The Wife He never Wanted
Arya knew her marriage was over before her husband ever said the words.
She simply refused to be the woman who begged him to stay.
The massive glass doors of the Blackwood mansion stood behind her, reflecting the woman she had become during three years of marriage.
Elegant.
Composed.
Untouchable.
At least, that was what everyone believed.
In reality, Arya's fingers were clenched tightly around the handle of her suitcase.
Three years.
Three years of being his wife.
Three years of sleeping in the same house as a man who had never truly looked at her.
And tonight, she had finally decided she was done.
A black car stopped at the bottom of the marble steps.
The driver's door opened.
Her husband stepped out.
Adrian Blackwood.
Even after three years, his presence could still silence an entire room.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Impeccably dressed in a dark suit, he carried the cold authority of a man who was accustomed to getting exactly what he wanted.
His eyes immediately found Arya.
Then they dropped to the suitcase beside her.
His expression hardened.
"What are you doing?"
Arya smiled faintly.
"Leaving."
For the first time that evening, something flickered across his face.
Not sadness.
Not fear.
Annoyance.
"You don't get to make decisions like this without speaking to me."
Arya almost laughed.
"You've been making decisions about our marriage without speaking to me for three years."
His jaw tightened.
"Arya."
"Don't."
She lifted one hand.
"I don't want another argument."
He walked toward her.
"What happened?"
She stared at him.
"You really don't know?"
"No."
"That's the problem."
Adrian stopped a few feet away.
His expression remained unreadable.
Arya had spent years trying to understand that expression.
She had finally realized she didn't need to.
"I heard you are bringing her back," she said quietly.
For the first time, his composure cracked.
Only slightly.
But Arya noticed.
"Who told you that?"
"So it's true."
Silence.
That was all the answer she needed.
Arya nodded slowly.
"Three years ago, when we got married, you told me this marriage would never be about love."
"I remember."
"You told me you needed a wife for appearances. Someone who would stand beside you when necessary and stay out of your private affairs."
"And you agreed."
"I did."
Her smile disappeared.
"But you never told me that one day your private affair would become more important than your wife."
Adrian's eyes darkened.
"This isn't what you think."
"Then explain it."
He said nothing.
Arya waited.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Nothing.
She picked up her suitcase.
"Exactly."
She turned toward the waiting car.
"Arya."
She stopped.
His voice was different now.
Lower.
Warning.
"You cannot simply walk away from this marriage."
She looked over her shoulder.
"Watch me."
His eyes narrowed.
"You'll regret this."
Arya's heart clenched.
But she refused to let him see it.
"I've regretted staying."
That silenced him.
She walked down the steps.
One step.
Then another.
She didn't look back.
Not when the mansion disappeared behind her.
Not when the car pulled onto the road.
And certainly not when tears finally gathered in the corners of her eyes.
She wiped them away immediately.
She had made her decision.
But there was one thing Adrian Blackwood didn't know.
The woman he believed was simply his unwanted wife had never been ordinary.
Arya had spent years hiding the truth about who she was.
Not because she feared him.
Not because she was ashamed.
But because someone had once warned her that if Adrian discovered her identity, he would become the first person in the world powerful enough to destroy everything she had spent years protecting.
And Arya had promised herself that secret would never leave her lips.
Unfortunately, she had underestimated one thing.
Adrian was about to start looking for answers.
And when he finally discovered who his wife really was...
He would realize that the woman he had spent three years pushing away was the very woman he could never afford to lose.
