The CEO's Revenge Bride

ARIANNA'S POV Today marks two years since my wedding. I've been looking forward to this day for weeks. It's our second wedding anniversary, and although Albert has been busy lately, I've convinced myself that tonight will be different. He'll come home early, we'll have dinner together, and for a few hours, we'll forget about work and everything keeping us apart. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. After breakfast, I spend the morning preparing the house. This place means more to me than I can explain because I helped design it with Albert. I wanted it to feel warm and comfortable, somewhere that belonged to us. By afternoon, the kitchen smells of food. I prepare Albert's favourite meals and arrange the dining table with two plates, glasses, candles, and flowers. When I'm finally satisfied, I smile. "He'll like it." Albert has been working a lot lately, but I've always tried to understand. His work is demanding, and I trust him. I change into the dress I bought for tonight, fix my hair, and put on a small necklace. I look happy, maybe a little nervous. I've also been hiding a small gift in our bedroom for him. I check my phone. 7:12 p.m. Albert should be home soon. I send him a message. Are you coming home soon? Dinner is ready. Nothing. Maybe he's still at the office. At 7:40 p.m., I check again. No reply. I call him, but after several rings, the call ends without an answer. "Maybe he's busy." I return to the dining room and checked the food. Then I hear a car outside. My heart lifts immediately. He's home. I hurry to the window as a black car enters the driveway. It isn't Albert's usual car, but the thought disappears when the driver's door opens and Albert steps out. Relief washes over me. Then the passenger door opens. A woman steps out. My smile disappears. Lucy. My half-sister. I stare through the window. Why is Lucy here? I try to think of a reasonable explanation. There has to be an innocent reason. Lucy walks around the car and joins Albert. She says something I can't hear, and he laughs. Then she reaches for his arm. Her touch feels too familiar. Albert turns toward her. Lucy looks up at him. Then he kisses her. My mind goes blank. I remain frozen, almost waiting for my brain to correct what my eyes are telling me. It doesn't. My husband is kissing my sister. My stomach turns, and I grip the curtain. "No..." The word barely leaves me. They separate, and Lucy says something to Albert. He smiles at her, a smile I've seen so many times before and thought belonged to me. Tears gather in my eyes. How long has this been happening? Before I can move, the front door opens. They're coming inside. My heart pounds as I look toward the dining table. The candles are still burning, the food waiting where I left it. Suddenly, it all looks ridiculous. I prepared an anniversary dinner while my husband was outside kissing my sister. Footsteps approach. Then I hear Albert's voice. "Arianna?" I quickly wipe my cheeks. A moment later, Albert and Lucy enter the dining room. Neither speaks. I look at Albert, then Lucy. "What's going on?" My voice comes out weaker than I intended. Albert's expression changes. "Arianna..." "Don't." I shake my head. "Just tell me what's going on." Lucy looks uncomfortable, and I turn toward her. "Why are you with my husband?" She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. "Please. I just want to understand what's happening." Albert finally looks at me. "I was going to tell you." My heart sinks. "Tell me what?" He pauses. "I'm leaving." I stare at him. "What?" "I'm leaving this marriage." I can't process the words. "You can't be serious." "I'm serious." I look at Lucy, but she remains silent. I turn back to Albert. "Today? Today is our anniversary." "I know." His calmness hurts. "Then why are you doing this?" He looks away. "I don't love you anymore." I feel as though the ground has shifted beneath me. "No." "Arianna..." "No. You can't just decide this today." "I've made my decision." "We've been married for two years." "I know." "Then how can you tell me you don't love me anymore?" Albert doesn't answer. I search his face for some sign that he's struggling too, but there is nothing. My eyes move toward Lucy. She finally speaks. "We've been together for almost a year." The room seems to go silent. "Almost a year?" She nods. I look at Albert. He doesn't deny it. Suddenly, the late nights, missed calls, business trips, and excuses return to my mind. I had defended him whenever someone questioned his absence because I trusted him. "You've been cheating on me?" Albert says nothing. "With Lucy?" Again, nothing. I turn toward my sister. "She's my sister." Lucy looks away. "She's my sister," I repeat. She finally whispers, "I'm sorry," but her apology feels empty. I turn back to Albert. "And you?" "I didn't want to hurt you." A bitter laugh escapes me. "You didn't want to hurt me?" I gesture toward the window. "I just watched you kiss my sister outside our house. You brought her here on our anniversary." My voice breaks as I look around the room. "I prepared all of this for you." Albert doesn't respond. I can't feel my legs, I pull out a chair and sit, so I don't fall. Albert walks toward me and places a folder on the table. "What is that?" "Divorce papers." My fingers tighten around the edge. "You already prepared them?" "Yes." "When?" He doesn't answer. I slowly open the folder, forcing myself to read through the tears. Then something underneath catches my attention. I pull out another document. My father's name is written across the top. The properties and shares my father had transferred into my name over the years are listed on the document. They aren't part of the family company. They are assets my father personally gave me. Lucy has her own shares in Father's company, and Father is still the Chairman and CEO. He has never handed control of the business to either of us. So why is this document here? I look at Albert. "What is this?" "You need to sign it." "Sign what?" "The transfer documents." I stare at him. "You want me to transfer my assets?" "It's necessary." "Necessary for what?" He doesn't answer. Lucy is quiet again, too quiet. "Did I already sign something?" Albert doesn't respond immediately. My heart begins beating faster. "Albert." "You signed some documents." I shake my head. "I wouldn't sign away my father's assets." "You trusted me." The words stop me. I remember the papers Albert had brought to me over the past year. Some were business documents, while others I barely looked at because he always explained them. I never thought I had a reason to doubt my husband. "I trusted you." Albert looks away. My marriage is falling apart, my sister has been having an affair with my husband, and now Albert is asking me to sign away assets my father gave me. None of it makes sense. I look at Lucy. "Did you know about this?" She doesn't answer. "Lucy?" Still nothing. I turn to Albert. "Please. Just tell me what's happening." He remains silent. The silence hurts. I push the documents away and stand. "I need to leave." "Arianna." "I can't stay here." I reach for my phone, and my bag my hands shaking. I don't know where I'm going or who to call. I only know I can't remain in this house with the two people who shattered my life. I walk toward the door. Behind me, Albert calls my name. I don't turn around. I step outside, and the night air hits my face. My father's face crosses my mind. I could call him, but I can't bring myself to. Not yet. I don't want him to hear the pain in my voice before I understand what has happened. So I start walking. The tears come again, and I don't bother wiping them away. I don't know where I'm going. I only know that I need to get away from that house, away from Albert, away from Lucy, and away from the life I thought I had. Tonight was supposed to celebrate two years of marriage. Instead, I'm walking through the night with divorce papers waiting for me at home and questions I don't know how to answer. And beneath the heartbreak, another feeling begins to grow. Fear. Because for the first time, I have a terrible feeling that Albert asking for my assets has nothing to do with our divorce. I don't know why yet.