THE END OF A MARRIAGE
Rain streaked the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Matthias penthouse, blurring the lights of Manhattan into shimmering patches of gold.
Adriel Matthias stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the city below.
At thirty-eight, he had built an empire most men could only dream of. His name carried weight in boardrooms, his decisions moved markets, and his fortune had made him one of the most powerful men in the country.
Yet tonight, none of it mattered.
His marriage was falling apart.
Behind him, the sound of high heels echoed across the marble floor.
“Adriel?”
He didn't turn.
Seraphina Laurent walked into the living room, dressed for dinner. Her blond hair fell perfectly over her shoulders, and a diamond necklace glittered against her neck.
She stopped when she noticed his expression.
“What happened?”
Adriel finally turned.
“Where are you going?”
“Dinner with some friends. I told you this morning.”
“I don't remember.”
“You weren't listening.”
His eyes settled on the handbag in her hand.
“What's in your bag?”
Seraphina frowned.
“Nothing.”
“Open it.”
She stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“Open your bag, Seraphina.”
Something in his voice made her hesitate.
Slowly, she placed the handbag on the sofa and opened it.
Adriel walked toward her.
He didn't need to search.
A small white prescription bottle sat between her perfume and lipstick.
His eyes fixed on it.
Seraphina's face went pale.
Adriel picked up the bottle.
He studied the label for several seconds before looking at her.
“How long?”
She swallowed.
“Adriel—”
“How long have you been taking them?”
She looked away.
His jaw tightened.
“Three months?”
Silence.
“Six?”
Still nothing.
“Seraphina.”
Her shoulders dropped.
“Almost a year.”
The room became unbearably quiet.
Adriel placed the bottle on the table.
“Almost a year.”
“I can explain.”
“You've been taking contraceptives for almost a year.”
“Yes.”
“And you never thought I deserved to know?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of me?”
“Of losing you.”
He stared at her.
“You were afraid of losing me, so you lied to me?”
“I knew how much you wanted children.”
“And you knew we had agreed to start trying after our third anniversary.”
“I changed my mind.”
The words were quiet, but they hit him harder than anything else she had said.
“You changed your mind.”
“Yes.”
“About having children?”
“Yes.”
Adriel looked at her as though he were seeing her for the first time.
“I don't want children, Adriel.”
He said nothing.
“I've never wanted them,” she continued. “Maybe I thought I would eventually. Maybe I thought marriage would change me. But it didn't.”
“You could have told me.”
“I knew you'd leave.”
“You made the decision for me.”
Seraphina's eyes filled with tears.
“I wasn't ready to become a mother.”
“You didn't have to be.”
She looked confused.
“You could have told me the truth,” he said. “Then we could have decided what to do together.”
“I knew you'd choose a child over me.”
Adriel's expression hardened.
“No. I would have chosen the truth.”
She wiped away a tear.
“You have no idea what it's like being married to a man like you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Everything revolves around you. Your business. Your family. Your grandfather's expectations. Everyone keeps talking about heirs and grandchildren as if my only purpose is to give you one.”
“You're my wife, Seraphina. Not an incubator.”
“Then why does it matter so much?”
Adriel looked away.
Because he had always wanted a family.
He had imagined children running through the halls of this enormous home. He had imagined birthdays, holidays, family dinners and a little boy carrying the Matthias name.
But none of that could happen if the woman beside him didn't want the same thing.
“What matters,” he said quietly, “is that you lied to me.”
Seraphina's voice trembled.
“So what happens now?”
Adriel looked at her.
“We get divorced.”
Her eyes widened.
“You're serious?”
“Completely.”
“You're ending our marriage because I don't want children?”
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“I'm ending it because I can no longer trust you.”
Seraphina stared at him.
“You'll regret this.”
“Maybe.”
He looked toward the windows.
“But I'll regret staying more.”
She grabbed her handbag.
“After everything I've done for you, you're just going to throw me away?”
“You'll receive whatever you're entitled to in the divorce.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Money. That's all you know how to give.”
Adriel didn't respond.
She walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
“You're going to end up alone.”
The door slammed behind her.
Adriel remained still.
The silence that followed felt heavier than the argument.
He walked toward the window again and looked down at Manhattan.
Millions of people were moving beneath him.
Some were going home to their spouses.
Some were going home to their children.
Some were probably sitting around dinner tables, laughing with their families.
He had money. Power. Success.
But suddenly, his penthouse felt painfully empty.
His phone rang.
Theophilus Matthias.
Adriel answered.
“Grandfather.”
“Have you spoken to Seraphina?”
Adriel's eyes remained on the city.
“She left.”
A pause.
“What happened?”
“She never wanted children.”
Theophilus was silent for several seconds.
“And what are you going to do?”
“Divorce her.”
“You're certain?”
“Yes.”
Another pause.
Then his grandfather asked the question Adriel had expected.
“Does this mean you've given up on having an heir?”
Adriel's eyes narrowed.
“No.”
“Then what do you intend to do?”
Adriel looked at his reflection in the glass.
A cold determination settled over his features.
“I don't need a wife to have a child.”
Theophilus was silent.
Adriel continued.
“I'll find another way.”
“What way?”
“I don't know yet.”
He ended the call.
For several minutes, he stood alone in the darkened room.
Then he reached for his phone again.
His fingers moved across the screen.
Fertility clinics.
He stared at the search results.
If marriage was no longer an option, then he would find another way to have a biological child.
He would preserve his bloodline without giving another woman the power to destroy his trust.
Adriel had no idea that his decision that night would eventually lead him to a fertility clinic.
He had no idea that a sample he would store there would one day be used without his knowledge.
And he certainly had no idea that somewhere in New York, a twenty-eight-year-old woman named Jelina Mayfair was about to make a desperate decision that would change all their lives.
Neither of them knew it yet, but their lives had already begun moving toward each other.
