Married To The Ruthless CEO

All That Was Left

Back to present***

You were foolish, Aria.

You fell for a man who was never yours.

She wiped her face quickly.

No more crying.

If he had already chosen his priority, she would make her own decision too.

She looked at the medical report again.

This child was hers.

Regardless of him.

She would protect it.

Even if she had to do it alone.

“I’ll be discharged soon, right?” she asked softly.

“Yes,” the assistant replied. “Once the doctor finalizes the paperwork.”

Aria nodded.

The moment she stepped out of this hospital, she would begin preparing.

She would pack her things.

Quietly.

Without confrontation.

Without drama.

He had already ended the contract.

Now she would end the attachment.

She would leave his life for good.

And he would never know that he had walked away from more than just a marriage.

Meanwhile Across the city, Adrian stood beside Anna as she chatted casually about her travels.

He responded absently, barely listening.

His thoughts were elsewhere.

At the hospital.

With Aria.

Adrian had never questioned the contract before.

It had been a solution. A clean arrangement. Practical. Necessary.

So why does everything suddenly feel wrong?

Taboo.

The moment he made her sign those papers he had seen something change in her eyes. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t resistance.

It was hurt.

And that unsettled him more than any argument ever could.

He had always convinced himself he was doing the right thing — clarifying expectations, protecting boundaries, keeping emotions out of something that was never meant to involve them.

But somewhere along the line, something had shifted.

He found himself watching her more. Listening to the softness in her voice. Noticing when she skipped breakfast. Feeling restless when she returned home late from work.

Seeing her hurt made something twist inside his chest.

Maybe he shouldn’t have made her sign them so bluntly.

Maybe he shouldn’t have reduced everything they had shared to terms and conditions.

But admitting that would mean admitting something else.

That he had fallen for her.

And Adrian Cole was not a man who fell easily.

Aria, on the other hand, felt as though

She had been foolish.

Somewhere between shared dinners, lingering touches, and quiet nights, she had allowed herself to believe there was something real growing between them.

She had felt it in the way he watched her. In the way his voice softened when it was just the two of them. In the way he held her — not like an obligation, but like something precious.

But it was time to let go

Aria had just gotten home. The hospital discharge papers were neatly tucked into her bag, and she was carefully placing her belongings in the living room. Every motion was deliberate, calm, yet inside her, a storm of emotions raged. She had made her decision — pack, leave, and start over somewhere far from Adrian. She told herself it was for her own dignity, and for the safety of the life she now carried.

Just as she bent down to place a box on the floor, the front door opened. Footsteps echoed through the hallway. Her heart froze.

Adrian stepped in, his usual composed demeanor intact, yet something in his eyes was unsettled. “What are you doing ?” he asked, his tone sharp but controlled.

Aria looked up, heat rushing to her cheeks. She had not expected him to come home so soon, and certainly not to see her unpacking her things. “I… I just got discharged,” she replied cautiously, her voice firm but tinged with hurt. “I’m organizing my things.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. He didn’t like this at all. He wanted to control the situation, to have her under his watch, but a part of him hesitated. His father’s words, the pressure to maintain appearances, all weighed on him. He knew he couldn’t stop her outright, not now. Yet, seeing her hands on her belongings, seeing her act independently, made his chest tighten.

Before he could say more, another voice entered the room, sharp and deliberate.

“Oh, so this is the woman you choose over me?”

Aria’s head snapped toward the voice. Standing in the doorway was Anna, Adrian’s childhood friend, her posture confident, her tone deliberately irritating.

Adrian stiffened. “Anna,” he said, voice even, though the tension under it was palpable. “I didn’t expect you to—”

“I came to see the truth,” Anna interrupted, her eyes scanning the room and landing on Aria. “grandpa told me you were married. I wanted to find out for myself. Seems he wasn’t wrong. And now…” Her gaze narrowed. “You’re in my way.”

Aria felt a flash of anger and disbelief. She straightened up, trying to maintain her composure despite her trembling hands. “your way? You’re the one who just walked in here,” she said, her voice steady, though each word carried the weight of betrayal and hurt.

Anna smirked, taking a deliberate step closer. “I’ve always wanted him. And now that I see you here, I understand why he’s chosen—well, chosen to treat me like a sister instead of what I deserved.” Her words dripped with implication, a clear warning that she wasn’t leaving without making her intentions known.

Adrian’s eyes darted between the two women. His chest tightened painfully. He wanted to intervene, to explain, to assure Aria she meant everything, but his father’s expectations loomed over him. He could only stand there, tense, caught between his past and the woman he had begun to truly care for.

Aria’s mind raced. Was this the moment she had feared? That he never cared? That all the moments, none of it meant anything? She could feel her heart clenching with a mix of anger and sorrow.