Chapter 3

How can a person be so cruel with his words,Why did everyone see me as a joke?

At that moment something in me snapped.

I snatched the paper from his hand and flung it across the room.

It didn’t just fall it scattered, sliding across the floor like it carried every insult he had just thrown at me.

My body vibrated in anger. How dare he call me weak?

“It’s easy for you to throw words at me!” I yelled. “You’re not in my shoes, so you can’t know how I feel!”

He didn’t flinch.

He just looked at me… then slowly leaned back, folding his arms and crossing his legs, like I was some kind of show. That made it worse.

But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.

“Everything you think you know about me is what the media or the public must have told you,” my voice trembled, and I hated that it did. I was trying so hard not to cry again.

“The rich heiress who lost everything… the foolish wife who got cheated on and thrown away…”

I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head.

“That’s how you see me, right? That’s how everyone sees me!”

He still didn’t say anything. Just that same cold stare.

“You think I’m weak because I’m crying?” I pointed at myself. “Because I broke down?”

My voice rose again.

“After everything Ethan and Lila put me through, you expect me to stand here smiling?!”

My hands were shaking now.

“Don’t sit there and act like you know it all, because you don’t!”

This time, his eyes shifted slightly, but he still didn’t interrupt.

So I continued.

I didn’t even know if I was trying to prove him wrong anymore… or if I just needed someone—anyone—to hear me.

“Let’s start with Ethan…”

My hands ran through my hair in frustration.

“Ethan was just a normal office clerk in my father’s company. Earning peanuts. He was a nobody.”

My throat tightened, but I forced the words out.

“I gave him everything. The moment we started dating, I believed in him. Even when my dad didn’t.”

My voice dropped slightly.

“I should have listened… but no, it was either Ethan or no one.”I smiled weakly realizing how wrong I was not listening to my father. I breathed out and continued

“Because of the love my dad had for me he accepted him… and that was how Ethan found his way into the top affairs of the company.”

The memories hit me all at once.

The smiles… the promise of him telling me we were going to grow old together… the good old times when I felt we were perfect for each other.

I swallowed hard and continued.

“And Lila…”

My fist clutched by my side “She broke me even more.”

My voice softened, but the pain in it deepened.

“She was my nanny’s daughter… but she became my friend because I had no other friends as a child. I loved her and even saw her as a sister.”

I laughed again, but there was no humor in it.

“She had access to everything I had. My dad sponsored her education, gave her a job even when she didn’t deserve it.”

My jaw tightened.“And she still wasn’t satisfied.”

I looked straight at him now.

“I caught both of them… on our fifth anniversary, I went to his office because he was late again… I was pregnant… five months pregnant…”

My fingers curled slightly.

“And I saw them… having sex.”

The words felt heavy in my mouth.

“They didn’t even care. No remorse. Nothing.”

A tear slipped down my cheek.

“I walked out… got into my car… it was raining… I was crying… I didn’t even know where I was going.”

My breathing hitched.

“And then I got the call.”

I paused, my lips trembling.

“My father had just died … my heart shattered into pieces. Do you know how it feels to lose the one person who truly loved you? I bet you don’t…”

My voice dropped.

“Next thing I knew, I lost control of the car… and everything ended that night.”

My voice cracked.

“When I woke up… three weeks later…”

I pressed my lips together, trying to steady myself.

“My child was gone.”

I burst out in tears, holding my stomach tightly.

“The child I prayed for… the child I waited for…”

I shook my head slowly.

“And Ethan…”

My voice hardened.

“He didn’t even come. Not once.”

I laughed weakly.

“Instead… he handed me divorce papers.”

I looked up at Sebastian again.

“And somehow… everything my father owned… was already in his name.”

“I was left with nothing… nothing but betrayal,” I said through clenched teeth.

Saying all this out loud made me realize how deep the hurt really was.

“And you…” I pointed at him. “You sit there and call me weak.”

My voice broke.

“Don’t I have the right to be broken after everything I went through?”

“Ariana,” he said calmly, but there was something heavier in his tone now, “I’ve heard everything you said.”

I wiped my tears roughly.

“Good. Then stay out of my life.”

“But what if I tell you,” he continued, cutting me off, “that I know more about your story than you do?”

I froze.

“What are you even saying?”

His gaze locked onto mine.

“Ethan and Lila didn’t just betray you…”

He paused slightly.

“They planned you.”

My heart skipped.

“You were their target from the beginning.”

“No…”

“They used you,” he continued, his voice steady. “Your love. Your trust. Your position.”

My head shook slowly.

“No… that’s not true…” I shook my head again, stepping back.

“You were a pawn in their game, Ariana.”

That word hit differently.

Pawn.

My chest tightened.

“Are you saying…” my voice came out weaker now, “everything… even before marriage… was planned?”

“Yes.”

The room suddenly felt smaller. I felt cold.

“How do I believe you?” I whispered.

“I have evidence.”

My eyes lifted to his.

“But I won’t show you… until we come to an agreement.”

Something in me hardened again.

I stepped back.“You know what? Keep your evidence.”

I wiped my face quickly.

“I let my emotions get the best of me—that’s why I even stood here explaining anything to you.”

My voice became firm again.

“I don’t need you, Mr. Sebastian.”

I turned toward the door.

“And this is the last time we will meet. Don’t ever come close to me again.”

I slammed the door forcefully as I left, I could hear my heart pounding loudly.

What did he mean by I was their target all along… a pawn to them?

No… I couldn’t believe it.

Because if what he was saying was true…

That means I have been living a lie.