Chapter 2 You're One Ruthless Bastard

Michael murmured to Kaelyn, his tone smug and assured, "Don't worry. That fake bastard won't be smug much longer. As soon as Alicia's shares are in my hands, I'll make him crawl at your feet in the most degrading way imaginable."

Their hushed voices seeped through the closed door like shards of glass, each word landing with cruel precision.

The room seemed to tilt beneath Alicia's feet, a shrill buzzing flooding her head until every coherent thought abruptly shut down.

A month into her marriage, the man who had stayed by her side all this time had never been Michael at all!

Every kiss, every shared night in bed-she had been giving them to a complete stranger...

"Are you feeling unwell?" the man inquired, his tone tightening with worry. "You don't look right."

His hand lifted toward her forehead, and instinct screamed at Alicia to pull away, but the reminder that she was still pretending to be blind locked her in place.

Cool fingers settled against her skin with unexpected gentleness, sending a faint shiver through her.

Leaning in, the man studied her closely; the icy sharpness in his gaze softened just a fraction, even as an unmistakable air of authority continued to cling to him. "Baby?"

The soft call snapped Alicia back to the present, the question "Who are you?" pressing against her throat before she forced it back down.

Restraint came quickly, sharp and necessary. Acting impulsively now would only invite disaster.

Nothing about this man's background was clear to her yet.

Letting slip that her sight had returned would only tighten the trap around her.

Drawing a steady breath, Alicia smoothed her expression and willed her nerves into stillness. "Baby, I'm feeling a little tired," she remarked in a low voice. "I think I'd like to lie down for a bit."

"Alright," he replied at once. "I'll put your medicine on first."

He turned away and reached for a vial resting nearby.

Alicia curled her fingers into tight fists, nails biting into her palms.

Night after night since the wedding, "Michael" had personally applied medicine to her eyes, never missing a single evening.

A sudden, unsettling thought surfaced-had her vision returned because of him?

Yet the idea felt absurd. Kaelyn just called him a beggar. How could someone like him wield skills like that?

"All done," the man murmured in a gentle voice.

With deliberate care, he eased Alicia back onto the bed and drew the blanket up around her shoulders.

Leaning closer, he brushed a light, almost reverent kiss across her forehead. "I'll be in the study next door. If you need anything, just call out."

"Alright." Rolling onto her side, Alicia stilled her breathing.

Moments later, his footsteps faded, and the door closed with a muted click.

The instant silence settled, Alicia's eyes flew open. After confirming he was truly gone, she reached for her phone and dialed Eliza Fletcher, the chairwoman of Summit Technologies.

From the other end of the line came the sharp scrape of a chair being pushed back.

"Aurora! You finally decided to call," Eliza exclaimed, a note of surprise sharpening her voice. "So-are you ready to step back into the venture capital world?"

"That's right, Eliza," Alicia replied, a small smile curving her lips.

Under Eliza's command, Summit Technologies had risen to become one of the world's foremost AI powerhouses.

In those years, Alicia-operating under the name Aurora-had stood at the very top of the venture capital field, funneling staggering profits into Eliza's empire. They had been more than business allies; they had trusted each other as friends.

Marriage, however, had pulled Alicia away from everything, and even now she could still recall the naked disappointment in Eliza's voice when she chose to retire.

Her eyes darkened as her expression cooled. "Eliza, I need you to help me audit my assets and draft a divorce agreement."

After a brief hesitation, she continued quietly, "And I want you to find out... exactly who it is I'm married to."

Silence stretched on the line for a heartbeat. Then Eliza answered in a steady voice, "Alright."

Not long after, Alicia received a detailed breakdown of her current finances.

The numbers were brutal-on paper, her remaining assets amounted to less than ten dollars.

Following their marriage, Michael had quietly shifted her properties into Kaelyn's hands and was already arranging to strip away her remaining shares in the Gill Group.

"Michael, you're one ruthless bastard." Her fingers tightened around the phone until her knuckles went white, her body shaking despite her efforts to stay still.

For his sake, she had walked away from the investment world and poured all her energy into their home.

Now, that devotion had turned into a sharpened blade, slicing cleanly through her without mercy.

Sadness surged up her throat, and she bent forward, retching as tears flooded her eyes and blurred her vision.

What had once been profound love had curdled into searing pain-and then into pure, unrestrained rage.

After a steadying breath, Alicia forced herself to calm down.

Having once stood at the peak of the venture capital world, she knew all too well that if she wished, men far better than Michael would line up at her door.

That scumbag wasn't worth a second glance.

As for everything Michael and Kaelyn had done to her, she intended to collect that debt-with interest.

At the same time, Jared Nelson flipped through old photo albums, his gaze dark and contemplative as fragments of Alicia's recent, abnormal behavior surfaced in his mind.

After a moment, he reached for his phone and placed a call. "How's the investigation coming along?"

"Mr. Nelson, Mrs. Barton does have another identity-and uncovering it wasn't easy."

A slow arch lifted Jared's brow, interest sparking in his eyes. "Go on."

The assistant wavered, an unusual pause stretching out before he finally spoke. "She is... Aurora-the legendary top venture capitalist who once dominated the international financial world. And neither Michael nor the Gill family has any idea this identity exists."

Realization flickered through Jared's eyes in a sharp, focused glint.

He had known it-there was nothing ordinary about the woman who had caught his attention.

"Mr. Nelson," the assistant ventured cautiously, "why agree to pretend to be Alicia's husband? You've got better tools to deal with Michael."

A lethal chill settled over his gaze as Jared snapped, "Watch your mouth. She's not a tool against Michael!"

"Got it, Mr. Nelson."

With that, Jared cut the call and fell silent, his fingers tightening around the glass hairpin resting in his palm as his thoughts drifted.

In a twisted way, Alicia had once been the person who saved his life.

Years earlier, after his mother's sudden, brutal death, a single distress message Alicia sent to his aunt overseas had pulled him back from the edge of murder at the hands of his father's mistress, Emily Barton.

From that day on, he discarded the Powell surname he had been born with and took up his mother's maiden name, Nelson instead. Almost every remaining tie to the Powell family had been cut cleanly and without regret.

But Emily's son, Michael, who was nothing more than an illegitimate child with no right to the Powell name, still schemed to exploit Frank Powell, his grandfather, during his critical illness, trying to use the Gill family's power as a stepping stone for his own ambitions.

And on top of that, he had the audacity to treat Alicia that way!

The memory of Alicia being deceived and betrayed by Michael and Kaelyn flashed through Jared's mind-her unfocused eyes, her bloodless face-and a cold, murderous fury pooled in his darkened gaze.

Although Alicia no longer remembered who he was, his resolve to shield her never wavered.

A violent shudder tore through Jared's body as he pressed a trembling hand to his chest, the pain there sharp enough to steal his breath.

At that moment, a knock sounded against the door.

Forcing himself to steady his breathing, Jared gritted his teeth and said hoarsely before he finally collapsed, "Come in."

The door creaked open, and Alicia stepped inside, only to find Jared sprawled on the floor.