The crisp parchment felt cold in my hand, a stark contrast to the burning rage and grief twisting in my gut. I stared at Blake' s elegant signature, a grotesque reminder of how easily he could sign away a life, even mine. This paper, once a cruel joke, was now my only weapon. My fingers tightened around it.

I walked to my study, the room where I had once found solace, now just another gilded cage. My art supplies lay untouched, a silent accusation of the dreams Blake had systematically crushed. I had to leave. Not just the house, not just Blake, but this entire city, this entire life built on lies. I would disappear, a ghost fading into the background, leaving him with his prophecy and his perfect, fabricated family.

As I began to mindlessly pack a small bag, my eyes fell on my phone. Its screen lit up with a notification. It was Blake' s social media. A new post. My finger, against my better judgment, tapped the icon.

There they were. Blake, beaming, arm around a radiant Chyna, who held one of the twin boys. The caption read: "Our family's future, finally complete. Blessed by the universe." Beneath it, a flurry of congratulatory comments. "So happy for you, Blake!" "Chyna looks incredible!" "Those boys are adorable!" The sheer, unadulterated happiness of the image, the public celebration of their deceit, hit me with a fresh wave of nausea.

My vision blurred, the phone slipping from my grasp. I felt a wave of dizziness, the room spinning around me. They were perfect. They were happy. And I was... I was just the discarded prop.

A sudden click downstairs shattered the silence, followed by the familiar sound of Blake's heavy footsteps. He was home. My heart leaped into my throat, a primal fear seizing me. I hadn't heard him come in. Had he seen me? Had he seen the divorce papers?

He strode into the study, his eyes immediately falling on my half-packed suitcase and the open social media page on my phone. His brow furrowed. "What are you doing, Amelia?" His voice was calm, but the undertone was one of cool displeasure.

I instinctively clutched the blank divorce agreement tighter behind my back. My voice was a shaky whisper. "I'm packing. I'm leaving."

He scoffed, his gaze sweeping over my humble belongings, the few personal items I had dared to call my own in his opulent world. "Leaving? With these trinkets? You think you can just walk out of here, Amelia?" His eyes lingered on a small, hand-carved wooden bird, a gift from my mother. "Honestly, I've always wondered why you cling to such... sentimental clutter."

His words, yet again, felt like a deliberate, calculated insult. My mother' s bird, a symbol of her love, was "clutter" to him. My throat tightened, the sting of tears threatening to overwhelm me. How could I have ever loved this man? How could I have been so blind? My possessions, each imbued with meaning, were worthless in his eyes, just as I was.

Suddenly, a soft cry echoed from the hallway. A baby. My breath hitched. Chyna must be here.

Blake's face instantly softened. He turned away from me, his irritation melting into a doting smile as Chyna appeared in the doorway, cradling one of the twins. "My little prince," he cooed, reaching for the infant. "What's wrong, my little man?"

He didn't even look back at me. I stood there, invisible, a ghost in my own home, watching as he showered Chyna and the baby with the affection I had once craved, the affection he had so expertly faked. The scene was sickeningly domestic, a cruel charade played out just for me.

My hands clenched into fists, the last vestiges of my self-control fraying. "What do you want, Blake?" My voice was barely audible, trembling with a mixture of despair and defiance. "What is this? Are you trying to torture me?"

He finally turned, his gaze dismissive. "Torture? Don't be melodramatic, Amelia. This is simply how things are now. Chyna and the boys will be moving in. Permanently." He gestured vaguely around the vast room. "This house is big enough for all of us."

My jaw dropped. He expected me to live here, under the same roof, watching him play happy family with another woman and children I should have had? "You expect me to stand by and watch you raise children with her? After what you did?"

He sighed, his patience visibly wearing thin. "Amelia, we can make this work. The guru has foreseen it. You can be a wonderful influence on the boys. An aunt figure, perhaps. Or even..." He paused, a strange, calculating glint in his eye. "We could adopt the twins together. Think of the stability it would offer."

My blood ran cold. Adopt his sons, born from his lie, mothered by the woman who had helped betray me? The sheer audacity, the warped logic, was breathtaking.

Chyna, ever the opportunist, stepped forward, her smile saccharine. "Oh, Amelia, I'm Chyna, though I'm sure you remember me. And these are our beautiful boys, Phoenix and Orion."

Phoenix. Orion.

My world tilted. Those were the names. The names I had whispered to Blake in the quiet intimacy of our bed, the names I had chosen for our children, the children he had deliberately destroyed. He had given my names to their sons.

A guttural cry tore from my throat. "No! Get them away from me!" I stumbled back, shaking my head violently. "I will not adopt them! I will not be a part of this grotesque farce! You gave my names to them!"

Blake's face hardened. "Amelia, enough. Your irrationality is disturbing. This is a spiritual matter, a divine alignment. You will accept it." He took a step towards me, his presence suddenly menacing. "You are my wife, Amelia. You will remain my wife. The guru forbids divorce. It would disrupt the cosmic balance, bring ill fortune upon my house."

The cosmic balance? Ill fortune? It wasn't about spirituality. It was about public image, about the scandal a divorce would cause to his carefully curated life, to his family's pristine reputation. I saw it then, laid bare: his utter selfishness, his cold calculation, cloaked in the guise of spiritual righteousness.

My body swayed, my knees almost buckling. I felt as if I were falling into a bottomless pit. Blake, seeing my physical distress, merely nodded towards Chyna, who swiftly retreated with the babies. He then turned to the door, his voice echoing with chilling finality. "Amelia, you will move your belongings to the guest room on the third floor. Chyna and the boys will, of course, need the master suite."

Chapter 2

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