Chapter 1 Brian's Betrayal

Ayna, coincidence. I want to talk, I want us to divorce..." Bryan's voice was calm but felt like lightning to me.

"Brian, what is this?! Who is she?" My breath hitched in my throat. I gripped the doorframe of the living room tightly. Bryan's voice earlier, its coldness pierced to the bone. I had just finished accompanying Luna for dinner. I walked to his study to ask why he came home late again yesterday, but what I heard wasn't from his study, but from the living room. With another voice. A woman's voice.

"Divorce what, Brian?" My voice trembled. My legs felt suddenly weak, but I forced myself to walk into the living room. There, sitting on my favorite sofa, Brian was putting his arm around the shoulder of a young woman with brown hair whom I didn't know. Brian gave me a faint smile, the same smile from eight years ago that made me fall in love. But this time, there was no warmth, only arrogance.

The woman just lowered her head, pretending to be shy. Her hair was dyed brown, her clothes were tight, as if she intentionally wanted to show off her figure. Cheap! I looked at Brian, waiting for an explanation. Seconds ticked by, but he just played with the woman's hair.

"She's pregnant, Ayna."

My world felt like it crumbled instantly. I wasn't mishearing, was I? Pregnant? Since when? My stomach churned. My head felt dizzy. I looked at the woman again, she dared to lift her head and look at me with a defiant gaze. Her slightly protruding stomach was hidden behind her loose blouse.

It felt like being slashed, "Impossible..." I shook my head weakly. My knees couldn't even support my own weight. Eight years. For eight years, I had desperately built everything with Brian. From scratch. From when he only had ambition and I had everything.

"Possible, Ayna. Very possible." Brian smiled. But his smile was like poison. "She will be the mother of my other children. Not you anymore."

"What do you mean 'not you anymore'?! Are you crazy?!" I snapped at him. My anger boiled to the brim of my head. No, I wouldn't cry in front of them. Never give them satisfaction. "We have Luna, Bryan?! Did you forget?! Your own daughter! Your flesh and blood!"

"Oh, Luna... she's... fussy. A crybaby." Bryan sighed, as if Luna was a burden. "Luna has you. Not me. We can arrange our divorce amicably, you know."

"Divorce?! Are you crazy, Brian?! What did I do wrong!" I pushed the glass table in front of the sofa, causing the glass of water on it to spill, shattering everywhere. The sound of the breaking glass wasn't as loud as the sound of my heart, which was now shattered into pieces. "I've given you everything! Everything! My self-respect, my jewelry. For you, Bryan, I was willing to be your shadow! So you would be seen highly, so you would be the great CEO in everyone's eyes! But this is your reward?!"

There was no remorse in Brian's eyes. Empty. Even the woman just turned away, as if I didn't exist.

"Ayna, listen carefully..." Brian finally removed his arm from the woman and stood up. He took one or two steps towards me. His eyes were cold, sharp. "Who do you think you are? The woman who raised my status? I'm the one who worked hard, Ayna! All this success is because I busted my ass. A housewife like you, what would you know?"

That slap wasn't just from his words. It felt like my whole body was slapped. My heart ached. Hard work? I was the one willing to leave my throne for him? I was the only one willing to sweep away all traces of my family's wealth so no one would suspect that he was just my puppet!

"Me? Cheap? You're ungrateful, Brian! You're trash!" The tears I had desperately held back finally fell. Hot, stinging, I wanted them to just fall away. "Everything you have now, all the company assets you brag about, they're mine! My money! My network! You just put on a show!"

Brian laughed. A sarcastic laugh that sent shivers down my spine. "Yours? This is mine now, Ayna. In the name of Brian Narendra. In the eyes of the law, this is my kingdom. And you? You have nothing. No more than a beggar coming to my palace." He glanced at the 'brown-haired' woman, who was now smiling in triumph. "Perhaps if you just kept quiet and left nicely, I'd give you a decent allowance."

An allowance? I didn't need an allowance from him? From this man I created from nothing? My anger burned through my entire body. No more tears, only flames.

"Enough, Brian!" I pointed at his face. My hands felt like they were trembling violently. "I'm leaving! Even though this is my house! That company is also mine! No one can take it from me!"

"So noisy..." the woman clicked her tongue. "Sister wife, we can talk nicely. If you scream like this, Luna might wake up."

My eyes immediately shifted to the woman. Sister wife? Damn it! That means this was all meticulously planned. From the beginning, when Brian approached me, was this all part of his rotten scheme?

"Who are you?! Who are you to dare call me sister wife, huh?!" I moved forward, ready to yank the woman's brown hair, but Brian quickly stood in front of me, blocking me.

"Don't touch her, Ayna!" His voice was loud, commanding. "She is my new wife. The mother of my child."

"New wife?" I took a step back, disbelieving. This wasn't a dream. This was real. A bitter reality that Brian presented before my eyes with a cruel smile.

Brian sighed again, as if he was the one suffering the most here. "Alright, since you don't want to listen properly..." He took out his phone, typed something quickly. "Have her escorted out, force her out of this house. Right now."

Two private security guards appeared from behind the door, approaching me swiftly. Their faces showed hesitation, they knew who I was. But Brian's order was an order. One of them tried to grab my hand.

"Don't touch me?" I swatted his hand away. "No one dares to touch me!"

"Ayna, leave now!" Brian shouted. His face was red. "Or I'll call the police and report you for vandalism!"

He pointed at the broken glass on the floor.

I looked at him, his eyes full of threats. Then I saw the woman now smirking with satisfaction. Her stomach... I wasn't mistaken. She was indeed pregnant. Brian's child. Brian's child with another woman. In my house.

My heart ached. It burned. This wasn't just betrayal. This was humiliation. This was character assassination.

"Okay." My voice was low, hoarse. A strength suddenly emerged from the depths of my soul. A strength I had never possessed. "I'm leaving."

I turned, walking slowly. Towards Luna's room. Inside, my little daughter was still fast asleep, hugging her beloved worn-out teddy bear. Her innocent face made my tears fall again.

I hugged Luna tightly, slowly waking her up. "Honey, wake up, darling..."

"Mama..." Luna rubbed her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Let's go for a little walk, okay?" I tried to smile, but it felt stiff.

"Now?" She frowned. "It's already night..."

"Shh..." I kissed her forehead. "Let's go. There's something Mama needs to take care of. It's important."

With Luna still half-asleep in my arms, I left the room. The small suitcase containing Luna's clothes and some important documents had been prepared since Brian started coming home late often and I was suspicious. My intuition was right. Always right.

Brian was still standing in the living room, the girl beside him. The security guards were still on standby. Brian saw me come out with Luna in my arms. There was a flicker of guilt in his eyes, but it lasted only a second, then disappeared. Replaced by emptiness.

"Go. Never come back," he said. His tone was final.