She has the perfect life. The perfect marriage. The perfect lie. On the night of her wedding anniversary, Ariana Cole receives no flowers, no kiss, no warmth. Just a cold dinner and a silence that finally breaks her. Then came Luca, the man who once made her feel like fire and vanished without a goodbye. When fate throws him back into her life, so does everything she thought she buried: her desire, betrayal, and the aching truth that her perfect marriage is a beautiful lie. Torn between a husband who’s suddenly desperate to win her back, and an ex who never truly left her, Ariana slips into a dangerous double life. Then come the anonymous messages, the buried secrets, the undeniable chemistry and the truth that her past was stolen… not forgotten. As passion reignites and manipulation turns deadly, Ariana must confront a devastating revelation: someone close to her stole her chance at happiness. And they’re not done yet. With her reputation shattered, a scandal threatening to destroy her career, and the man she truly loves falsely accused, Ariana has one choice: surrender to control or fight her way to freedom, truth, and love. This time, she’s not breaking. This time, she chooses herself …and love follows.
Lihat lebih banyak“You don’t cheat because you’re unhappy. You cheat because you were once wild… and now you’re tame.”
Seven years of marriage, and yet somehow, the silence between us tonight is louder than the jazz humming through the restaurant.
I sit across from my husband in a dress I’ve worn only once — back when I still believed wearing red meant something bold. The neckline dips low, the silk hugs my curves perfectly, but Daniel hasn’t looked at me for more than thirty seconds. He’s scrolling through his phone, fingers tapping out a reply to some hospital emergency. As usual.
His champagne glass hasn’t been touched. Mine is half-empty. Happy anniversary to me.
I press my lips together and offer a tight smile. “Working again?”
Daniel looks up for a second, apologetic, tired.
“Emergency consult. I promise, just one more text.”
I nod, swallowing the bitter taste at the back of my throat. “Of course. You’re saving lives.”
He smiles. I fake one back.
It’s not that I don’t love him. I do. But something has shifted between us. Something that feels like… gravity thinning. We sleep in the same bed, but we drift closely like stars anymore. We are both visible, but out of reach. I miss the version of us that couldn’t keep our hands off each other. The version of me that didn’t have to try so hard to feel desired.
And just as I think that, my phone buzzes. Unknown number. One message.
// Still pretending to be happy, baby girl?
My heart slams against my ribs like it’s trying to escape. I go still. I know that name. That voice in my head. That scent buried deep in my memory. Only one person ever called me baby girl. Luca.
No. This can’t be happening. Ten years. Ten years of silence. No calls. No closure. Just a vanishing act after setting fire to every inch of my skin with a love so raw, I swore I’d never recover.
And now he’s texting me— on my wedding anniversary?
“Everything okay?” Daniel asks, finally looking up.
I blink hard and force a small chuckle. “Just spam.”
Liar.
Daniel returns to his menu. I mumble something about needing the restroom and excuse myself, clutching my phone like it might detonate. The hallway to the women’s lounge feels too long. My heels echo with every step, too loud in my ears. The moment I lock the restroom door behind me, I lean against it and breathe hard.
I pull up the message again. It’s him! There’s no doubt. My fingers tremble as another message appears.
// Happy anniversary. I still remember the scar on your hip. The one I kissed the night you told me you’d never belong to anyone. How’s that going for you, Mrs. Cole?
My vision blurs. I grip the sink for support. How does he know it’s my anniversary? Is he watching me? Is he even in the same city?
The scar! God. I forgot about that scar. He didn’t. My skin tingles in places that haven’t been touched in years. Why now? After all this time? I close my eyes, willing my heartbeat to slow down. I should delete the messages. Block the number. I should flush the phone down the toilet if I have to.
But I don’t.
Instead, I walk out of the restroom with my mind spinning and my body humming with a sensation I haven’t felt since... since him.
Back at the table, Daniel’s face lights up for the first time all night. “I made plans. Next weekend. The lake house.”
I blink. “The lake house?”
He nods, proud. “Just us. No work. No distractions. You deserve more of me.”
A part of me wants to lean in, to kiss him, to say thank you. To believe that maybe we can find each other again. But my phone buzzes again under the table.
// Meet me tomorrow. 3PM. Same place you last touched me. Don’t lie to yourself. You’ve already decided.
My stomach twists, because he’s right. I already have.
There’s a shameful part of me that knows I’ll go. Not because I’m unhappy. Not entirely. But because I’m… empty. And I hate the way that feels.
Daniel reaches across the table, his fingers wrapping around mine. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m fine.”
Liar.
******
Later that night, Daniel falls asleep before me. The room is dark, quiet. Our bedroom feels colder than usual. I lie beside him in silence, wide awake, staring at the ceiling and trying not to feel the ache between my thighs, or the war inside my chest.
At midnight, I slip out of bed. I tiptoe to the closet and kneel. Buried under old shoeboxes and folded sweaters is a velvet-lined lockbox. I haven’t opened it in years. I flick the latch and lift the lid.
There it is. The leather-bound journal. Black. Unmarked and dangerous. It holds the only real thing I ever wrote. Pages of fantasies, memories, things I couldn’t say out loud. Most of them about Luca. Some from before I met Daniel. Some from after. I run my fingers over the cover. I should burn it. But I don’t want to.
Because the truth is, that version of me—the one who wrote about being pushed up against a slicked wall, kissed until she forgot her name—she’s not dead. She’s just been sleeping. And now she’s waking up.
My phone buzzes again on the nightstand. I look at it. One new message. This one’s a voice note. I hesitate… then press play. Luca’s voice. Smooth. Rough. Still molten in all the wrong ways.
// “I waited ten years to say this: I never stopped wanting you, Ari. I’m not here to ruin your life. I’m here to give you back the one you buried.”
I close the journal and hold it to my chest, my body shaking.
And that’s when I hear it. The sound of breath behind me. I turn slowly. Daniel stands in the doorway. Barefoot. Eyes shadowed in the dim light. He’s staring at me. Or maybe past me. At the journal, or at the phone. And I realize something with chilling clarity.
He heard everything.
Ariana’s POVI hadn’t planned to speak. The hearing was supposed to be procedural — a follow-up to Luca’s testimony. Quiet. Legal. Controlled. But when we stepped outside, the courthouse plaza was already full.Cameras. Reporters. People holding signs.Some read: “Believe Her.”Others: “Luxe Lies.”And then I saw one that stopped me cold:“What if it was your daughter?” That did it.I tightened my coat, lowered my sunglasses, and tried to pass through quietly. But someone shouted. “Ms. Cole! Are the rumors true? Did Daniel pay to bury your miscarriage?”“Is it true Luca fled the country under threats?”“Why now, Ariana? Why speak now?”Vanessa whispered beside me, “Don’t stop.”But I did. I turned. Took the sunglasses off. Stepped in front of the cameras. And said:“Record this.” They fell silent. Phones lifted. Mics extended. I took a deep breath.“My name is Ariana Cole. I am the woman you’ve heard a thousand versions of. The wife. The mistress. The strategist. The unstable one. Th
Luca’s POVThe courtroom was colder than I remembered. Not physically — just in energy. Marble walls. Wooden benches. Whispered judgments curled around corners like smoke. I sat outside the chamber door for ten minutes before they called me in. Vanessa had told me to breathe. To answer only what was asked. To stay composed. But how do you stay composed when you’re about to walk into the room where the woman you love had been broken—slowly, silently, strategically—by the man she once trusted most?I stood when they called my name. The court officer gestured toward the witness chair. I didn’t look at Daniel. Didn’t need to. I felt his presence like a shadow across the floor.“State your name for the record.”“Luca Moretti.”“Do you swear to tell the truth—”“I do.”The attorney, one of Vanessa’s sharpest partners, approached.“Mr. Moretti, how long have you known Mrs. Ariana Cole?”I looked at Ariana briefly. Then back to the front.“Thirteen years. We met when we were both twenty-one.
Ariana’s POVI woke up before dawn. Luca was still asleep, his arm wrapped around me like a promise he wouldn’t break. Outside, the sky was bruised — that blue-gray stretch before sunrise. Quiet. Heavy. Waiting. I slipped out of bed without waking him and stepped into the living room. Vanessa’s message blinked on my phone.> “Daniel just filed a motion. Claims you’ve incited ‘trial bias through media weaponization.’ He’s using the Brielle interview and the therapist’s leaked summary to claim defamation.”I sat down slowly. It was so on-brand for him. Twist my pain. My truth. My healing.Make it seem like an attack. Make it seem like I was the one lighting matches while he played the victim of the flames. But I’d had enough of reacting. This time, I would set the tone. I messaged Vanessa. > “Call Brielle. Tell her we’re going on record. No anonymous sources. No whispers. My face. My name. My story. Full clarity.”A few seconds later:> “You sure?”> “Yes. I’m done hiding.”Two days la
Ariana’s POVThe invitation came in a cream-colored envelope, slid under my apartment door like it was from a wedding planner instead of a man trying to erase me.Inside was a short letter:> “Ms. Cole — You are invited to a private negotiation session regarding settlement of divorce proceedings and all associated public allegations. The terms will include full financial release, luxury property rights, and brand equity return. In return, a confidentiality agreement will be expected.Kindly confirm your attendance.— D.C.”No lawyer’s name. No signature. Just Daniel. So neat. So polished. So desperate to rewrite the ending before the truth exploded. I showed it to Vanessa. She didn’t laugh.She just arched a brow and said, “They’re scared.”“Of what?”“You. Your voice. Your evidence. And now that therapist’s report? They’re trying to wrap this up before you ignite the entire system.”I folded the paper once. Then again. Then tore it down the center and said, “Let’s go.”The hotel suit
Ariana’s POVI stared at the building’s plaque for a long time before stepping inside. Judicial Review Therapist – Independent Evaluator: Dr. M. Ravelin, neutral space, neutral title, but nothing about this felt neutral.It wasn’t therapy. It was assessment. A report that could be filed into a court document. Scrutinized. Twisted. Weaponized. I was walking into a room where I had to prove I wasn’t broken. But I wasn’t here to beg for validation.I was here to reclaim the story. The receptionist led me down a hallway painted in soft tones and quiet lighting. I sat down in the chair opposite Dr. Ravelin — an older woman, sharp-eyed, silver hair in a tight bun, dressed in gray.She didn’t offer a smile. Just lifted a tablet.“I’ve reviewed the background,” she said, voice clipped and neutral. “This is a 90-minute voluntary evaluation, correct?”“Yes.”“Do you understand this session may be referenced in your ongoing divorce proceedings?”“Yes.”She set the tablet down. And finally looked
Ariana’s POVThe envelope was plain. No return address. No signature. Just my name — typed. Slid under my apartment door like a ghost leaving a confession. At first, I thought it was more hate mail. Since the media began twisting the story, I’d received a parade of both sympathy and venom. People loved to choose sides, even when they didn’t know the full script. But when I opened it…Something in my gut shifted. Inside was a single sheet of paper. Typed. No flair. No flourish. Just truth.> “Ms. Cole — I used to work for the Luxe division’s PR department. I was part of the team Daniel secretly used to leak fabricated rumors about your leadership last year — that you were mentally unstable, unfit to manage a creative team, and suffering from post-traumatic episodes in meetings.”> “He used those rumors to push a temporary suspension of your access to the luxury contract, then spun the situation to make it seem like it was your idea to step back. You were painted as ‘burnt out’ so they
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