Chapter 2 He Never Loved You

The anger had not fully faded. Her confrontation with Marcus had left her deeply shaken, yet Alicia knew there was still someone she had to face.

Viviana.

Her closest friend.

The woman she had trusted without doubt.

The same woman who had taken everything from her in a matter of moments.

Alicia felt her hands tremble as she drove. No tears came. She could not cry anymore. She had crossed the line where pain stopped hurting and turned into emptiness.

She knew exactly where Viviana was.

Her friend lived only a short distance away. As soon as Alicia reached the apartment, she got out of the car at once and headed straight for the door. She knocked against it with force, unconcerned about who else might hear the noise.

"Viviana, open the door!"

Only tense silence answered her.

Alicia knocked again, harder this time.

"I know you're in there. Don't try to hide, Viviana!"

After a brief pause, the door slowly opened, revealing the woman who had once been her best friend.

Viviana looked immaculate.

She was dressed in a champagne-colored silk outfit, her hair pulled into a high ponytail, red lips curved into a faint smile.

As if nothing had happened.

As if she had not shattered Alicia's life less than an hour earlier.

"Well, well..." Viviana murmured, leaning casually against the doorframe. "What a surprise to see you here, darling."

A lump formed in Alicia's throat.

Viviana did not look embarrassed at all.

She did not even attempt to hide it.

"How could you?" Alicia asked, her voice cracked yet burning with anger. "How could you do this to me, Viviana?"

Viviana folded her arms, studying her with clear amusement.

"I knew you'd show up," she replied lightly. "I just didn't expect you to be this predictable. So, are you here for answers?"

Alicia felt her legs shake, but she stayed where she was.

"How long?" she whispered.

Viviana tilted her head slightly.

"How long what?"

"Don't play dumb!" Alicia shouted, her breathing speeding up. "How long have you been sleeping with Marcus?"

Viviana's silence was the cruelest answer of all.

At last, she sighed and placed one hand on her hip.

"Since the night of your engagement," she said calmly. "The first time didn't happen because of your nephew's birth, but that same night I had already stolen a kiss. The next time we chose, we slept together like never before, and it continued every day after that."

The air rushed out of Alicia's lungs.

"No..." she whispered, shaking her head.

Viviana, however, was not done.

"That night, while everyone was celebrating your happiness, Marcus and I met in the hotel room," she continued, her voice sharpening as though she relished every word. "It was unforgettable."

A wave of nausea tightened Alicia's throat.

"You're lying..."

Viviana laughed softly, full of mockery.

"Am I?" she asked. "Do you still doubt it after the video?" She tilted her head, triumph clear on her face. "Poor Alicia. Always living in your little bubble, believing Marcus truly loved you."

Alicia's eyes burned with tears, but she refused to let them fall.

"He... chose me."

Viviana let out another laugh.

"No, dear. He was forced to choose you," she replied coldly. "His family made him play the role of the devoted lover."

Alicia felt something inside her give way, breaking apart with a sharp, painful snap.

"What are you talking about?"

Viviana's lips curved into a cruel smile.

"Marcus never had a choice, Alicia," she said coolly. "He never loved you. He agreed to everything because it was expected of him, not because he wanted it. His family cornered him and made the choice for him. Everyone understands what it means to be the heiress, the daughter of Alessandro Hampton, Paige Hampton's child, and Aaron Hampton's sister."

Alicia felt her throat tighten.

"That... that isn't true. His family couldn't have forced him."

But Viviana did not slow down.

"I was the only one he truly wanted," she replied. "The only one he looked for when he left you alone at home after his business trips."

Alicia struggled to breathe.

"No..."

"And there's more."

Viviana paused, clearly enjoying the moment.

"I got pregnant by him," she said. "Twice."

Alicia felt as if her heart had stopped beating.

"You're lying..."

Viviana shook her head slowly.

"Why do you think I disappeared for months?" Viviana whispered, her voice dripping with venom. "I lost two babies Marcus wanted... Babies he wanted to have with me."

Alicia's legs buckled for a brief second.

She reached for the wall, gripping it as though the ground beneath her were collapsing.

Viviana watched her with clear superiority.

"You may be the Hampton heiress, yes, but that meant nothing to Marcus," she said coldly. "To his family, it mattered. To him, it didn't. I was the woman he truly loved." Her smile sharpened. "The one he truly desired. That's why he never touched you. Why he never claimed you."

Something inside Alicia dimmed.

Her confidence.

Her dignity.

Her sense of worth.

Viviana's lips curled with satisfaction.

"Look at you," she mocked. "You're broken, Alicia. How pathetic. You're nobody, and you'll never be anyone." Her words struck without mercy. "Any man who comes near you will grow bored. You're a prude. The kind who waits for a wedding night to give herself away. You think purity matters. It doesn't." She laughed softly. "Men would only see it as a challenge, just to throw you away afterward." Her gaze turned cruel. "You know what? I would have loved for you to marry Marcus. I used to fantasize about sleeping with him in your bed, in your bathroom, on your couch, on everything you thought was yours."

Alicia breathed hard, her chest rising and falling violently.

Every word Viviana spoke tore her apart far more deeply than she had believed possible.

She wanted to answer. She wanted to scream that it was all lies.

But...

What could she possibly say?

Marcus had betrayed her.

And Viviana had just finished destroying her with the truth.

Without another word, Alicia spun around and left the apartment. As she stepped out, the tension she had been holding back finally surfaced, and her body trembled despite her efforts to steady herself.

By the time she reached her car, her hands could barely hold the steering wheel.

Her lips parted as she struggled to breathe, but the sob caught in her chest refused to come out.

Everything had been a lie.

Marcus had never loved her.

And Viviana... Viviana had held him in her grasp all along.

Alicia clenched her teeth as panic began to crowd her thoughts, and the weight of her situation pressed in on her until she could hardly breathe.

From that moment on, Alicia Michelle Hampton was no longer the person she had been before, and everything about her began to change in ways she had not imagined.