Reclaiming the billionaire’s bride

Chapter 1 Emily Saint ~•~ “Change your dress, Emily.” I blinked at my husband’s words. “What? Why?” I demanded, confused. I had spent the entire day shopping because he asked me to attend a mandatory charity gala that his office was hosting. Initially, I didn’t want to go because on a normal day, he wouldn’t ask me to accompany him to a grocery store, let alone a work event. But this time around, he insisted and I found it a little bit suspicious. “You heard me correctly, I don’t like that color on you. Change your dress,” Christian repeated, his voice carrying an authoritative edge. His eyes were glued to his phone, probably texting one of his side chick. I was certain that he didn’t even see the color of my dress. Christian didn’t care about me, and he didn’t fail to remind me every day since we got married about two years ago. Christian didn’t love me. But I still found it hard to accept it. Well, it wasn’t my fault. While we were still dating, he was the sweetest person ever. But after the circumstances that led to our marriage, he switched and began treating me like I had ruined his life. I’d been enduring, hoping we would eventually go back to how we used to be, but it seemed our relationship got worse with each passing day. That Christian, the one who would drive two hours in the rain to bring me soup when I was sick, was the man I was still mourning. But the man sitting on the couch now didn't even look up. “You don’t like white dresses? Since when?” I asked, my voice exhausted. “And you aren’t even looking at me right now.” He lifted his head slowly and fixed his gaze on me. “I am looking at you right now, and this dress doesn’t look good. Change your dress.” My eyes glistened with tears immediately, but I blinked them back. I couldn’t cry in front of him. The last time it happened, he made me feel like I was pathetic and desperate. And I didn’t want to give him that satisfaction twice. “Fine,” I replied with a defeated sigh, shifting my gaze back to our shared closet. “I’ll change the dress.” With that, he stood up from the couch where he had been sitting and walked out of the room. Christian was already dressed and ready to leave for the gala. I had to find a new dress quickly before he would get upset that I was wasting his time. A few minutes later, I picked out a red dress that was suitable for the event. Just as I was done getting dressed, I heard his voice echo through the hallway. “Come downstairs now and meet me at the car, Emily. I won’t take it lightly if you make me get there late.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m almost done.” He didn’t respond. I picked up my bag and everything I needed for the event, then rushed out of the room and met him downstairs. When I got to the garage, he was already sitting in the back seat of the car. I joined him quickly, and the driver drove out a few moments later. I took a moment to steady my breath, then I turned to Christian, whose eyes were still glued to his phone. “Why did you even ask me to follow you to the gala? I’m sure you’ll leave me as soon as we get there.” He didn’t look up. “You’re my wife, Emily. And it’s expected that you show up to these events with me.” Wife? He barely referred to me as his wife. I exhaled. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about our second anniversary,” I continued, my voice quiet. “Do you have any plans?” Christian finally looked up from his phone. The next thing that followed was hysterical laughter. He sounded like I’d just said the most ridiculous thing ever. “Plans?” he replied with a mocking chuckle. “Are you going to call this a marriage?” My chest tightened. “Am I going to call this a marriage?” I repeated slowly. “Didn’t we get married?” I already knew what his response was going to be. “You knew damn well I didn’t want to get married to you,” he said through gritted teeth. “We didn’t celebrate it last year, what makes you think that I’ll be interested this year?” His words landed on me like a slap across my face. At the same time, it didn’t come as a surprise. When I first met Christian, he had just left a relationship with his fiancée. He never talked about what led to their separation, but I knew that I was just a rebound to him. I felt like he would eventually grow to love me more than he loved his ex, but that was me being delusional. He treated me well, but I knew his heart belonged somewhere else. Christian didn’t plan to get married to me, but his parents forced him to get married to me after I accidentally got pregnant. It wasn’t entirely my fault, but Christian wouldn’t stop blaming me. He didn’t have a choice but to listen to his parents because his father threatened him with the family business. I, on the other hand, was in love with Christian. I didn’t mind getting married to him. And I was happy when I found out I’d gotten pregnant, thinking it would bring us closer. But after the wedding, I lost the unborn baby in a car accident about three months later. Christian felt so relieved and he didn’t even try to hide it. But we were already married and it was too late for him to back out. I always wondered why he didn’t just divorce me since he hated me so much. But I knew that he kept treating me like I was nothing, so I would leave on my own. I couldn’t leave because I cared too much about what people would say and always thought about the shame it would bring to my family. Plus, I still wanted to be known as the wife of the billionaire. I didn’t want to leave him, I wanted us to fix our marriage. “Emily, are you even listening to me?” Christian’s angry voice dragged me out of my thoughts. I looked up. Then I realized that we had arrived at the location of the gala. “Y—yes, I am listening.” Before Christian could respond, my eyes drifted to the crowd outside. And my stomach dropped when I saw her. She was back.