CHAPTER ONE _ Claire’s POV

I never thought this day would come. I’ve imagined a lot of things that could go wrong in my marriage, but I never even imagined that it would come to this. And I never thought I would see it with my own eyes.

But there it was— a picture of my husband holding another woman close, smiling in ways he never smiled at me. To make it worse, it was not just any woman.

It was Eva Sterling.

“Multibillionaire, Lucian Dhark, reunites with superstar, Eva Sterling.”

When I first read the headline, I was so shocked I could barely stand on my feet . For a moment, it felt like the world was spinning.

The name ‘Eva Sterling’ haunted me. Eva was the woman who lived on magazine covers and television screens, the golden girl admired by the whole world.

I grew up watching Eva on TV, in my tiny dorm room, wondering how someone could look so flawless. How someone could be so wanted.

She always seemed so perfect, so untouchable and glamorous, almost as if she wasn’t part of the same world as people like me.

And Lucian… Lucian had once chosen her.

That knowledge lived like a ghost in our marriage, even on the days I tried to forget.

I didn’t even realize when my phone slipped out of my trembling fingers and landed on the kitchen counter.

My eyes burned with anger and hurt as I stared at the picture.

Lucian had never looked at me like that. Not in five years. Not in all the quiet mornings when I made his coffee just the way he liked it. Not in the nights when I whispered “I love you”, begging for something he no longer felt.

But now, he looked at Eva like she was his world.

Eva Sterling was everything I wasn’t—famous, breathtaking, loved, and accomplished in her career.

I sank onto the couch, with my head in my hands, staring at the photo as if the longer I looked, the less real it would become.

“Claire?” A gentle voice pulled me back. Camilla, the housekeeper, stood in the doorway. “Are you okay, dear?”

I lifted my phone and turned the screen toward her. “Did you see this?”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, Claire…” She sat beside me, placing her hand on my shoulder, the way a mother would comfort a scared child. “These pictures… they don’t necessarily mean—”

I didn’t let her finish. “Yes, they do.” My voice cracked despite my effort to sound composed. “I can’t believe he would do this… and with Eva. His ex.”

Camilla sighed softly. “I know it looks bad, but you don’t know the whole story yet.”

“No.” My voice came out firmer than I expected, far stronger than I felt. “But I know this is real.”

We sat in silence for a several moments. Camilla rubbed my back gently, and her voice lowered to a whisper.

“You know… I remember how Lucian used to look at you,” she whispered. “During your first months here. He wasn’t exactly warm _ he never had been —but he noticed you. He cared and he showed it.”

She paused. “He had this… softness in his eyes. I haven’t seen that in a long time.”

Camilla’s words stirred the memories inside me.

I remembered the early days, when Lucian would brush my hair behind my ear during a late-night conversation, how he’d asked if I had eaten when I forgot meals, how he’d held my wrist gently when he thought I was upset.

The small gestures and quiet warmth was enough for me to believe I mattered. But the warmth faded and faded until it was completely gone.

Camilla’s voice pulled me back. “Something changed, but it wasn’t your fault.” She said, rubbing small circles on my back. “It was his.”

It hurt more because it was true.

She bit her lip, unsure what else to say to comfort me. There were no words that could fix this.

Later that evening, the front door opened. Lucian was home.

I sat in the living room, waiting for him like I had done every evening for five years.

Lucian walked in as if nothing had happened. His black tailored suit was perfect, his expression calm and unreadable.

“Claire.” He always acknowledged me by simply saying my name. He glanced at me before removing his coat.

I watched him for a several seconds, silently gathering the courage to speak. I needed my voice to be steady. “Lucian, I saw the photos.”

Silence fell between us. Sharp, heavy silence.

He tightened his jaw. “I see.” He simply said.

I rose from the couch. “The photos are everywhere. You and her. Together.”

I swallowed. “Who is she?”

I knew exactly who she was. I had seen endless pictures of them together before we got married.

Lucian tilted his head slightly, an amused expression formed on his face. “Eva. You know Eva. Everybody knows Eva.”

His words stung. Yes, everyone knew the famous actress Eva Sterling.

“Yes… I know Eva,” I said quietly. “But I didn’t know she was back in the country. I didn’t know the two of you…”My voice faltered. “Are you happy?”

The question startled him, but only for a moment. A frown formed on his face and I could tell he was growing irritated.

“Happy? Claire, what kind of silly question is that?” He exhaled sharply. “I’ve had a long day. I don’t have time for your drama.”

My eyes burned, my shoulders dropped and my heart dropped even lower.

Moments passed between us as we stared at each other—a couple whose marriage was slowly collapsing.

One loved too much.

One did not love enough.

“Claire,” Lucian said at last, sounding detached and distant. “You and I come from two different worlds. You know that. We want different things.”

“I thought we wanted each other,” I whispered.

“You’ve always been naïve,” he muttered. “It’s time to grow up, Claire.”

Lucian’s words struck me like a blow. “Do you still love me?”

The silence that followed was unbearable, heavy and painful.

I had my answer.

After a long moment, he sighed and picked up his coat. “Go to bed, Claire. It’s late.”

He walked past me without touching me. Without even looking at me.

Just like that, he ended the conversation— leaving me standing alone in the middle of the room, with nothing but the image of my husband and another woman, arm in arm, burned into my mind.