Chapter 5

An hour ago I was standing on the bridge about to end it all and now here I was in my supposed fiancé’s house.

Yes… I’m getting married to Sebastian. If I have to marry a total stranger to bring Ethan and Lila down, I will. After all, I married for love… and look what it did to me.

Now I’m marrying for revenge.

That alone sounded crazy in my head, but at this point, nothing about my life made sense anymore.

I sat on the couch quietly, rubbing my hands on my lap, trying to calm the fury inside me.

Sebastian walked in holding a glass of water.

“Here.”He handed it to me.

“Thank you.”I took it from him and drank slowly till the cup was empty my throat had been so dry from all the screaming and crying.

As he turned and took his seat, I noticed him properly for the first time.

My eyes moved over him without meaning to.

He was tall,His shoulders were broad, the kind that made him look firm, like nothing could shake him. The way he sat carried authority without even trying.

Then my eyes moved to his face.

His blue eyes stood out the most… calm, but not soft. There was something in them… something heavy.

He had good facial features, I had to admit he is a good-looking man But those eyes didn’t match that perfection. There was something cold there… something distant.

I blinked and looked away quickly. Why was I even noticing that?

“You know I don’t trust you, right?” I said.

“That’s expected,” he replied calmly.

I exhaled slowly, then looked at him again.

“I want to know why you’re doing this. You know my reason… but I don’t know yours.”

He didn’t answer immediately.

That silence stretched for a moment, and I almost thought he wouldn’t say anything. Then he adjusted slightly in his seat.

“Ethan also betrayed me; he was my best friend since high school.”

“Best friend?” My eyes widened.

“Yes. We were close. Even in college.”

His voice stayed calm, but something underneath it had changed.

“My biggest mistake was giving him a job at my father’s company.”His eyes darkened slightly.

“He had access to information… sensitive information, and do you know what he did?”

“What?” I asked quietly.

“He fed my father’s business secrets to competitors.” His hand clutched to a fist beside him.

My breath caught slightly.

“But that wasn’t all,” he continued.“He manipulated the company accounts… made it look like we were involved in fraud.”

My mouth dropped wide open in shock Ethan was indeed evil.

“That one move brought everything down.”His voice dropped lower now.“The company collapsed and..”He stopped, looked up then back to me “The shock led to my dad having a heart attack which led to his death and my mother couldn't take it she died a few months later.

I swallowed slowly. I could hear the pain in his voice despite his effort to hide it. Now I knew that coldness in his eyes was not just anger but also loss..

Ethan didn’t just ruin me. He ruined him too.

“He was the last person I expected it from,” Sebastian said.

“When I found out, it was already too late.”

He leaned back slightly.

“And I made a promise to myself… once I became successful I would come for him.”

He looked at me.“And Lila was with him even then.”

“What?” I said sharply.

“How many years ago was that?”

“Ten years.”

My mouth dropped slightly.“That’s why you said I was their target all along…”

“Yes.” he nodded “They’ve been doing this for years.”

The room suddenly felt colder.

“Lila knew everything,” he added. “She was there from the beginning.”

I looked at him, my chest tightening.“So you’re not helping me out of pity…”

He scoffed lightly.“No.”

“I need you as much as you need me.”His eyes locked on mine now.

“If there’s one thing I know about Ethan… It’s that he likes control.”

I felt my fingers tighten slightly.

“If he sees us together… married…” he continued, “that alone will shake him. and if you get back your company he goes back to the nothing he comes from” A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“ Ethan hates poverty, I'll make that his reality”

I stared at him for a moment. Everything he said made sense and I was relieved we both had the same goal. I was glad I wasn't fighting this war alone but I still didn't trust him, I'll have to watch him closely as time goes by.

“So how do we start?” I said to him

A grin appeared on his face.

“You said something about them sending you an invitation on our way here.”

“Yeah,” I frowned. “Their wedding invitation.”

“You still have it, right?”

“Yes. It’s in my house,” I replied

“Good, we’ll need it.”

“For what?” I asked confused

He looked at me directly.“We’re going to the wedding together as a couple .”

“No way,” I stood up immediately.“There’s no way I’m attending that wedding.

“Sit,” he said calmly.

I didn’t move.

“Listen, if we’re going to do this, you need to be in control of your emotions, Ariana.”

“I’m not going,” I said firmly. “And that’s final. What do you think people are going to say if they see me there?”

“Are you bothered about gossip…” he leaned forward slightly, “or do you want revenge?”

That shut me up.

He continued.“They sent you that invitation because they knew it would break you and it almost worked, I mean you almost took your life” He pointed at me.

I felt my chest tighten then looked away

“I know… but—”

“Let me finish,” he cut in.

“We turn the tables and play their game…but better”

I sat down slowly still listening to him.

“They don’t expect you to come, but if you show up…”He paused slightly.“With me, what do you think will happen?”

I didn’t answer but I already knew.

“The attention will be on us, and you know how much Lila loves attention.”A faint smirk touched his lips.

“And the public knows me as the richest eligible bachelor in this city.”

I let out a slow breath. He wasn’t wrong.

“You’re right…” I said quietly.“And Ethan…” I added slowly, “he’ll lose his mind if he sees us together.”

“Now you’re thinking,” he said.

I leaned back slightly. This could actually work.

It was exactly the kind of thing they wouldn’t expect from me.

“Fine,” I said.“I’ll attend.”

“Perfect.”He leaned back, then his eyes moved over me briefly.

“The wedding is in two weeks. That’s enough time to put you back in shape because right now you look—”

“I know what you mean,” I cut him off.

I stood up and walked to the mirror staring at my reflection. Nora was right, I had lost too much weight. My face looked dull and my hair was all tangled.

I didn’t even recognize myself anymore. For a moment, I just stood there.

I turned back to him.“Don’t worry,” I said quietly.“I know what to do.”

My eyes hardened slightly.“Let’s set our plan for their wedding.”

This time…I wasn’t going there as the woman they broke. I was going there as the one they never saw coming.