The Heiress Who Married Her Enemy

chapter 1

**IRINA'S POV**

“Oh, yes… Daniel… yeah, just like that. I will c*m now!”

As I neared the bedroom I shared with the man I was about to propose to today, the familiar warm and musky scent that clung to his body after making love to me rose in the air.

Earlier, I had left the hotel I was supposed to share with my boyfriend, Daniel, in New York, carrying a woodsy scent I assumed was his after our passionate s*x. It was only now I realised something was wrong, but yesterday, I had been too drunk to understand what was happening.

Now, I was sure that woodsy smell at the hotel didn’t belong to Daniel, and the moaning voices from our bedroom weren’t mine.

“Yes… oh, yes…” The moans rang like a funeral song in my ears.

I stumbled into my room and stood still. My purse dropped with a rattle onto the floor, and my eyes took in the scene before me.

“Daniel?” My voice cracked like a broken tape.

The duo on my bed froze, still entangled in each other’s naked bodies. To be precise, I saw Daniel and Bella… my Personal Assistant, still with her back arched, blonde hair spilling on the bed, lips parted in a quiet gasp, and him still buried in what made her female.

In shock, I staggered, my words were strangled. “What is this? What is going on here?” Tears welled in my eyes as I held the doorframe for support.

Daniel’s eyes, wide and guilty, darted to mine. “Irina… it’s not what you think—”

“Not what? Not what?!” The words came out weakly. Rage surged through my chest and I fought to speak correctly. “You are sleeping with my friend and you dare say it’s not what I think! Are you mad!”

Bella scrambled to grab the bed cover while Daniel just stood there with his manhood dangling. “Irina, it’s certainly not what you think.” She begged without looking at me.

I laughed sharply. This was not funny at all. “You too, huh? A friend material, really?” My stomach curled into itself. “You allowed me to leave Philadelphia for your party in New York just so you could get my boyfriend to smash your ass? Are you for real, Bella?”

Daniel’s hands flew out, not meeting mine, he just closed a little distance between us. “Irina, stop. Listen to me!”

“Listen to you and do what! After everything I’ve done for you, this is how you repay me? We’ve been together for a year and I actually wanted to marry you and give you the best life! I see you struggling to make ends meet, I see what you’re going through at work and I am ready to make you the happiest man on Earth.” I tried to keep my voice steady but it quivered from rage and sadness.

Daniel came to stand in front of me, his face cold and sharp, cutting every guilt left in him. He scoffed and his arms went akimbo before me.

“Irina!” He yelled, “who do you think you are, huh? Who the hell are you? What did you do for me? Oh, you think those meals you cook for me, the payrolls you give me every month, the s*x and the house you and I lived in which you paid for… Do you think they count? Is that enough to secure a man? Come on, this is big 2025, you can do better.”

His words struck me like ice dropped on my spine. My legs buckled and something stirred in my throat. It was cold and bitter, something like liquid pooled from my stomach. In that instant, it rose violently out of my mouth and betrayed me. Soup, chicken chunks, alcohol, noodles, and other foods erupted across the polished floor as I retched. The stench of vomit mixed with the lingering scent of Daniel and Bella in that doggy position made my head spin.

I crouched on all fours, pressing my body into the mess. I tried to calm my nerves, to see the sick feeling rush at the pit of my belly. The room tilted, spinning like a fast, malfunctioning merry-go-round. My body trembled, but it wasn’t from being cold. I realised it was from being betrayed, heartbroken, and humiliated.

Bella’s voice, laced with malice, came through the haze. “You better clean up, Irina, trust me, this is the best you can get.”

Daniel laughed, low and cruel. “Exactly,” he said, straightening his body. “Not everyone has what it takes. Not everyone can give me… what I actually need.”

I retched again, the bile tasted more bitter as I struggled to push myself upright. With trembling knees and a twisted stomach, my body was stiff as if it had forgotten how to move.

The betrayers in my life had begun to dress themselves up. Bella came to stand in front of me, a faint glimpse of satisfaction in her eyes.

“Irina, don’t take it personally… I promise you I’m doing the right thing. You wouldn’t get mad, would you?”

“Get mad?” I croaked, voice broken. My hands scraped the floor, desperate for anything solid to hold. “I placed you where you are, Bella, and you stabbed me in the back?”

Daniel shrugged, amused. “Call her whatever you want. Life is too short, some of us actually have important things to take care of.” He flickered his gaze to Bella, his smirk curling slightly on his lips. “Bella helped me secure a deal with Jerkins Diamond and Gold Company, that… is what real women do.”

Bella’s laugh was quiet. “Oh, he’ll be fine. Don’t worry about him.” She straightened, smoothing the dress that had been tossed haphazardly on the floor. In that simple moment, she owned the room, owned him, owned this betrayal.

But why would she do this to me? After I gave her my identity? My life, my whole world.

It was because she knew you wouldn’t want to step into that identity. A tiny voice screamed at me.

My body shook, my stomach was heavy again, the taste of defeat was sour in my mouth. They stepped towards the door with Daniel’s hand brushing Bella’s.

“Go wait outside, I’ll come after you, baby.” Bella purred.

Bella came close enough to smell my vomit, but she wasn’t disgusted. We had known each other since we were ten, and we had done certain things only blood sisters could do.

“Irina,” Bella whispered, “what would you do to me now that I betrayed you?”

My eyes flashed at her with rage. “Take back what belongs to me.”

She threw her head back, laughing maniacally. “You amaze me.” She noted. “Remember what happened 15 years ago? When you were ten years old?”

Fifteen years ago, my parents died in a car crash. Not just any car crash, they had been killed. That was the police theory after thorough investigation. Their car brakes had been tampered with. That had fueled my passion to find out who took their lives without care.

“You’d just die like they died if you tried anything funny.” She stood up, straightening her gown again. “Just act like this… never happened.”

The click of the door sealed me in and I was thrown into a heavy, suffocating silence that pressed me at all sides. My apartment smelled like defeat and mockery. I trudged my way up and slumped against the bed.

In that bitter, devastating aftermath, I understood: Daniel wasn’t sorry; Bella wasn’t sorry, instead, she used my weakness against me.

I grabbed my phone and dialed a number I had earlier sent a voicemail this morning and hit call. It rang a few times before it was picked.

“Irina?” The soft voice of my father’s mother came on and I forced back the urge to burst into tears.

“Grandma,” I called silently, “I want to come back home, I believe it’s time I stopped being Irina Thomas.”