Eight Years Of His Cold Betrayal

After eight years in a cold marriage, I watched my husband, Damian, run past me during a raging fire. He ignored my screams, his only focus on saving another woman.

That night, he coldly admitted he never loved me. Our entire marriage was just a business deal he was forced into.

But his betrayal didn't end there. His mistress, Aida, framed my innocent younger brother for a crime he didn't commit. Damian believed her lies without question.

He stood by as she had my brother murdered in his hospital bed. He even forced me to crawl over broken glass to apologize for "upsetting" her.

The final blow came when he threatened me with my mother' s heirloom box, not knowing it held my brother' s ashes. He had taken everything from me-my love, my family, my dignity.

He thought he had broken me. But he only forged me into a weapon.

Now, I'm back. And as the new majority shareholder of his company, I'm here to make him pay for every last sin.

Chapter 1

Jillian POV

After eight years in a marriage that felt more like a business arrangement, I watched my husband, Damian, ignore my screams as a fire raged, rushing past me to save another woman.

That moment was the end of everything. It was the end of the carefully constructed world I had lived in, the one where I believed my husband suffered from a deep, crippling trauma that explained his coldness. It was the painful echo of a thousand nights I had spent alone, convincing myself that his distance wasn't personal, that it was just him. I had told myself he simply didn't know how to love, that his childhood had stripped him of that capacity, and I, Jillian Castillo, was patient enough to wait for him to heal.

I never pushed him, never demanded more than he was willing to give. Our physical intimacy had died years ago, a casualty I'd blamed on his supposed inability to connect. I thought I was understanding. I thought I was devoted. I thought I was the one person who truly saw him, truly understood his silent battles. I would leave little notes for him, reminding him of small joys, of shared moments, hoping to chip away at the walls he' d built around himself. I even secretly consulted therapists, reading every book I could find on trauma and attachment, trying to find a way to reach him. Every single day, I woke up believing that with enough love, enough time, he would eventually open up to me.

Tonight was a corporate gala, a dazzling affair of old money and new tech, just like Damian and our arranged marriage. The ballroom shimmered with crystal and silk until the fire alarms shrieked, slicing through the polite hum of conversation. Chaos erupted. People rushed for the exits, their elegant composure shattering into primal fear. Then came the first explosion, a deafening roar that sent a wave of heat through the room. A chandelier plummeted, glass raining down around us. That's when I saw him.

Damian was not running towards me. He was tearing through the crowd, his eyes wild with an emotion I had never seen directed at me. Panic. Raw, frantic panic. I tried to call his name, but my voice was lost in the cacophony. He shoved past a security guard, practically tackling him, his gaze fixed on something, or someone, deeper inside the inferno. He barked orders, his voice hoarse, desperate. He was reaching for someone, pushing himself into the most dangerous part of the burning room.

My heart twisted, a sharp, physical pain in my chest. I had never seen him so emotional, so utterly consumed. For a fleeting second, I thought, He's coming for me. But that hope died as quickly as it ignited. I saw him reach a figure huddled near a collapsed pillar. Aida. Aida Reyes, the widow of his late best friend and business partner.

He pulled her into his arms, his face buried in her hair, whispering words I couldn't hear over the roaring blaze, but the tenderness in his posture, the fierce protection in his embrace, spoke volumes. It was a tenderness he had never shown me. Not on our wedding night, when he had coldly pushed me away, presenting a prenuptial agreement that dictated every aspect of our lives, right down to separate bedrooms. Not in eight years of shared meals and polite conversations, where he maintained a rigid two-foot distance between us, a boundary that felt more like an invisible wall. Not once in all those years did I feel the warmth of his genuine affection, the searing passion I just saw him display for her.

The full weight of his lie hit me like a physical blow. He wasn't incapable of love. He just wasn't capable of loving me. The pain was so sharp, so sudden, it stole my breath. I sagged against a wall, my legs weak, tears streaming down my face, blurring the already smoke-filled room.

Then came another blast, closer this time, throwing me to the ground. A sharp, agonizing pain erupted in my leg. I cried out, my voice raw with terror and betrayal. "Damian! Help me!"

He paused, just for a split second. His head turned, his eyes flickered in my direction, a flicker of something unreadable in their depths. My breath hitched. Hope, a foolish, desperate little thing, flared in my chest. Maybe he would come back. Maybe.

But then Aida, nestled in his arms, whimpered, a soft, fearful sound. Damian's head snapped back to her. His grip on her tightened, his eyes refocusing entirely on her safety. He didn't spare me another glance. He turned and ran, carrying her in his arms, disappearing into the swirling smoke.

My vision blurred. The pain in my leg was nothing compared to the agony in my chest. He had seen me. He had heard me. And he had chosen her. Again. Over and over again, he had chosen her.

Everything went black.

When I woke up, the acrid smell of antiseptic replaced the smoke. My leg throbbed, a dull, constant ache. The first thing I did was reach for my phone, my fingers fumbling. I needed Hildegarde. Damian's grandmother. She was the only one who had ever truly cared for me in that cold, gilded cage of a family. I didn' t want him to get in trouble. Even then, after everything, a part of me, a deeply wounded, foolish part, still worried about him.

The door burst open, and Hildegarde stormed in, her face etched with fury, a heavy cane clutched in her hand. "Damian Ramsey!" she roared.

Damian stood rigidly in the corner, his arm in a sling, his face impassive. He didn't flinch when Hildegarde' s cane struck his good arm, a sharp, resounding thwack.

"How dare you!" she raged, her voice trembling with anger. "How dare you abandon your wife? Your wife! For that... that serpent!"

Damian' s jaw tightened. He didn' t look at me. "She needed me more," he said, his voice flat, devoid of emotion.

Hildegarde scoffed. "Aida Reyes? That manipulative little schemer? She needs a heavy dose of reality, not your pathetic protection!" She turned her furious gaze on him. "You will stay away from her, do you hear me? She is nothing but trouble. And the minute your arm is healed, you will go back to Jillian and make amends. You will fix this marriage!"

Damian finally looked up, his eyes meeting Hildegarde' s, then sweeping over me. There was no apology, no remorse. Just a cold, hard resolve. "No," he said, his voice a low growl. "I won't. I can't. I never loved Jillian. I married her because you forced me. Because of some ridiculous promise to her grandfather."

My breath caught in my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing the ground would swallow me whole. The air left my lungs in a sharp gasp. It wasn't the pain from my injured leg, but a far deeper wound. He had just said it. Out loud. His secret, laid bare.

Hildegarde gasped, her face turning ashen. "You... you always said it was your trauma, your past. You lied!"

Damian remained silent, his gaze unwavering, confirming everything with his terrifying admission. It wasn't trauma. It was Aida. He wasn't broken. He just didn't love me. He never had.

The realization hit me with the force of a tidal wave, washing away eight years of self-deception, eight years of patiently waiting for a love that was never mine to begin with. I always thought Aida was just a grieving widow, a friend who needed support. I even felt pity for her, sometimes. Now, I saw her for what she truly was. A predator. And Damian, my husband, was her willing accomplice.

My stomach churned. A wave of nausea swept over me, and I barely made it to the bathroom before violently throwing up. I knelt on the cold tile floor, clutching my stomach, tears mixing with bile. He never loved me. He never loved me. The words echoed in my head, a cruel, relentless mantra.

I wiped my mouth, my hands shaking. Hildegarde had left, disgusted. My gaze fell upon my reflection in the mirror-a pale, bruised woman, her eyes hollow, stripped bare of all illusions. My leg was in a brace, but the real injury was invisible, carved deep into my soul. I stared at my reflection, a stranger looking back.

I slowly pulled myself up, leaning heavily on the counter. The phone was still in my hand. I clutched it, my knuckles white. There was only one thing left to do.

I limped back into the room, my resolve hardening with every painful step. The air still felt thick with Damian' s betrayal. I saw Hildegarde, about to leave.

"Hildegarde," I rasped, my voice barely a whisper, but firm. "Please. Don't go."

She turned, her eyes full of weariness and pity. "Jillian, my dear, what is it?"

I took a deep breath, the decision solidifying in my mind. "I want a divorce."