chapter 2

Serena

I cry until I can't breathe, until my throat is raw, until there are no more tears left.

Just then, I heard footsteps behind me.

I freeze. Wipe my face quickly with my good hand.

"Serena?"

Marcus called, his voice was soft and filled with concern.

I didn't turn around. I can't look at him.

"Serena, are you okay?"

God, Why is he here? What does he want?

I stand up and go to the sink. Turn on the water. Watch my blood swirl down the drain.

He crosses the room and catches my wrist gently. "Let me see."

I pull away. "Don't."

"Please. Let me look at it."

Wait, Is he serious? After everything that just happened? After watching me get humiliated, watching his mother scream at me, watching me bleed on the floor while he did nothing?

Now he wants to play the concerned husband?

"Don't touch me," I say, my voice breaking.

"Be careful, okay?" He reaches for my hand again. "You know I can't stand seeing you hurt."

Wait, like seriously?

I stare at him. Really look at him. And suddenly I want to laugh. I want to scream.

He can't stand seeing me hurt?

He stands by every single day while his family destroys me piece by piece. While Sarah takes my place in his bed, at his side, in his life. While I'm treated like garbage in my own home.

And he can't stand seeing me hurt?

"Honey?"

Sarah's voice floats in from the living room, sugary sweet.

"Kelvin wants to take a picture with you. He's asking for his daddy."

Marcus's face changes instantly. "Okay! I'll be right there!"

He lets go of my hand and practically runs out of the kitchen.

I stand there alone, watching the door swing shut behind him as fresh tears slide down my cheeks.

I wiped my tears. It was almost time to cut the cake and I didn't want them to call me because I knew what it meant.

I pick it up carefully, trying to steady my hands, but suddenly the room tilts. My vision blurs, and for a second, I can’t even tell where the floor ends or where the walls begin.

I blink hard. Once. Twice.

Everything is spinning.

I’ve been on my feet since five this morning: cooking, cleaning, decorating, making sure every detail was perfect. I haven’t eaten or rested.

My head feels light, and my hand, the one the glass cut earlier, throbs badly. The towel wrapped around it is soaked with blood, but no one cares. No one even noticed.

I just need to lie down. Yeah, just for a minute.

I dropped the cake and turned toward the hallway, toward the small room at the end. The one that used to be Marcus’s home office.

That’s my room now. My space. My punishment.

While Sarah sleeps in the master bedroom. My bedroom. In my bed. Beside my husband.

The walls tilt again, and I reach out for balance, but my hand misses. The floor rushes up to meet me... And then, strong arms catch me.

“Whoa, careful there.”

The voice is deep. Smooth. Unfamiliar.

I look up, and for a second, I forget how to breathe.

The man holding me isn’t just handsome. He’s striking. Sharp jawline, dark eyes that seem to see right through me, and black hair that falls perfectly into place. He looks expensive, confident, like someone who belongs in a different world.

“Are you alright?” he asks, his brows pulling together. “You look pale. Should I take you to the hospital?”

Hospital?

My lips part, but no words come out. It’s been so long since anyone asked if I was alright. Since anyone cared.

The kindness in his tone cracks something inside me. I feel tears sting my eyes, uninvited.

“I’m fine,” I whisper, trying to pull away. But my legs are weak. My body gives out again, and his grip tightens around me.

“What’s going on here?”

Marcus asked angrily from behind.

He storms over, and the warmth in my chest vanishes instantly. His expression shifts the moment he sees me in another man’s arms. But it’s not concern I see, it’s anger. Embarrassment.

He doesn’t rush to help me. He rushes to save his pride.

“I apologize, Mr. Ashford,” Marcus says quickly, forcing a smile. “My wife is just clumsy. Always has been. Probably tripped over her own feet again.”

His words stab deep.

Clumsy.

That’s what he calls me now.

The shame burns through me, hotter than any fever.

But the stranger, Mr. Ashford, shakes his head. “Actually, I don’t think it was her fault. She nearly collapsed. I caught her.”

Marcus’s jaw tightens. “She’s fine. Just being dramatic. You know how women can be.”

Women.

That’s all I am to him now, not his wife. Not the woman who gave up everything for him. Just another woman.

“Marcus!” his mother, Margaret, calls out, hurrying toward us with his sister, Victoria, following behind. Her irritation melts into charm the moment she sees who Marcus is speaking to. “Oh! Mr. Ashford! What a pleasure!”

Marcus clears his throat. “Mother, this is Ethan Ashford. President of Ashford Industries.”

My heart drops.

Ashford Industries. The company Marcus has been chasing for months, begging for a contract. The company that could make or break his career.

Ethan nods politely and offers a silver gift bag. “For your son. And his wife.”

His wife.

My breath catches. He thinks I'm...

But before I can speak, Marcus takes the bag with a fake smile. “Thank you so much, Mr. Ashford. Sarah will love this.”

He turns away from me. Walks straight to Sarah who’s standing there, watching, holding Kelvin like the queen she’s become.

He hands her the bag and kisses her cheek. “From Mr. Ashford, darling.”

Darling.

The word hits me like a slap.

Sarah beams, all sweetness and lies. “Oh, how thoughtful!”

The air leaves my lungs.

The gift was meant for me. His wife.

But Marcus didn’t even hesitate. He gave it to her, to the woman who stole everything from me.

And no one questioned it. Because in their eyes, she is his wife now.

I sway again, the room spinning harder this time.

“Hey.” Ethan’s hands are on my shoulders, steady and warm. “You need to sit down. Now.”

“She’s fine,” Margaret snaps, her voice sharp with irritation. “She’s just looking for attention. Always does this when we have important guests. It’s embarrassing.”

Tears blur my vision again, but I blink them back.

Ethan frowns. “I’m not a doctor, but she’s clearly exhausted. She needs rest.”

God, a stranger, a complete stranger is defending me, while my own husband and his family treat me like dirt beneath their feet.

“There’s nothing wrong with her,” Marcus says, forcing a laugh. “She’s perfectly fine. Aren’t you, Serena?”

His hand clamps around my arm, his grip hard enough to bruise. “Say it,” his eyes warn. “Don’t make a scene.”

My lips tremble, but no sound comes out.

“Marcus, I really think...” Ethan begins.

But Marcus cuts him off. “I know my wife better than anyone. She’s fine.”

He drags me away before I can even speak. His fingers dig deeper into my skin, his fake smile still plastered on for the guests. But the moment we turn the corner, it vanishes.

“What the hell was that?” he hisses.

“I wasn’t...”

“You were trying to embarrass me,” he snaps. “In front of Ethan Ashford. Do you have any idea what that man means for my career?”

“I felt dizzy,” I say weakly. “I almost fainted.”

“Convenient timing,” he sneers. “Right when the most important man in the room walks in, you suddenly need to be rescued? You’re pathetic, Serena. Always trying to make me look bad. You want him to think I can’t even take care of my own wife. You’re trying to ruin this for me.”

His words break me all over again. Each one a knife twisting deeper.

“That’s not true,” I whisper. “I would never...”

“Don’t lie to me!” He leans closer, his breath hot with anger. “You ruin this deal, and you’ll regret it.”

I stare at him, the man I once thought was my forever. The man I defied my father for. The man I gave up my family, my name, my world to be with.

And I realize something.

There’s nothing left of him. Nothing left of us.

Something inside me cracks. Maybe it’s been cracking for years, and I just never listened. Maybe it finally broke when he gave Sarah that gift meant for me.

I pull my arm free. For the first time, I don’t let him control me.

He looks shocked. “What?”

My voice shakes, but I make sure the words are clear. “I want a divorce.”