CHAPTER 001
OLIVIA’S POV
I lit the last candle, adjusting it slightly to balance the warm glow across the room. Soft music played in the background, and the bedside table was set with Adrian’s favorite wine.
Tonight had to be perfect.
I smoothed the silk lingerie which I had bought just for tonight with my trembling
hands as I checked myself in the mirror one last time.
The sound of the door opening downstairs sent a chill down my spine. My heart raced.
Adrian was home.
I hurried to the edge of the bed, holding my cold hands together.
The door to the bedroom swung open, and there he was, he never ceases to take my breath away. His perfect angelic figure filled the doorway, his tie loose and suit wrinkled which was a rare sight for my always composed husband.
“What are you doing in my room?” His cold voice echoed in the room interrupting my thoughts.
I quickly stood up from the edge of the bed and my hands gripped a small portion of the fabric of my silk lingerie suddenly felt ridiculous in the outfit that I’d spent hours picking at the mall.
“I… I thought we could spend some time together,” I stammered.
His gaze swept across the room from the flickering candles, the soft music, the wine and finally landed on me.
His expression hardened and became darker causing me to shiver.
“I didn’t ask for an explanation,” he said coldly. “Blow out the candles and get out.”
I froze, his words hitting harder than they should have.
“Adrian,” I said quietly, forcing a smile that felt fragile. “It’s been a month since you’ve been home. Can’t we just talk for a moment?”
He let out a deep breath, rubbing his forehead as though I were an inconvenience. “I’m tired, Olivia. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“I’ve waited for you for one month!” My voice cracked, and I hated how desperate I sounded. “I thought…”
“I said I’m tired. Are you deaf?” His tone was final and harsh.
I bit back the lump in my throat.
I was in love and this is what love does, it makes you foolish. It makes you endure things you never thought you would.
1/3
CHAPTER 001
You might ask me why I married him when I knew this was how he behaved towards me. It would shock you to know that Adrian wasn’t always like this.
When we were dating, Adrian was sweet, thoughtful and caring. He made me believe I was the only woman meant for him and I fell for it. I agreed to marry him but the night we got married Adrian changed.
He became cold and distant, he even left me alone in the suites on our wedding night and went off to God knows where. I didn’t see my husband until a week later.
No intimacy, no honeymoon, nothing!
I took a shaky breath and decided to try again. “Maybe I can help you relax just like the night before you travelled. We could…”
His dry, cold laugh cut me off. “Help me? Do you think I’d want to have anything to do with you? The last time was a drunken mistake.”
He shook his head. “Stop trying so hard, Olivia. It’s pathetic.”
Drunken mistake? Pathetic?
The words felt like a slap that stung so bad on my cheeks. My fists clenched at my sides as I fought back tears in my eyes.
“Is it pathetic to want my husband to care? To hope that after one month, you might want to be with me tonight?” My voice rose despite the lump in my throat.
He sneered, gesturing to the room. “This…” he waved a han
the silk lingerie.
at the candles, the wine,
“This isn’t going to fix anything. It only makes me hate you more. Stop embarrassing yourself.”
My chest tightened. “Hate me?” I whispered, barely able to get the words out.
He sighed, glaring at me. “I think you should stop holding on to something that never existed.”
He once swore that he loved me and now he is saying nothing ever existed?
How could someone who used to love me so much turned into this cold heartless
person? I just… I don’t get it.
If he claims nothing ever existed between us why then did he marry me?
My chest ached, but I refused to let the tears welled up in my eyes fall.
“For three years you’ve been hurting my emotions time after time, and you act like you
don’t care.”
Adrian scoffed. “Olivia, don’t get me wrong, I’m not acting. I actually don’t care. I never did, and I never will. Get that into your thick, empty skull. Do you understand?”
My breath caught in my throat as I stared at him in disbelief. How could he say such hurtful things to me?
2/3
CHAPTER 001
“Then why did you ask for my hand in marriage?” I shouted, my voice shook. “Why marry me, Adrian? Why?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer. Instead, he turned his back at me and headed toward the bathroom.
The door slammed shut behind him, leaving me alone with the flickering candles. Their warm light mocking the effort I had put into this night.
1 sank onto the bed, I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore as they streamed down my
cheeks. My heart ached and I clutched my chest tightly hoping to relieve the pain.
Adrian’s phone buzzed on the nightstand bringing me back from my emotions.
Normally, I wouldn’t touch it. He was always so protective of it. But tonight, something compelled me. Maybe it was the pain, the betrayal, or the small voice in my head telling me not to mind my own business this time.
I picked up the phone, my hands trembled as I read the message.
Dora: “I enjoyed the vacation with you. Sweet dreams ✪.”
Vacation?
My heart–stopped and I was unable to breathe properly for a while.
Adrian had told me he was on a business trip and I’d waited for him for one whole month only to discover that he was with another woman.
The phone slipped from my hands as the truth settled in my chest like a ton of blocks.
Adrian stepped out of the bathroom, a towel draped over his shoulders, I couldn’t stop myself. “Who is Dora?”
3/3
