LOGINRiley Anderson built her life on the illusion of a perfect marriage, only to watch it crumble when the man she loved chose her sister instead. Betrayed, humiliated and discarded, she should have walked away quietly, crying from how poorly she got treated by the man she gave up everything for, but Riley isn’t ready to surrender the life, the name, or the power she fought to build and keep. If love couldn’t bind him, maybe revenge will.
View MoreChapter 1
Riley's Pov
My first mistake was going to Claire's house to cry my eyes out before her to see what marriage did to me.
The second mistake I made was allowing her to drag me down here to get drunk, and the last mistake for the day was sitting down here and eyeing another man who was not my husband.
I knew I shouldn't be doing this even when I was drunk. I shouldn't be here in a bar in the first place. I shouldn't be taking shaky steps towards the elegant Aiden Cole, whose grey eyes remained on my cleavage.
I shouldn't have made it to his side. I shouldn't have leaned in for a kiss on his delicate, juicy-looking lips, nor should I have wrapped my arms around his neck.
I shouldn't sit down on his dick, strangle him with my butt, and eat up his lips aggressively like I was doing.
It was not my fault, my husband made me do it.
***
Weeks ago...
"Let's welcome Riley Spears, our guest speaker today on our show HOW TO KEEP YOUR DESTINED HUSBAND AS A PERFECT WIFE." The main presenter welcomed me in, and everyone went into a jubilant mood. Shouting on top of their voices.
I stepped into the camera of the TV show, and with my perfectly practiced smile on my lips. They were expecting to see a perfect woman for a show like this, and a perfect woman they would see.
"Please, Mrs Spears, greet the people watching you from home." I was told.
"Hello, everyone watching from home, it's me again, Riley Spears, the living example of a perfect wife for a perfect husband."
The presenters smiled and clapped.
"Today, I've come with another one of the packaged tips on how to be a perfect wife for your husband, the type of wife that would get your husbands locked in your embrace all day long."
"Oh, I know the citizens watching us would be so anxious right now, they can't wait for you to begin. If they are like me, I would grab a notebook and pen to jot down the points." One of the presenters said smilingly.
"But you are not with any of the things you mentioned, sweetheart." The other presenter said to her.
"Shut up." She scolded and they all laughed.
I took my stage again, "So, as I have said, the first tip I have for you all today is to always smile," I pointed my index fingers to my lips, and repeated, "Smile."
"A wise man once said that when you let out a radiant smile, there are two things involved. One, you spread happiness. Two, people return your smile, and love blooms."
"Wow! I've never heard of that before." One of the presenters said to me, and I smiled at her. "I'll start using that."
"There is another way to keep your husband, this is mostly used when you go out together to parties, meetings, or any gatherings with many people. Normally, in such gatherings, wives are not to disgrace their husbands. Husbands tend to hate wives who disgrace them in front of their friends, business partners, or relatives, so to be a perfect wife, you have to know how to be perfect in front of other people. You have to know how to keep your perfect smile, wave a little when interacting with others, and speak smartly."
"Again, after knowing how to keep the husband proud in front of other people at home, you have to know how to cook and take care of your husband, show your husband that you have nobody else. Try to make him see himself as a god, and with that, you will create a perfect husband out of your husband through your perfect nature. Thank you."
"Oh my goodness! That's the best tips we have ever had for a while, thank you for those, Mrs Riley Spears."
I smiled at them with a delicate fake smile.
The truth was that everything was a lie. My life was not perfect, nor was my marriage. All the things I said to the people listening to me, I did them at home, but that didn't make my husband look at me twice. I was empty inside and broken.
I never knew how I could tell the people that everything I was saying about my perfect marriage was nothing but a fabricated lie. How was I to tell them that with these tips you cannot win your husband's heart like I couldn't win mine?
It felt like a dream to me when I walked down the aisle to meet my husband who was at the altar waiting for me on our wedding day. I had always wanted him, but I never thought he felt the same way for me, and I never minded.
Even with that, I went to the wedding with him. It was not an easy task to win him over and when I did, I felt that I had achieved everything in my life, until after the wedding.
During the wedding, I noticed my husband was not smiling. He did not look mad, but he was void of any emotions. He looked like he didn't want me. What was I thinking when I had it in my mind that my love was enough for both of us? I understood that it was a little bit too late to regret and it hurts me so bad.
"Thank you for coming to our Show, Mrs Riley Spears. Do well to come by again next time when we invite you, and this is the end of the show with Mrs Riley Spears, on our Show, HOW TO KEEP YOUR DESTINED HUSBAND AS A PERFECT WIFE."
I saw that that was the clue for me to return home. When I got out of the TV station, my driver was waiting for me. I entered the car and brought out my phone, desperately wishing that I must have missed a call from my husband because I spent a little bit too long at the TV station. The program was delayed but there was no call at all from him
I did not let it pull me down. I returned home to make dinner, and it was later at night before my husband returned from work. He did not spare me a little glance. He went to his room to rest for the night, while I returned to my room to cry myself to sleep.
RILEY’S POVA year changes everything.Not all at once, not in one dramatic moment where the world suddenly makes sense again.But slowly. On the way you wake up one day and realize the pain doesn’t sit as heavily in your chest anymore.In the way laughter comes easier and memories don’t always hurt.In the way life simply continues.The ocean stretched endlessly before us. Blue, calm and unbothered by everything the world carried within it.I stood at the edge of the balcony, the soft breeze brushing against my skin as I watched the waves roll in and out.There was something about water. The way it moved and it refused to stay still.It reminded me of healing, change and survival.“Mama.”I turned at the sound, and just like that, everything else faded.She stood there, holding onto the edge of the glass door, her tiny fingers gripping it like it was the only thing keeping her steady.Her curls were slightly messy, her dress crooked and her eyes bright, always bright.I smiled instan
RILEY’S POVMy phone rang just as I finished feeding Lucy.I glanced down at the screen absently at first, then froze. Dad.The name alone was enough to make something shift in my chest, it had been so long.I stared at it for a second, then two. Letting it ring and letting myself decide.I answered. “Hello?”“Riley.” His voice sounded older, careful in a way I had never heard before. And that alone made my guard rise.“Yes?”“I… I wasn’t sure you’d pick up.”“I almost didn’t.” I stated honestly.“I understand.” he mumbled. “I wanted to see you,”“Why?” I asked quietly, because I needed to know.I needed to understand what this was before I stepped into it.“I owe you an apology.”My fingers tightened slightly around the phone. “You’ve had years to do that.”“I know.”“And you didn’t.”“I was wrong,” he added. “I’d like to fix that,”I leaned back slightly against the couch, my gaze drifting to where Lukas lay sleeping peacefully beside his sister.“I don’t know if things can be fixe
AIDEN'S POV Time passed, and with it came change.The day it happened was quiet. Riley had been restless all morning. Shifting, pausing, breathing a little heavier than usual.“You okay?” I asked, watching her carefully.She nodded, then shook her head. “I don’t know.”That was enough to put me on edge. “Riley.”She froze slightly. “Aiden…”The way she said my name, that was it. That was all I needed.“We’re going to the hospital.”“I think…”“We’re going now.”Everything after that blurred.The drive, the voices, movement, urgency.It all blended into one continuous moment of tension and anticipation.But one thing stayed clear. Her hand in mine, tight and unrelenting.“I’m here,” I kept saying. “I’m right here.”And I was. Every second, every breath, every moment.Labor wasn’t easy, It never is. But this was something else.Because it wasn’t just physical. It was emotional, mental and every push carried more than pain.It carried fear, memory, loss and hope. All tangled together i
AIDEN’S POVThere are nights that don’t end when the sun rises.Nights that stay with you, lingering in your chest and settling in your bones. Refusing to leave no matter how many hours pass.This was one of them.Riley hadn’t said much since the baby shower, not in words..But something had shifted.She wasn’t drowning the way she had been before but she wasn’t steady either. She was in between.And I had learned quickly that in-between spaces were the most dangerous.Because that’s where people either begin to heal or fall apart again.She sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers resting lightly over her stomach.A habit now. Instinctive and protective. Her gaze was distant, not empty. Just somewhere else.“You’re thinking again.” My voice was soft as I leaned against the doorway.She didn’t look at me immediately. “I don’t know how to stop.”I walked over carefully, like approaching something delicate.“You don’t have to stop,” I said. “You just have to not let it consume you.”“That
RILEY’S POVThe bathroom was quiet, the hum of the fan the only sound as I stood in front of the mirror. My fingers traced the curve of my belly almost automatically, as if acknowledging a presence I hadn’t yet fully accepted myself.It was subtle, still manageable under loose shirts and high-wais
CLAIRE'S POV I slammed the door harder than necessary. The sound echoed through the apartment, sharp and satisfying.Men were ridiculous. Specifically, Owen was ridiculous.Who leaves in the middle of a date because of a “work emergency” and doesn’t even bother to explain properly? Just a quick a
RILEY'S POV Claire was in the kitchen when I got back, I could hear the mixer before I even closed the door.There was something about Claire. She always bakes aggressively when she’s stressed, bored, emotional or simply existing.“I’m home,” I called out, slipping off my shoes.“In the kitchen!”
RILEY'S POV The office looked the same, that was the strange part.After you decide to leave somewhere, you expect the walls to shift, the air to feel different. The lighting dimmed in dramatic acknowledgment. But everything was ordinary.The receptionist nodded at me like she always did, the elev






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