned to me from the travel agency I had booked my flight with. My phone buzzed again. Another text.

-Your husband is planning to get rid of you, Arya.

The informal tone of the message was enough to put me on edge, but I ignored it. I switched the device off and shoved it into the pocket of my pants. My husband loved me to death. He would never cheat on me, let alone harm me. It wasn't the first time I had received texts like that. As the co-founder of one of the biggest real estate companies in America, people sent death threats every now and then. They hated success stories, and they did their best to intimidate me. But it never worked.

It was my first vacation with my husband since we got married. Edgar and I planned it for months. Despite the workload that came with running a company, we were finally able to clear a few weeks off our schedule to have fun as a couple. I wasn't about to let weird spam texts ruin that for me.

"Are you Mrs Arya Sinclair?" I heard a man ask as I approached the waiting crowd. He was holding a welcome placard and flowers that were meant for me. I flashed him a smile and nodded.

"Yes, that's me."

"Welcome to Hawaii. I am the tour guide assigned to you for your stay." He stretched the bouquet to me as we walked out of the airport building and pointed at a black car in the parking lot. "Will you like me to drive you to your hotel?"

"No, thank you. I'll go there myself."

I wanted to surprise Edgar. He left New York earlier for a business trip and decided to wait for me at the hotel we were staying for our vacation. He expected me to land in Hawaii in a week from now, but I wrapped things up quickly just so I could surprise him. A smile lit up my face as I imagined how happy he would be to see me.

The tour guide gave me directions to the hotel, with the car key and the access card to my hotel suite. I hit the road as soon as I could, eagerly blasting songs from the car stereo.

An hour later, I was walking through the hallway leading to the suite that had been reserved for Edgar and I. I stepped into the living room, my fingers wrapped around the handle of my suitcase, only to have a strange sense of dread wash over me. Everything looked out of place. A bottle of wine sat on a table, two glasses beside it with smudges of red lipstick on the rim of one of them. I made my way to the bedroom and pushed the door open. Edgar lay on the bed, scrolling through his phone absently. Subconsciously, I did a clean sweep of the room. The sheets were rumpled. Scattered around on the floor were pieces of Edgar's clothing, a tie, socks thrown in different directions, his shirt hanging from the bed. The faint scent of fruity perfume that I didn't recognize lingered in the air. His hair was ruffled in the kind of way that suggested something wild had just gone down  

He finally noticed my presence and looked up at me. “Arya,” he let out in a high pitched tone. “What are you doing here? You aren’t supposed to show up till next week.”

I narrowed my eyes at him as he got out of bed and walked to me in nothing but his briefs. Smiling brightly, he threw his arms around me and pulled me into a tight hug which I reciprocated halfheartedly. The fruity scent grew a lot stronger as he approached  

“Someone was here,” I stated flatly, my eyes locked with his.

He pulled away, a slight frown forming on his face. “Why do you say so?”

Well, there were indications that he wasn’t alone. Without saying a word, I pointed to the glasses of wine on the table. His eyes darted in the direction of my hand before he hastily replied. “I had two business associates over and we chatted over wine. They left shortly before you got here.”

“Women?”

“Just one woman.”

Skeptical, I brushed past him, going further into the room. “Did she come in here? Because I smell her everywhere.”

Edgar chuckled. “She must have a very good perfume collection then.”

I spun on my heel to shoot a glare at him. “I wasn’t joking, Edgar."

His forehead creased into thin lines. He leaned against the doorframe, his brows raised. “What are you insinuating, Arya?"

It was suspicious. A simple business business meeting in a hotel suite wouldn’t result in a messy room with personal belongings thrown around everywhere. I shrugged. “I don’t know, you tell me.”

He sighed, trotting to me. “You must be exhausted after such a long flight. I’ll get lunch delivered so you’ll eat and catch some sleep.” He crouched to my level, a small smile lining his face. “I’m sure you know I'd never do anything stupid to you, not after the years we’ve spent together.”

I buried my face in my palms. He was right. I was well aware of that. What was I even thinking in the first place? Hell would freeze over before Edgar would cheat on me. I trusted him with my life.

“I’m jet lagged,” I said in an attempt to redeem myself. “And hungry. Please place an order for that meal.”

With a satisfactory nod, he rose to his full height and headed to the bedside drawer to retrieve a file.

“You should have told me you were coming so I'd pick you up at the airport.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

“It's a pleasant surprise. It’s a good thing you’re here.” He placed the file and a pen beside me. “I need your signature on that document to close up an important deal with a client.”

As I scribbled my signature in the space indicated, Edgar punched numbers into the intercom on the drawer and had a brief conversation with the person on the other end. I crawled into bed while he took the file away. My phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and stared at the text on the screen blankly.

–ARYA MANCHESTER, THINK TWICE BEFORE SIGNING ANYTHING.