**Chapter Two: Home Early**

**Celine's POV**

Diego, was on the bed, but he wasn’t alone.

Bianca, my best friend was straddling him completely naked, her dark hair falling over her bare shoulders and brushing against her full breasts. Her hips moved slowly against him in a steady rhythm, grinding down as she rode him. Diego’s hands gripped her waist tightly, fingers digging into her smooth skin, pulling her closer with every thrust. Her head was tilted back, lips parted in pleasure, while his mouth moved hungrily over her neck and chest, sucking and biting at her skin.

I could see everything in painful detail. The way her body arched into him, the shine of sweat on their joined skin, the way they moved together like they had done this many times before. The sounds of their breathing and soft moans filled the room.

The folder from the clinic slipped from my fingers and fell to the floor with a soft thud.

They didn’t notice me at first.

I stood frozen in the doorway, unable to look away no matter how much I wanted to. My mind refused to process what was happening. My hand moved automatically to my stomach for a moment before I forced it back down. This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life. Instead, it had turned into a nightmare.

This could not be real.

This could not be happening.

Diego’s eyes finally flicked up and met mine.

He didn’t scramble away. He didn’t push her off. He didn’t even look sorry. He just stared at me, still buried deep inside her, like I was the intruder in my own bedroom.

Bianca turned her head slowly, following his gaze. When she saw me standing there, a slow smile spread across her face. Not embarrassment. Not shame. Just pure amusement.

“Oh,” she said with fake sweetness. “You’re home early, Celine.”

I couldn’t move. My chest felt tight, like a heavy weight was crushing me.

The man I married, the man I had spent three difficult years trying to build a life with — was inside another woman in our bed.

He finally pushed her off his lap with an irritated sigh, like I had ruined a perfectly good afternoon. His cock still looked hard and wet from her as he sat up. He didn’t bother covering himself right away. He didn’t look guilty at all.

“Don’t just stand there,” he said coldly. “Close the door.”

My hands shook at my sides. “How long?” I asked, my voice shaking with anger and hurt. “How long have you two been doing this behind my back?”

Bianca laughed softly. She stood up from the bed slowly, stretching like a satisfied cat, completely naked, then she reached for a silk robe lying on the chair and casually covered herself, tying it loosely around herself. She didn’t seem in any hurry.

“What?” she said, tilting her head with that same mocking smile. “Did you really think he loved you? Did you actually believe he wanted you?”

Diego laughed and started zipping up his pants.

“I’ve been putting up with you for years, Celine,” he said, his voice brutal and cutting. “Even before we got married. You are boring as hell. Tedious. Every single time I touched you I had to close my eyes and think about someone else just to get through it. You have no idea how many nights I wished you would just disappear.”

I struggled to keep my voice steady. “Why marry me then? If I’m so worthless to you, why the hell did you marry me at all?”

Bianca stepped closer, her eyes shining with cruelty. Even in the robe she looked confident and in control. “Because I told him to, Celine. Marry the girl, play the part, wait for her father to die. Then we take everything. The business. The properties. The money. All of it. You were the perfect little distraction. Easy to control. Easy to fool.”

My knees felt weak. I thought I might collapse right there in the doorway. “The whole marriage was a lie? Everything we went through… the fights with your mother, the pressure from the family… it was all fake?”

“You were always just a placeholder,” Diego said coldly, his eyes hard. “A fucking means to an end. Nothing more. I never loved you. I tolerated you because it benefited the family and kept the old man happy. That’s it. You were never my first choice. You were never even my tenth.”

Something deep inside me snapped. All the years of trying to be good enough, of hoping things would get better, of believing we could build something real — it all broke at once.

“Well, I hope you loved the anniversary gift best friend, as much as Diego does."

I stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face. The sharp sound echoed through the bedroom.

She stumbled back, one hand flying to her reddening cheek, eyes wide with shock.

Before I could do anything else, Diego moved like lightning. His hand shot out and wrapped tightly around my throat. He squeezed, lifting me slightly onto my toes. His grip was iron-strong, cutting off my air completely.

“You dare touch her?” he growled, his face inches from mine. His eyes were dark with fury. “Don’t forget who you are in this family, Celine. Don't you dare forget your place.”

I gasped for air, clawing desperately at his wrist with both hands. “Diego… stop… please…”

She watched for a moment, then started smiling. She rubbed her cheek and stepped closer, her voice dripping with fake concern and mockery.

“Oh please, Diego,” she begged in an exaggerated, sweet tone. “Let the poor girl go. She’s so fragile. So weak and pathetic. Please don’t hurt her too much, darling. She might break.”

His grip tightened for a few more painful seconds. Black spots danced in my vision. Then, with a disgusted look, he shoved me backward hard. I stumbled and crashed against the wall, coughing violently and gasping for breath as my throat burned.

He looked at me with pure disgust, like I was something dirty on the bottom of his shoe.

“Get out of my sight, Celine,” he said flatly. “And keep your mouth shut about what you saw today. You know how things work in this family. People who talk too much tend to have accidents. Bad ones.”

Bianca smiled, satisfied, and moved to Diego’s side. She ran her hand down his chest possessively, pressing herself against him.

“You should have stayed away longer,” she whispered, looking straight at me. “Would have been better for everyone. Especially you.”

I stood there against the wall, chest heaving, throat aching, tears burning in my eyes. The clinic folder with all the important papers still lay forgotten on the floor between us. I didn’t reach for it. I couldn’t.

Everything I had hoped for today, the news that was supposed to change our lives for the better was destroyed. The future I had imagined with Diego and our baby felt like it had never existed.

I turned and left the bedroom on shaky legs, the sound of Bianca’s soft laughter following me down the hall.