One Month to Leave the Billionaire

Aria Rain hammered violently against the windshield as I drove through the city at almost midnight. My hands trembled around the steering wheel. Tears burned behind my eyes, hot and humiliating, blurring the red taillights ahead of me into streaks of color. I shouldn’t have come after him but I did. Loving Lucien Vaughn had always made me do pathetic things. The taste of wine still lingered bitterly on my tongue from the anniversary dinner he never touched, vanilla candles, cold steak, dead roses. Three hours. I had waited three hours for my husband tonight. And when he finally came home, all he gave me was a tired look and another excuse before walking out again. My chest tightened painfully at the memory. “You’re making this difficult, Aria.” The words replayed in my head like a knife dragging slowly against skin. Difficult! I laughed shakily, wiping angrily at my cheeks. Of course I was difficult. A wife wanting her husband to stay on their anniversary apparently counted as too much now. Outside, thunder cracked across the sky. Rain slammed harder against the car roof, loud enough to drown out my breathing. The city lights reflected across the wet roads in blurred gold and white streaks. My phone sat on the passenger seat beside me. Still no message from Lucien. Not even: I’m sorry. Not even: Go home safely. Nothing. A hollow ache spread through my chest. I tightened my grip on the wheel as the black gates ahead slowly came into view. The Grand Aurora Hotel. Of course. That was where his “emergency meeting” was happening tonight. I should leave. I knew I should but humiliation burned too deeply inside me now. I had spent three years loving Lucien Vaughn with everything I had. Three years waiting for scraps. Three years convincing myself that if I loved him enough, patiently enough, gently enough… one day he would finally love me back. Tonight something inside me cracked. I grabbed my phone quickly and dialed his number. The line rang once. Twice. Then his cold voice answered. “What is it?” No hello. No concern. The familiar pain still hit anyway. “Lucien,” I whispered, gripping the phone tighter. “Please come home.” Silence answered first. Then: “I told you not to wait up.” My throat tightened painfully. “I know, but—” “I’m busy.” The dismissal in his voice stung harder than shouting ever could. Something sharp twisted inside my chest. “No,” I said suddenly, surprising even myself. “No, you don’t get to do this again.” Another silence. I could hear faint voices in the background. Music, laughter, glass clinking softly. Not a meeting. The realization made my stomach drop. “Aria.” That warning tone again. But tonight, I was already too hurt to stop. “You left our anniversary dinner,” I said, my voice shaking. “You didn’t even try to stay.” “You’re being emotional.” I laughed weakly at that, the sound breaking halfway through. “Of course I’m emotional, Lucien. I’m your wife.” “You’re creating a scene over nothing.” Nothing. The word hit me so hard my vision blurred again. Three years of loving him. And to Lucien… it was nothing. My fingers trembled violently now. Rain pounded against the windshield harder and harder, the sound suffocating. “You know what?” I whispered. “Fine. If you won’t come home, then I’ll come to you.” His voice sharpened immediately. “Aria, don’t.” For the first time in a long time, I heard something that almost sounded like emotion from him. But it was too late. “No,” I said softly, tears sliding down my cheeks. “You don’t get to ignore me tonight.” I hung up before he could answer. My heartbeat pounded wildly in my ears as I pressed harder on the accelerator. The engine roared beneath me. Wind howled outside the car, carrying the scent of rain and wet asphalt through the tiny crack in my window. I could barely breathe properly. Flashbacks kept hitting me one after another. Lucien placing his jacket over my shoulders the first winter after we got married. The way my heart used to race whenever he said my name. The nights I stayed awake waiting for him to come home just so I could eat dinner beside him. God. I had loved this man so much. Another tear slipped down my cheek. The city lights blurred again. Then bright headlights appeared behind me. I frowned slightly, checking the mirror. A black SUV. My stomach tightened. The vehicle stayed behind me as I switched lanes. Then it switched too. A strange chill crawled slowly up my spine. I pressed harder on the accelerator. The SUV sped up immediately. Fear hit me instantly. “What the hell…” My pulse began hammering unevenly. Rain battered violently against the windshield now, the wipers barely keeping up. The black SUV got closer. Its headlights flooded the inside of my car, blinding me. Panic clawed at my throat. I grabbed my phone with shaking fingers and dialed Lucien again. He answered almost instantly this time. “Aria?” Fear cracked through me completely. “There’s a car behind me,” I whispered shakily. “It won’t stop following me.” Silence. Then suddenly: “Where are you?” His voice changed, sharp now. I opened my mouth to answer— The impact came brutally. Metal slammed into the back of my car with terrifying force. I screamed as the steering wheel jerked violently beneath my hands. The tires screeched against the wet road. Everything spun. My phone flew from my hand. Another hit. Glass shattered beside me, exploding across my skin like knives. Pain ripped through my body. The world tilted violently sideways. “Lucien—!” The guardrail rushed toward me. Then everything crashed. The sound was deafening. Metal crushing, glass breaking. My own scream disappearing into the storm. Pain exploded through my body as the car rolled. Once. Twice. Again. My head slammed hard against something. Warm blood trickled down the side of my face instantly, thick and sticky against my skin. The taste of iron filled my mouth. Then everything stopped. Only rain. Rain hitting twisted metal. Rain soaking through my clothes. Rain dripping somewhere steadily like a countdown. My chest rose weakly. Pain answered everywhere. I couldn’t move properly. My vision faded in and out, blurry and dark around the edges. Somewhere far away, I heard Lucien shouting my name through the phone. “ Aria?!” My trembling fingers searched weakly beside me. Cold shattered glass cut into my skin. I could barely feel anything anymore. My breathing shook painfully. “…Lucien…” The word came out broken and weak. Then darkness swallowed everything whole.