The CEO's Revenge Bride

The First Warning

ARIANNA'S POV

I don't know how long I've been walking. At some point, I stop paying attention to the surrounding streets. My feet hurt, and the heels I was so excited to wear earlier now feel like a terrible decision, but I keep moving because I know I can't turn back.

The city hasn't changed because my life has.

Cars continue to pass, people laugh outside restaurants, and couples walk along the sidewalks as though nothing has happened. Everything looks normal, and somehow, that bothers me the most.

How can the world continue as though nothing happened when everything I knew has just collapsed?

I pull my coat tighter around myself and lower my head. Tonight, I don't want anyone to recognize me, ask questions, or look at me with sympathy.

My phone vibrates inside my bag.

I already know who it is.

Albert.

I take it out and stare at his name until the call stops. A few seconds later, it rings again. This time, I reject it.

There is nothing he can say that will erase what I saw.

My father's name crosses my mind.

I could call him.

For a moment, I almost do, but I imagine hearing his voice and having to explain everything. I don't even know where I am going, let alone how to explain what Albert has done.

So I decided not to call.

Not tonight.

After passing many streets, I notice a small hotel. It isn't luxurious, but warm yellow lights shine through the glass doors, and for some reason, it feels like the easiest place to disappear.

Going home is impossible. Going to my father's house means answering questions before I'm ready, and calling a friend would mean explaining things I don't understand myself.

I push open the hotel door.

A woman behind the reception desk looks up.

"Good evening."

"Good evening."

"Do you need a room?"

"Yes. Just one night for now."

She asks for my name.

"Arianna Robert."

She types it into the computer before looking at me again.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

The answer comes too quickly, so I force a small smile.

"I'm just tired."

She accepts it and asks for payment. I pull out my company card and hand it to her.

The machine processes the payment.

Then the screen changes.

TRANSACTION DECLINED.

I stare at it.

"There should be enough available."

"Would you like to try again?"

"Yes."

She tries again.

DECLINED.

A strange feeling settles in my stomach.

I think about the conversation with Albert, the documents, and the assets he wanted me to sign over.

Maybe it's nothing.

It could simply be a problem with the bank.

"I have another card."

I take out my personal bank card and hand it to her.

This time, the payment goes through.

"Payment successful."

"Thank you."

She gives me the receipt and room key.

I take them and head toward the elevator.

Only when the doors close do I allow myself to breathe.

I look at my reflection in the metal doors. The woman staring back at me looks nothing like the woman who stood in front of her mirror a few hours ago, excited about her anniversary.

My hair is messy, my eyes are swollen, and there are still traces of tears on my face.

I quickly wipe them away.

The elevator reaches the second floor.

I find my room, unlock the door, and step inside before locking it behind me.

The room is small but clean. There is a bed, a table, a chair, and a television. It is nothing like my bedroom at home, with its carefully chosen decorations and familiar surroundings.

Strangely, I don't care.

Right now, I don't need anything beautiful.

I just need somewhere nobody can reach me.

I place my bag on the floor and sit on the edge of the bed.

My hands are still shaking.

My phone vibrates again.

I pick it up.

Seven missed calls.

All from Albert.

Then a message appears.

Please come back. We need to talk.

I read it twice before locking the phone.

We had all evening to talk.

He chose to bring Lucy into our home instead.

I lie back, but the moment I close my eyes, I see them again.

Albert's hand on Lucy.

The way she looked at him.

The kiss.

I sit up.

Why?

Why would Albert stay married to me for two years if he had already fallen in love with Lucy?

And why would my own sister betray me?

I press my fingers against my forehead.

Then I remember the documents.

My father's assets.

The transfer papers.

The things Albert said about documents I had supposedly signed.

I reach for my phone and open my banking application.

My personal account looks normal.

I breathe out slowly.

At least that hasn't changed.

Then I check another account connected to some of my financial arrangements.

The page takes a few seconds to load.

A notification appears.

ACCOUNT RESTRICTION ACTIVE.

I stare at the screen.

My first thought is that it must be a mistake.

I refresh the page.

The same message appears.

My fingers turn cold.

Why would there be a restriction on my account?

I think about the company card.

It didn't work either.

Maybe the two things are connected.

I sit there, staring at the screen as Albert's words return to me.

You signed some documents.

I remember the papers he had occasionally placed in front of me. Sometimes he explained them. Other times, I trusted him enough not to question every page.

He was my husband.

I never imagined I would one day sit alone in a hotel room wondering whether he had used that trust against me.

I pick up my phone again.

My father's contact is still open in my list.

My thumb hovers over his name.

Maybe I should call him.

He is the one person who might know what to do.

But I stop myself.

What if I break down before I can explain anything? What if he asks me to come home?

I don't feel ready.

I put the phone down.

For tonight, I need to think.

I need to understand what Albert has done before I accuse him of something I can't prove.

But every new thing I discover makes me more afraid that tonight wasn't only about my marriage.

Maybe the divorce was just the beginning.

I look around the quiet hotel room.

For the first time, I realize how alone I am.

I could call my father. I could call a friend. I could leave this room and find somewhere else to stay.

But emotionally, I don't know who I can trust anymore.

I pull the blanket around myself and lie down again.

Tomorrow, I'll figure out what to do.

At l

east, that's what I tell myself.

Tonight, I don't have the strength to solve anything. I only have enough strength to stay here, keep my phone beside me, and try to understand how the life I trusted so completely managed to fall apart in a single evening.