All Chapters of I Married My Enemy to Destroy Him: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The ballroom glittered beneath three enormous crystal chandeliers, each casting warm light over polished marble floors and rows of elegantly dressed guests.Seraphina adjusted the sleeve of her black evening gown for what felt like the hundredth time.“I hate parties,” she muttered.“They hate you too.”She looked sideways at Lucien.His expression never changed.“You always know how to comfort people.”“I wasn’t trying to.”His hand rested lightly against the small of her back as they stepped through the grand entrance together.Every conversation inside the ballroom slowed.Heads turned.Champagne glasses paused halfway to waiting lips.Whispers spread faster than music.“That’s Lucien Virelli.”“Who’s the woman?”“His wife.”“I thought he would never marry.”Seraphina forced herself to smile.Every eye in the room felt like another knife pressed against her skin.Lucien leaned closer.“They’re looking because they’re curious.”“No,” she whispered.“They’re looking because they’re w

The mansion had a heartbeat.Seraphina noticed it after nearly a week of living within its towering walls. It wasn’t the ticking of clocks or the whisper of servants moving through endless corridors. It was the rhythm of Lucien Virelli’s carefully controlled life. Every light turned on at the same hour. Every security patrol followed the same route. Every meeting began and ended with military precision.Everything was predictable.Except the man himself.She stood outside the doors of his private study, her fingers lightly brushing the cold brass handle. It was the one room he never allowed anyone to enter without permission. Even the housekeeping staff avoided it, leaving fresh coffee outside the door each morning before disappearing.That alone made it irresistible.If Lucien was hiding the truth anywhere, it would be behind this door.She waited until midnight.The estate had settled into silence, broken only by distant footsteps from the night guards outside. Earlier, Lucien had l

Seraphina barely noticed the sunrise.She had spent the entire night staring at the black flash drive resting on her desk, untouched. It looked ordinary—small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, insignificant enough to be overlooked. Yet she knew it carried the weight of ten years of hatred.Outside her bedroom, the Virelli estate was waking. Staff moved quietly through the halls. Somewhere downstairs, dishes clinked softly as breakfast was prepared.Inside her room, nothing moved.She reached for the flash drive.For several long seconds, she simply held it.Then she stood and crossed to the laptop Lucien had provided after she moved into the mansion.Her fingers hovered over the USB port.“This changes everything,” she whispered to herself.She inserted it.The screen flickered.A single folder appeared.ARCHIVE_07No password.No encryption.Almost as though Adrian had wanted her to open it immediately.She clicked.Several video files appeared, each marked with the same date.T

Seraphina sat alone in the darkness of Lucien’s study, the flash drive still resting in her palm.She had watched the footage six times.Every frame.Every expression.Every movement.Lucien standing at the head of the boardroom years ago.Her father’s signature on the documents.Executives voting one after another.The collapse of Vale Industries unfolding before her eyes.At first, she had seen only one thing.Betrayal.Now…She wasn’t sure what she was seeing anymore.The details she had ignored before began clawing at her attention.Lucien hadn’t spoken during most of the meeting.He hadn’t smiled.He hadn’t celebrated.He hadn’t even looked victorious.He looked exhausted.She replayed the final thirty seconds again.The meeting ended.Everyone stood.One executive shook Lucien’s hand.Lucien refused it.Instead, he grabbed a folder from the table and stormed out.The recording ended.Seraphina frowned.Why had Adrian only focused on the signing?Why ignore everything afterward?

The morning began with silence.Not the peaceful kind.The kind that warned of a storm waiting just beyond the horizon.Seraphina stood alone on the balcony outside her bedroom, a cup of untouched coffee cooling in her hands. The gardens below were immaculate, every hedge trimmed with impossible precision, every flower arranged as though chaos had never existed.She envied them.Inside her, nothing was orderly anymore.Lucien’s words from the previous night echoed through her mind.“I wasn’t your enemy. I was trying to keep you alive.”She wanted to reject them.She wanted to call him a liar.But every new truth she uncovered made hatred harder to hold.The sound of the balcony door sliding open pulled her from her thoughts.“You didn’t sleep.”Lucien’s deep voice carried no accusation.Only quiet observation.Without turning, she answered, “Neither did you.”He stepped beside her, dressed in another perfectly tailored black suit. His tie was loose, the only sign that exhaustion had m