Nichole’s perfect life crumbles when she discovers her husband, Blake Williams Hamilton, is having an affair with his childhood sweetheart. Her heartbreak turns into a nightmare when she’s falsely accused of poisoning his mistress and forced to sign divorce papers while locked away. Betrayed and humiliated, Nichole realizes she’s been living a lie. Just as she hits rock bottom, her ex-fiancé, Adrain Gonzalez, steps in to save her from the clutches of Blake. Now Nichole must step in as the heiress to Valmont Empires, Orion Heights’ most powerful conglomerate. Determined to rise from the ashes, Nichole embraces the opportunity, stepping into a world of power, deception, and second chances. But as she works to rebuild her life and seek revenge, she must also confront the lingering question: Can she truly trust Adrian, or is his help just another trap?
View MoreChapter 1
Nichole's POV
The subtle knock on the door jolted me, and my heart leaped inside my chest. My head snapped toward the direction of the door, and I forced myself to breathe.
My hands trembled like flickering lights as I stuffed the report I was holding into my pocket... my pregnancy report.
I was supposed to be happy—this was what I’d always wanted—but a pang of doubt gnawed at me.
It had been a while since I’d seen my husband, Blake Hamilton William, the heir to H. Group. He was the current CEO, which could explain why he was always so busy. I barely had enough time with him. But now… today, he was mine.
My hands fastened over the doorknob, and with a shriek, the door opened, revealing my handsome devil.
"Hey, beautiful," he greeted me with a smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Yet, it was enough to make my insides twist.
"Do I know you, sir?" I asked playfully, leaning against the doorframe and curling my hands against my chest.
"What’s wrong with you?" Blake’s tone had an edge of harshness that made me swallow hard. His eyes locked onto mine as he inched closer.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood still. Suddenly, his demeanor lightened, and his lips curved into a smile.
"Why do you get so tense so easily?" he smirked, tilting his head to the side. "I was just teasing you. There’s no need to get so serious over nothing."
I gave a small smile and nodded. Blake was a complicated man, and despite being married for over three years, I was yet to fully understand him. The way he could shut me out or switch moods in an instant was unsettling.
"Hey, Bee."
The feminine voice made my eyes widen. Bee? Who was that? My mind began to spiral out of control.
Blake turned swiftly, his face lighting up.
"Lydia," he called out, and then I saw the way she jumped on him.
My chest tightened. Her face looked a little familiar, but I couldn’t quite place her. The real question was, why was she here? Worse, how did she even know Blake?
"Oh my God, is this the Nichole I’ve heard so much about? It’s a shame we haven’t met sooner," Lydia squeaked, stretching out her hand to me. My jaw tightened as I turned to Blake with a furrowed brow.
"Who is this, honey?" I asked, forcing a smile.
Blake tucked his hands into his pockets, a grin appearing on his face as he turned to Lydia. They exchanged a glance that made me feel unsettled.
"She’s Lydia. A friend," he said in a dry tone.
"A friend, really?"
I tried not to make my jealousy obvious, but I was never one to hide my emotions.
"What is your problem? I just said she’s a friend. What other explanation do you want?" Blake barked, and I pressed my lips together.
Was he seriously yelling at me because of this girl?
"Hey..." Lydia’s soft voice broke the tension, her delicate hand brushing over his arm.
Her eyes lit up with emotion, and for a moment, I thought she was about to cry. "Bee, it’s okay. If I had known your wife was so delicate and sensitive, I wouldn’t have come here. I would have just sent my secretary to pick it up."
"Pick what up?" I interjected.
"Nichole, can you please stop raising your voice? Lydia can’t take much of that. She’s not well," he said sternly. His hands gripped hers as he nudged her. "Come, let’s talk in my car. I have your things with me."
He cast an eerie glance at me. I opened my mouth to speak, but his eyes darkened, silencing me.
I bit my lip, tension building at the back of my throat.
After Blake settled whatever he was doing, he came back to me with a frown.
"What’s your deal? You overreacted when you saw me with Lydia."
I turned my face away, crossing my arms tighter over my chest.
"I’m your legal wife. Don’t I have the right to be?"
He sighed, ruffling his hair. "You can, but I assure you, she’s just a family friend. I ran into her at the airport. She was having car issues, and I offered to give her a ride."
I scoffed. "Given that she drove here, I wonder what kind of car issues she must have been having."
Blake cupped my face in his hands, and I sighed.
"Babe, stop. Lydia has cancer, so the doctor warned her not to stress her body. That’s why I offered to help. She left some of her medication in my car and just came to collect it."
"Oh..." I mumbled under my breath, guilt washing over me. God, I was such a fool.
"I’m so sorry. I hope she’s okay," I said softly.
"Yeah, she is."
My mind wandered back to our conversation, shame filling me.
"Take my bags inside," Blake ordered.
It was as if my body was programmed to respond. I scooped up his luggage and dashed back inside the house.
"I made your favorite meal," I mumbled with a smile. "Happy anniversary, my love."
"You made my favorite?" he asked, his voice warm but distant. His gaze wandered over the house before meeting mine.
For a moment, I thought he was about to say something, but instead, he just smiled.
Today was special—our wedding anniversary. It was the perfect time to reveal the big secret I’d been hiding.
We were having a baby. God, how I wanted to scream those words.
Blake grinned after a while.
"Thanks, baby," he said, wrapping his hands around my waist and pulling me close. His lips found mine, and I melted into the kiss.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket, and Blake jerked away.
Anger pushed against the back of my throat, and I hissed softly, pulling him by his collar so his eyes met mine.
"Can’t you just put work aside?" I pleaded softly. "At least for today."
Blake hummed under his breath and nodded.
"Don’t worry. I just want to silence the call so we won’t be..." he trailed off, mischief glinting in his eyes.
I blushed, giggling, as his gaze bored into me.
The ringing persisted, and Blake’s face dimmed, color draining from his cheeks.
"I..." Blake faltered, exhaling. "I’m sorry, but I have to take this."
My face tightened, arms crossing over my chest, ready to argue. But the click of him answering the call silenced me.
"Hey."
My brow arched at the softness in his tone. Who was he talking to?
Blake’s eyes flickered to mine before he spun around, blocking my path and drifting to the corner of the room.
He murmured something I couldn’t hear, his shoulders stiffening.
Blake always took his calls in front of me, but lately, even before this trip, he’d started acting shady.
Loneliness crept in as I sniffed and forced a smile.
My hand caressed my stomach. I still had hope. Once I told Blake about the baby, everything would change.
As he turned, I beamed with joy.
"Babe, there’s something I want to say," I muttered before he spoke.
NICHOLE’S POVI couldn’t sleep.Even though Adrian said he had everything under control, my heart wouldn’t stop racing. I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, my mind running through every possibility. Who on the board would betray us? Who could sit at that table with a smile, shake my hand, and stab the company in the back?Adrian hadn’t told me anything concrete. Not yet. But the tone of his voice in that last message said enough.“Everything is in motion.”That meant someone was about to fall—and hard.I got out of bed and made myself some tea. Mom was asleep, and the house was quiet. The kind of quiet that feels heavy, like the world is holding its breath.The maids offered to help me with it but I declined I wanted to do something that will calm my mind.After taking the tea I felt a little bit calm. Logan and Cynthia were my number one suspects and i hoped that by tomorrow they will be caught but something deep down told me that what if there was someone else behind all this.By m
ADRIAN'S POVI left the cafe and drove straight to my office. I had promised Nichole I would handle the investigation, and I meant it. But I wasn't going to wait until Monday.I sat at my desk and pulled out my phone. There was only one person I trusted with something this important."Damien Cross," the voice answered on the second ring."It's Adrian. I need your help.""What's the situation?""Someone stole money from the Valmont empire, Made us buy fake building materials through shell companies. I need to know who."There was a pause. Damien and I had worked together before. He knew I didn't waste his time with small problems."How much money are we talking about?""Millions. And it's not just about the money. Someone inside helped them do it.""Inside The Valmont's company?""I think so. Maybe someone on the board.""That's serious. What do you need from me?""I need you to follow the money. Find out who set up the shell companies. Look at financial records, digital trails, vendor
ADRIAN'S POVI had just finished signing the contracts when my phone rang. Three investors had agreed to fund my new hotel project in downtown. Sixty million dollars. Not bad for a Saturday morning.I was still sitting in my office, looking at the signed papers, when I saw Nichole's name on my phone screen."Good morning, Nichole," I said."Good morning, Adrian. How are you today?"Her voice sounded normal, but I could hear something underneath it. She was worried about something."I'm good. What's going on?""Can you meet me at The Garden Cafe? I need to talk to you about something."I didn't even think about it. "Of course. When?""As soon as you can get there.""I'll be there in fifteen minutes."After I hung up, I sat there for a moment. Nichole never called weekend meetings unless something was really wrong. And she sounded tense.I grabbed my jacket and headed to my car. On the way to the cafe, I kept thinking about her. She'd been different lately. More stressed, more careful a
NICHOLE'S POVI woke up on Saturday morning feeling like I hadn't slept at all. The sun was coming through my bedroom window, and I could hear the sounds of the maids downstairs cleaning and arranging things around the house.I looked at my phone. It was already nine in the morning. I had probably gotten maybe three hours of sleep because I spent the whole night thinking about Thompson's suggestions.Should I hire a private investigator? Should I work with the police? Should I do an internal investigation first? Each option seemed good, but I couldn't decide which one was the best.I could hear the maids getting closer to my room. Soon they would knock on my door asking if they could clean my room. I needed space to think properly without any distractions.I got out of bed and went to my closet. I needed to go somewhere quiet where I could think clearly. Maybe a nice restaurant with good coffee would help me organize my thoughts.I looked through my clothes trying to decide what to we
NICHOLE'S POVI got home around six in the evening feeling tired and worried. The board meeting had gone well, but I couldn't stop thinking about how we were going to find the person who was stealing money and buying fake materials.I had dinner with my mother, but I wasn't really eating. I was just moving the food around on my plate while thinking about all the things that could go wrong."Are you okay, dear?" my mother asked. "You've barely touched your food.""I'm fine, Mom. Just thinking about work.""You need to eat something. You can't solve problems on an empty stomach."I ate a little bit more to make her happy, but my mind was still on the investigation. How were we going to check two years of records? How would we know if someone was lying to us?After dinner, I went to my room and tried to read a book, but I couldn't concentrate. I kept thinking about the families who lost their loved ones. I imagined their faces when we would meet them next week.At around ten o'clock, I t
NICHOLE'S POVWhen we got back to the house, my mother was waiting for us at the door. She looked worried and scared."Nichole! Thank God you're okay," she said, hugging me tight. "I was so worried.""I'm fine, Mom. Really, I'm fine.""Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" she asked, looking at me from head to toe."No, Mom. I'm not hurt. They just tied my hands, but they didn't hurt me.""Are you sure? You look pale.""I'm just tired. It's been a long night."My mother looked at Thompson, who was still bleeding from his head. "Thompson, you need to go to the hospital right now.""I'm fine, Mrs. Valmont. Just a small cut.""That's not a small cut. " She was about to ask her butler to take him to the hospital, but surprisingly, Adrian offered to take him.His gaze met mine for a few seconds. I felt like he did that to impress me. "I'll be fine," Thompson said, but my mother wasn't having it."No arguments. Go to the hospital. That's an order."After Thompson left with Adrian, my mother an
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Comments