CHAPTER 1: THE ANNIVERSARY GIFT

Ava : POV

It was 8:34 p.m. when I checked the time again. My husband still wasn't home. The candles were already burning low, and the food I had prepared was getting cold.

I checked the clock again.

8:41 p.m.

I carefully arranged the table with our favorite song playing softly in the background. I had prepared his favorite meal and the gift I wanted to surprise him with. I rubbed my stomach, smiling as I imagined his reaction.

I was wearing a red dress because Damien loved seeing me in red.

I checked the time again.

9:20 p.m.

He had promised he would be home by seven. Where was he? I picked up my phone and sent him another text.

"Baby, are you still coming home? It's getting late. Did something happen? Please hurry. The food is getting cold."

I pressed send and waited for a few minutes, but he didn't respond. The message showed as read. Damien had never ignored my messages before, not even the ones I'd sent by mistake.

Maybe he was in a board meeting.

But Damien had never missed our anniversary. Not once in three years, no matter how busy he was. This was the man who once flew from Canada to New York because I had told him, half-jokingly, that I had a nightmare.

I sat down, still waiting for him. I decided to keep myself busy, so I opened I*******m and started scrolling. Then I saw a video, and my hands paused.

Wait, what?

It was a video of Damien and his ex-girlfriend at a party. He looked so calm, laughing like today meant nothing to him. His hands were wrapped around her waist, and she was bent forward, presenting her ass to him. They were laughing together like they had nothing to worry about. I stared at the screen, unable to look away. It was our anniversary. He had promised to come home to me. Instead, he was there with another woman.

My heart was bleeding. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Damien and Vanessa were together, and he was holding her dirty ass. How could he? This was unbelievable.

So, was I not important to him anymore? What was all this preparation for if he wasn't even coming home?

I tried calling him. It rang the first time. I called again, and it was the same thing. The third time, his phone was switched off.

I put the phone down, trying to calm myself. I blew out the candles in anger. Damien better have a good explanation for this because this was not going to be funny.

I sat there in the darkness, staring at the untouched food I had spent the whole day preparing. The house was so quiet that I could hear the clock ticking. Every time I heard a car passing, I went to the door, hoping it was Damien. I wanted an explanation because my eyes weren't deceiving me. The video didn't look fake. It didn't look like AI. That was really Damien with Vanessa.

Then I heard the sound of his car outside. Before I could stand up from where I was sitting, the door opened. It was Damien, and behind him was Nathaniel.

I stood up immediately, my eyes fixed on Damien. He didn't even look at me. He just dropped his jacket on the edge of the couch and walked toward the bar stand.

"Where the hell have you been?" My voice came out sharper than I intended.

He didn't respond. He acted as if he hadn't heard me and continued pouring himself a drink.

I slapped him across the face, the sound echoing through the room. "You bastard!" I stepped closer. "You were with your ex-girlfriend, weren't you? Damien, answer me!"

Damien turned slowly to look at me. His expression was completely calm. He didn't look angry or surprised. I got scared.

"Are you done?" His voice was flat, unbothered, like I was a minor inconvenience.

"No." I stood my ground. "I'm not fucking done! I sat here waiting for you to come home so we could celebrate our anniversary, yet you went to a party with your ex-girlfriend, touching her and acting like you didn't have a wife."

I stared at him, my anger rising. "Wait... are you still fucking Vanessa? Answer me."

"At least she's not a thief like you!" The words flew out of him like he'd been holding them all night.

I froze. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He turned back to his drink.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Damien?" I put my hands on my waist. "I've been sitting here waiting for you all night, and now you're calling me a thief? Is this your way of explaining why you were with your ex, or are you trying to be funny? What did I even steal?"

He pulled a folder from his jacket and threw it onto the table without a word.

"Eight million dollars is missing from the company, and it all points to you, Ava." His eyes stayed cold, fixed on mine.

I stared at the folder, then back at him. "What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean it points to me? Which eight million dollars? How is that my business?"

"Your signature is on every transfer." He leaned forward, his voice dropping. "Money was deposited into an account connected to you. All the hidden accounts, Ava, are in your name. Look. Look at them yourself, bitch."

"No, no, babe. This isn't true." My hands started shaking as I pushed the papers away. "There has to be a mistake. Someone must have messed up. I didn't authorize any of this. I swear I didn't. Please, Damien, you have to believe me."

"Then how do you explain the evidence?" His voice hardened. "How do you explain your signature on every single transfer?"

He pushed the papers back toward me. "It's your name, Ava. Your signature. Your accounts. Everything is right there in front of you. So tell me, how am I supposed to believe you when the evidence is screaming that you did it?"

Nathaniel finally stepped forward. "I think you should let her explain. This doesn't prove that she did anything."

"I don't remember asking for your opinion, Nathaniel." Damien didn't even look at him. "Stay out of this and keep your thoughts to yourself."

Nathaniel went silent, but his eyes moved to the papers on the table. For a moment, his expression changed into something I couldn't quite read.

"Baby, please. This must be some kind of misunderstanding." My voice trembled as tears filled my eyes. "You know me. You know I would never steal from you. I didn't do this. I swear, I didn't. Please believe me."

"Do I, you Jezebel?" His voice turned ice cold. "I don't think I know you anymore, Ava. You're still lying to my face when the evidence is right in front of you. So tell me, who should I believe? You or the evidence?"

My eyes filled with tears. I couldn't believe Damien was looking at me like I was a stranger. After everything we had shared, how could he believe I was capable of stealing from him? I shook my head, trying to hold back the tears. "I didn't do this, Damien. You have to believe me. I swear I didn't."

I picked up the papers with shaking hands and looked through them again. My name was there. My signature was there. Even the account number looked familiar. How come I had never opened that account? I looked at Damien, completely lost.

"Someone is setting me up. I don't know who did this, but it wasn't me."

"Save your story." He waved his hand dismissively. "You think those crocodile tears of yours will change anything?"

Damien picked up another folder from the table and pushed it toward me. My hands were still shaking as I slowly reached for it. "What is this?" The words barely came out.

I opened the folder, and my eyes went straight to the first words on the page. I swallowed hard when I saw them: DIVORCE AGREEMENT. For a moment, I couldn't move. I looked at Damien, then back at the pages. "Is this a joke?"

"Sign it." He didn't blink.

I stared at him, unable to believe what I was hearing. "You want me to sign a divorce agreement after accusing me of stealing from you? Damien, you can't be serious."

"You're lucky it's just divorce papers. I should have had you arrested instead." His voice was cold, and his words cut deep. He wasn't just asking me to leave him. He truly believed I was a criminal.

"Baby, please." My voice was shaking as tears rolled down my cheeks. "I didn't steal from our company. I won't sign these divorce papers."

"Damien." Nathaniel moved closer. "This is going too far. You should at least give her a chance to explain. You're just acting out of anger."

"Nathaniel, get out of my house this minute." Damien pointed at the door. "Out!"

Nathaniel went silent and slowly walked toward the door.

I turned back to Damien, tears running down my face. "Please, Damien. Don't do this. We can fix this."

He looked at me without any emotion.

"It's already too late."

I stared at the divorce papers through my tears. A part of me was still hoping Damien would stop me, that he would tell me he didn't mean any of this. But he didn't. He just stood there, waiting for me to sign.

I picked up the pen and stared at my name for a moment. Then I looked at Damien, my eyes red from crying. I signed the papers, and when I dropped the pen, I rubbed my stomach. I looked at Damien one more time. I felt like a piece of me had just died.

I walked into our bedroom and opened the drawer beside the bed, wanting to pack only the things I needed. As I picked up my bag, my eyes fell on a small box on the bed. I had wrapped the pregnancy test I took that morning to surprise Damien with it as my anniversary gift. Two lines. Positive. I stared at it, my heart pounding.

I quickly slipped the pregnancy test into my bag and wiped my tears. I wasn't going to tell Damien. Not tonight. I picked up my suitcase and walked out of the bedroom without looking back.

I went back into the living room. Damien was still looking at the divorce papers. I stared at him for a long moment, waiting for him to tell me he was sorry, to hug me, to ask me not to go. But he didn't.

"Bye, Damien." My voice was barely above a whisper.

He didn't reply.

It was cold when I stepped outside. I booked a ride that took me to a hotel downtown.

When I got to the hotel, the room felt so cold and quiet. I dropped my bag on the edge of the bed and sat on the floor, my back pressed against the door. I was confused. It felt as if I was dreaming.

Then my phone vibrated. I quickly reached for it, thinking it was Damien. But when I saw the number, I froze. I didn't recognize it.

I opened the message.

Happy anniversary, Ava. I hope you enjoyed my gift.