The Marriage that never ended

Chapter 1

The marriage that never ended.

It was the night of their anniversary, Damien abruptly disappeared. No warning, no fight. It was just a cold suffocating silence. Hours later , a lawyer arrived at Luca's door and served Luca a divorce paper. No communication. No fight. Just a silent treatment suddenly and a divorce paper.

Luca had sat at their dinner table for hours, staring at the flickering candlelight, waiting for Damien. He had cooked Damien’s favorite meal—garlic mashed potatoes, and red wine age to perfection, that was his favorite. 

A love letter sat folded in his pocket, words scribbled in a rush of passion. He had planned to read them aloud, telling Damien that no matter what they faced, he would always choose him.

But Damien never showed up.

Instead, a knock on the door had shattered the dream. A lawyer, faceless in Luca’s memory, had handed him a thick envelope with Damien’s signature scrawled at the bottom of the divorce papers.

No explanation.

No goodbye.

Just a legal severance of something Luca had believed was unbreakable.

Luca had collapsed onto the floor that night, his sobs swallowed by the silence of their penthouse apartment. 

He had phoned Damien hundreds of times and sent urgent texts, only to be met with harsh and unchanging silence. It was as if he had disappeared from Damien's life in an instant.

But the cruelest part? The divorce was never legally filed due to a clerical error—neither of them knew it yet.

Luca Rivera used to be a lovely,and imaginative college student who was blindly trusting and infatuated.

 He was the kind of guy who could show his emotions. He had been so firmly convinced of love that nothing, not even fear, not wealth, could take it away from him.

Later, he got to know Damien Blackwell.

Damien was the heir to the Blackwell corporate empire, a guy whose life had already been planned out for him, cold and cunning, and everything Luca wasn't. Their worlds should have never collided, but they did—violently, passionately, and inevitably.

They had met in a crowded art gallery. Luca had been displaying his work, vibrant paintings filled with unfiltered emotion, while Damien had stood amongst a group of elite businessmen, with an expression unreadable. 

Luca had imagined Damien was simply another wealthy patron, indifferent and uninterested. But then their gazes connected across the room, and Luca felt something shift.

"Your art," Damien observed later that night, standing next to him in front of one of his paintings, "is... raw”

Luca had laughed, assuming it was a veiled insult. "That is a fancy way of saying messy."

But Damien had shaken his head, something piercing through his icy blue eyes. "No. It means it feels real."

That had been the beginning. 

A surprise romance, secret kisses in shadowy spots, and snatched moments away from the world's prying eyes were what transpired next. Always in control, Damien had broken down as Luca touched him. And Luca, who had never believed in secrets, had willingly hidden himself away for Damien.

Because Damien had been afraid.

Afraid of his father, a man who ruled their family with an iron grip. Afraid of what the world would think. Afraid of losing everything he had been born to inherit.

But despite the fear, Damien had married Luca.

A quiet ceremony. No witnesses except the officiant and the crashing waves of the secluded beach they had escaped to. When Damien had slid the ring onto Luca’s finger, his hands had trembled. When he had whispered, "I promise you forever," Luca had believed him.

Their marriage was hidden from the world due to Damien’s fear of his homophobic father and the relentless expectations placed upon him. Luca had convinced himself it didn’t matter. That as long as he had Damien behind closed doors, he could endure being a secret.

He had been wrong.

Because one year later, on the night of their anniversary, Damien had walked away.

Five years had passed since that night. Five years since Luca had watched his world collapse. The scars of that betrayal still burned, but he had built himself back up, piece by piece. He was no longer the naive, hopeful artist who had given everything to a man too afraid to love him openly.

No.

He was Luca Vale now—richer than he ever imagined, powerful in ways Damien had once been. And unlike the past, this time, he held all the cards.

Because tonight, for the first time in five years, he was going to see Damien Blackwell again.

And Damien had no idea that their marriage had never truly ended.

Damien adjusted himself, he saw his reflection staring back at him in the grand mirror of the Sinclair Holdings ballroom. 

Tonight was meant to be a celebration for him because his business had recently completed a historic merger, which would consolidate his authority over the Blackwell empire. The room buzzed with power, billionaires and socialites clinking glasses in his honor.

But then he saw him.

Luca.

No, not Luca Rivera. Not the boy he had abandoned.

Lucas Vale.

Damien’s chest tightened. The sensitive artist across the room had vanished from his memory. 

He was wearing a tight-fitting black suit, he had green eyes that were sharp and mysterious at the same time, and looking at him, every inch tells about the brutal businessman who had battled his way to the top and was ready to fight it till the end.

Lucas smirked as he lifted his glass, he was moving slowly and steady. His green eyes were fixed on Damien’s who was a prey toying with its predator.

“It's been a while, hubby” The single sentence landed on Damien like a punch which was heavy.

The word was a gut punch.

Damien clenched his jaw. No one knew. No one could know. Their marriage—buried in secrecy, hidden from the world—was supposed to be a ghost of the past. Yet here Lucas stood, breathing life into a scandal Damien couldn’t afford.

“Lucas,” Damien said, keeping his voice even. “I was never expecting you here.”

Lucas chuckled,pulling off his glasses so he could stare at Luca properly “Didn’t you?” His gaze flickered to the grand stage where the Sinclair Holdings logo gleamed in gold. “I heard tonight was a special night. Thought I’d drop by and congratulate my ex-husband on his latest triumph.”

The emphasis on ‘ex-husband’ made Damien’s blood boil. His mind raced. Luca—no, Lucas—had vanished without a trace years ago. Damien had searched, tried to undo the damage of his betrayal, but Luca had been gone. Now, he was back, rich and untouchable.

And he was here for revenge.

Before Damien could respond, his assistant, Evelyn, stepped in. “Mr. Vale, what an unexpected surprise.”

 Her interest was hardly disguised by her formal tone.

Lucas's eyes never left Damien's. "Oh, this is something I would never miss." He then leaned in a little, speaking in a whisper that only Damien could hear. "Darling, I am coming to ruin you. I hope it is okay with you.

I hope it is okay with you. What on earth was Lucas up to?

As soon as the speech started, a bell sounded through the hall. Not wanting to lose his cool, Damien made himself move. However, as he took the platform, he sensed Lucas's eyes piercing him, a tacit assurance that this was only the start.

He was back.

And he was going to make Damien pay.