Chapter 1 The Day She Broke

David.

A name who once caused butterflies in her belly felt like thorns struck into her heart.

The only sound in the room was the soft clink of cutlery.

The lights above flickered with a warm glow, casting long shadows across the table set for two. Alina sat alone at the dinner table, fingers nervously smoothing the tip of her glass cup.

One plate untouched. One candle burning low. One heart breaking quietly.

The wine glass stood untouched.

The food had gone cold. And Alina sat at the edge of the dining table, still in the red dress he once said made her look like temptation.

David was late. Again.

It wasn't his first time but today meant a lot to them, it seems it meant a lot to one than the other.

Her phone buzzed, and her heart jumped.

David: Caught up in something, don't wait for me.

That was it. No apology. No heart. No "Happy Anniversary."

It was their third wedding anniversary.

And she was alone.

Again.

The silence in the house was thick, like a fog that wouldn't lift. Her eyes stayed fixed on the front door, as though sheer willpower could summon David through it even while told not to wait for him, she couldn't help herself.

Each tick of the clock felt like a hot slap across her soul that she was willing to endure.

He'll come, she told herself. He always does...eventually.

But deep down, she already knew.

He wasn't coming.

Alina checked her phone for the fifth time in the last three minutes hoping to see any other message from him.

Her hand trembled as she picked up the phone again and texted:

"Happy Anniversary Love"

In hope it'd cause him to remember if he had forgotten it was their big day.

She waited. Ten minutes passed. Then fifteen.

The screen lit up with a single message:

"Don't disturb me woman, l told you I'm busy"

The dam broke.

Tears spilled without warning, hot and angry, trailing over her carefully applied makeup like shame. She'd spent hours trying to be beautiful for him tonight, worn the dress he once said made him want to devour her, cooked the meal he used to beg for.

And still, she wasn't enough.

That night she thought she could save her husband's heart and have his child.

Tracking her cycle and learning it's on the same day as her big day made her heart flush.

But everything washed down as the rain that fell outside.

She curled her arms around herself at the head of the table, alone under the romantic chandelier.

Three years ago today, she had walked down an aisle believing she was stepping into forever.

Now, she was in a cold house, wearing a red dress that made no difference, waiting for a man who had already emotionally left her months ago.

Was it always this empty? Or had she been too in love to notice?

...

The front door creaked open a little past midnight.

Alina looked up from her place on the couch, her eyes puffy and rimmed with dried mascara. Her heart thudded in her chest, a strange cocktail of hope and dread swirling in her veins.

David stepped inside, his face half-covered in the shadow. Rain clung to his coat, but there was no urgency in his stride. No apology in his expression.

"Finally," she breathed, standing to meet him. "I've been waiting for hours."

He didn't look at her.

Barely glanced at the untouched dinner table.

Didn't ask why her eyes were red. He just pulled a thin envelope from his coat pocket and set it on the glass coffee table like he was handing over a receipt.

Alina blinked. "What's that?"

"Read it," he said flatly, stepping back like the conversation was already over.

She slowly opened the envelope with trembling fingers. Her heart beat louder with every second. The moment her eyes landed on the header, she froze.

DIVORCE PETITION.

Her hands shook. "You're divorcing me?"

David exhaled like she was being too dramatic. "I don't want to do this tonight."

"Too bad, David, because you already did."

He rolled his eyes, loosening his tie with the same casual indifference he used on their second anniversary when he forgot her gift. "I'm tired, Alina."

"Tired?" she echoed, voice rising. "You're tired? I planned this night for us. I waited here, in that red dress you used to love, with your favorite wine, your favorite food and you couldn't even send more than "caught up in something, don't wait for me?"

"You're making this harder than it has to be."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Should I thank you for waiting until after dessert to throw my life away?"

His jaw tightened. "We haven't been working for a long time."

"You haven't been trying for a long time," she snapped. "You don't talk to me anymore, you don't even look at me. Am I not beautiful enough? You sleep in the guest room. You come home late and lie about where you've been!"

"I don't need to explain myself to you," David snapped, his calm mask cracking for just a second.

That one sentence, those words stabbed deeper than any silence ever could.

"You don't need to explain yourself?" she repeated, stunned. "I'm your wife!"

"Not for much longer."

The room went still.

The air suddenly felt cold but heat rushed down Alina's spine.

Alina felt her breath catch in her throat. Like something inside her chest had just been ripped out by hand.

She stepped toward him. "There's someone else."

He didn't answer.

She laughed bitterly, tears threatening to fall again. "Of course there is. Is it her? Your precious Sofia? The one you said you barely talk to? The one l was told "not to worry about"?

His silence was an answer.

"You're a coward," she hissed.

David's eyes snapped to hers, cold and sharp. "Watch your mouth."

"No, I won't. Not anymore. I watched myself for three years. I stayed quiet, obeyed, smiled at everything while you ignored me. I gave everything I had to a marriage you were already halfway out the door from."

"You're overreacting."

That was the final straw.

Alina picked up the divorce papers and threw them back at his chest. "You don't get to gaslight me after destroying my heart."

"They're already signed. Just sign yours and file them."

She stared at him in disbelief. "You already signed them?"

His shrug was casual, heartless. "It's just a formality now."

That's when her voice broke. "Did you ever love me, David?"

A pause. Then:

"I think I loved the idea of you. But you're not her, you could never fill the void she left."

Alina recoiled like he had slapped her.

Her throat dried and closed. Her heart shattered into a billion pieces.

There it was.

The truth, the truth she had always turned away from.

He never loved her. Not really.

She couldn't stay in that room another second.

"Go to hell!," she yelled. "And take your lies with you."

He said nothing.

Did nothing.

Just stood there like she was no longer his problem.

Her heels clicked like gunshots across the marble floor as she grabbed her coat, her bag, and her pride.

Then she slammed the door behind her shaking the very walls of the mansion she once called home.

...

The cold air slapped her face as she stepped outside, but it couldn't numb the burn inside her chest.

Alina walked blindly, the chill eating deep into her bones, but she didn't care. She needed to breathe, needed to feel something other than betrayal or heartbreak.

The glittering nightlife of downtown buzzed in her ears like static. Neon lights flickered on wet pavement, and loud music throbbed from the line of clubs that pulsed with bodies escaping their own realities.

That's exactly what she needed.

She didn't remember hailing the cab.

Didn't remember what she said when the driver asked, "Where to?"

But she remembered walking into Club Halo, the blur of light, sound, and heat swallowing her whole.

The bass thundered like a second heartbeat as Alina pushed past the crowd. Inside, bodies moved like smoke. No one looked. No one asked questions. It was the perfect place to disappear.

She ordered something strong and unfamiliar at the bar, downed it too fast, then asked for another. The burn didn't stop the ache in her chest but it blurred the edges. Just enough.

She was on her third drink when a deep voice broke through the haze.

"You look like you're trying to forget something."

Alina turned slowly, glass in hand.

He stood tall, dressed in black, with eyes like storm clouds, calm, but dangerous. His presence wrapped around her like heat, slow and deliberate. Not the kind of man you meet by accident.

"And what if I am?" she said, her voice hoarse.

He gave a ghost of a smile. "Then maybe I can help."

Alina studied him.

He wasn't flirty. Wasn't pushy. Just... still.

A man used to being obeyed. But not tonight.

Tonight, she didn't want control.

She wanted escape.

From David, from the lies, from herself.

She tipped her head. "Then help me forget."

The man held out his hand.

She didn't even ask his name.

He didn't ask hers.

They left together, past the flashing lights, past the stares, past the judgment.

...

The Morning After

Sunlight leaked in through the sheer curtains.

Alina's head pounded. Her throat was dry. Her limbs were tangled in silk sheets that didn't belong to her.

She blinked blearily, sitting up slowly.

This isn't my bed.

She looked around.

It was a luxury suite, one that screamed wealth and power. There were fresh lilies in a vase by the bed, a tray of breakfast untouched on the table, and a folded robe on the nearby chair.

The man... was gone.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Hello?" she called.

Silence.

She scrambled out of bed, wrapped herself in the robe, and searched the suite. No note. No number. Nothing.

Her stomach twisted as she spotted her dress neatly folded, her heels set beside it.

Was this planned?

She rushed to the front desk on shaky legs, the receptionist smiling politely as she approached.

"Excuse me... who paid for the room?"

The woman tapped on the computer. "It was prepaid by Mr. Black."

"Mr. Black?" Alina echoed. "No first name?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am. That's all we have on file."

Alina stepped back, the nausea rising.

Who was he?

She left the hotel still dazed. She couldn't really remember a lot from yesterday as she was far gone but his voice, something about his voice felt tender yet cold and it kept replaying as she made her way to her room.

She didn't even know his name.

...

Home was no longer home

She slipped into the house like a thief, half-hoping David wouldn't be there.

But he was.

He stood in the living room, hands in his pockets, jaw clenched. "Where the hell were you?"

Alina froze.

"You don't get to ask me that," she said tightly.

"I'm still your husband."

Alina rolled her eyes and scoffed, "my husband? You stopped being that a long time ago".

His eyes narrowed. "You spent the night with someone."

She didn't answer.

That silence was her rebellion. Her only power.

Damien stepped closer, furious. "Who was he?"

she spat,"Isn't that poetic? You destroy our marriage while l find comfort in somebody else."

"It's a win win for everybody".

"You're unbelievable," he growled.

"No," she snapped. "I just finally stopped being your doormat."

He took a step back, like her words slapped him.

She didn't wait for a fight. She walked past him, head high, even though her heart was in ruins.

...

The most unthinkable thing happened

It's been two weeks since that night.

The naumeantit again.

Alina dropped the brush she was holding and bolted for the bathroom.

Not again.

She stared at the test on the counter, her hands trembling.

Positive.

Her world tilted.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no..."

She stumbled to her feet, staring at her reflection.

Tears rolled silently.

She was pregnant.

Not with David child. They haven't been intimate for a year.

But for the stranger.

The man she didn't know.

The man who vanished.

Her lips trembled. Her chest ached.

This was the last thing she ever expected.

But the tiny spark growing inside her, this was real.

And it was hers.

No matter what David said.

No matter what the world thought.

She pressed her hand to her stomach, breath shaky.

Everything was about to change.

That night she made her choice. She packed everything that belonged to her.

Took the divorce papers, signed it. After signing it, threw it on the bed.

David wasn't home that night. It was the perfect escape.