Chapter 2

Aria POV

Julian walked out of the bathroom. I quickly turned my head away from his phone. He picked it up and left the bedroom without asking what I had been trying to tell him before he showered.

As the door clicked shut behind him, I pressed my face into the pillow. Even through the closed door, I could hear his voice—soft, gentle, intimate. A tone he had never once used with me.

Four years. I had been trapped in this loveless marriage for four years, waiting for him to see me. To love me back. I had given up so much—my pride, my independence, pieces of myself I’d never get back.

I touched my stomach, my hand trembling slightly. What would happen to this baby if he found out?

He didn’t love me. His heart belonged to someone else—to Selene, my stepsister. And what would she do if she discovered I was pregnant? I knew exactly what she was capable of.

The memory came unbidden.

Barely a month after my mother slipped into a coma, my father brought them home;my stepmother and Selene. I remembered standing at the top of the stairs, watching them walk through the front door like they owned the place. The way Selene’s eyes swept over everything, calculating, claiming.

She took it all. My father’s attention. My inheritance. My sense of home.

And that day with the jewelry—I could still feel the humiliation burning in my chest. Selene had hidden the necklace my father gave her in my room, then screamed that it was missing. She demanded a search, and of course, they found it in my bag.

I tried to explain. Begged my father to listen.

But he didn’t believe me. He called me a thief. Said I was just like my mother,as if that were the worst insult he could think of. They starved me that entire day as punishment.

Now she had Julian too.

I forced myself to the bathroom to wash away my tears. The door opened before I could compose myself.

Julian stood in the doorway, his shirt half-unbuttoned.

“Aria, you look terrible. Your eyes are red,” he said flatly.

Not are you okay? Not what’s wrong? Just an observation, clinical and detached.

“Who were you talking to on the phone?” I asked. Then I scoffed. “Never mind. I know who it was—Selene. You left me here to answer another woman’s call when you’re married to me?”

The words tumbled out before I could stop them. I didn’t know where this sudden courage came from—maybe desperation, maybe exhaustion.

“How dare you mention her name?” His voice dropped to something dangerous. “Listen carefully, Aria. Why are you making this difficult for yourself? You know what we agreed to. You have no right to question what I do.”

“Yes, I get it,” I snapped, my voice rising. “I’m just the stupid girl who desperately signed your contract. But I did it because I love you, Julian.” My throat tightened, but I forced the words out. “I thought… I thought one day you’d see me. That maybe you’d love me back—”

The memory of our wedding day flashed through my mind. Not a real wedding—just a quick courthouse ceremony with two witnesses we didn’t know. I had worn a simple white dress I bought the day before. Julian hadn’t even looked at me during the vows. Afterward, he went straight to his office. I spent our “wedding night” alone, crying into sheets that smelled like laundry detergent instead of us.

Julian’s bitter laugh cut through my thoughts.

“Aria, I didn’t force you to sign anything. You volunteered yourself.” He stepped closer, and I could smell his cologne—expensive, cold. “And I told you from the beginning;no love, no attachment. So why are you making a scene now?”

He said it so easily, like my feelings were an inconvenience. A breach of contract.

I stood there, frozen, as tears streamed down my face. My chest felt hollow, scraped clean. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

For a moment just a flicker something shifted in his expression. His jaw tensed. His eyes moved to my tears, then away quickly, like he couldn’t bear to look.

But then it was gone.

He grabbed his clothes from the chair and headed for the door.

“Julian—” I started.

He didn’t turn around. The sound of his footsteps echoed down the hallway, followed by the front door closing. Then his car engine roared to life.

He left. Just like that.

I stood in our empty bedroom, the silence pressing down on me like a physical weight.

How did I end up here? What was I thinking when I signed those papers?

My hand drifted to my stomach again. At least I still had this—this tiny secret. For now, I needed to keep it hidden until I figured out what to do.

I climbed into bed and hugged my pillow tight, pulling the blanket over my head like I could hide from everything. My body was exhausted, but my mind wouldn’t stop racing.

Eventually, the tears dried up. Sleep felt impossible, but I closed my eyes anyway and waited for morning.