Chapter 1 The Divorce Papers

Three Years Ago

The sound of Elena's laughter drifts down the marble hallway like poison in my veins.

I stand frozen outside Leon's home office, my hand hovering over the brass doorknob that I've turned a thousand times before. But this time is different. This time, I know what I'll find on the other side.

Don't do it, Aria. Just walk away.

But I can't. My feet are rooted to the Persian rug, the same one Leon and I picked out during our second month of marriage when I still believed in fairy tales and happy endings.

Elena's voice carries through the thick oak door. "You should just tell her, Leon. This charade is getting ridiculous."

My breath catches in my throat.

"It's complicated," Leon's deep voice responds, and I can picture him running his hands through his dark hair the way he does when he's frustrated. "Aria isn't like other women. She's... sensitive."

Sensitive. The word hits me like a slap.

"She's naive, you mean." Elena's tone is sharp, cutting. "A pretty little socialite who got lucky marrying above her station. She has no idea what the real world is like."

I press my palm against my chest, trying to calm the wild beating of my heart. If only she knew. If only they both knew.

"Elena." Leon's voice carries a warning, but it's gentle. Protective. The way he used to speak about me.

"Don't 'Elena' me. We both know you only married her because Victoria insisted you needed a wife for appearances. But appearances don't warm your bed, do they?"

The silence that follows is deafening.

I should leave. Walk away. Pretend I never heard any of this. But my hand moves of its own accord, turning the knob slowly, silently. The door opens just a crack.

Leon sits behind his massive mahogany desk, but he's not alone. Elena Kozlov stands behind his chair, her manicured fingers trailing across his shoulders. She's beautiful in that sharp, predatory way that makes other women feel small. Her blonde hair catches the afternoon sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and her red lips curve in a satisfied smile.

Leon doesn't pull away from her touch.

"We could go away together," Elena murmurs, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "Prague. Monaco. Anywhere but here, playing house with your little wife."

"She's pregnant, Elena."

The words hit me like ice water.

He knows.

I've been trying to find the right moment to tell him for weeks, practicing the words in front of my bathroom mirror every morning. But he already knows.

"All the more reason to end this now," Elena says, her voice hardening. "Before it gets more complicated."

"It's already complicated." Leon sighs, finally leaning back in his chair. "Aria's not going anywhere. She loves me."

The way he says it, like it's a burden rather than a gift, makes something inside me crack.

Elena laughs, cold and sharp. "Love. How quaint. Does she know about us?"

"Of course not. She sees what she wants to see."

What she wants to see.

I close my eyes, remembering all the late nights he claimed he was working. All the business trips seemed to coincide with Elena's mysterious absences from their shared projects. All the times I felt like I was losing my mind, sensing something was wrong but being told I was imagining things.

I wasn't imagining anything.

My hand moves to my still-flat stomach, protecting the life growing inside me. A life that Leon discusses like it's an inconvenience.

"She's going to want to play happy family," Elena continues, her fingers now tracing patterns on Leon's chest. "Suburban house, dinner parties, all that domestic nonsense. Is that really what you want?"

Leon's silence stretches between them like a chasm.

I have my answer.

Two hours later, I sit in my car outside the law offices of Morrison, Chen & Associates, staring at the elegant brass nameplate through the tinted windows.

My hands shake as I grip the steering wheel.

You don't have to do this. You could go home, pretend nothing happened. Fight for him.

But fight for what? A man who discusses my pregnancy like it's a business problem to be solved? A man who lets another woman plan our future dissolution?

My phone buzzes. A text from Leon.

Working late again tonight. Don't wait up.

I almost laugh. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was cruel irony. But Leon isn't cruel. He's just... absent. Emotionally unavailable. Already gone.

The law office lobby smells like expensive leather and fresh flowers. Everything is designed to be soothing, but my nerves feel raw and exposed.

"Mrs. Hart?" The receptionist's voice is gentle, professional. "Mr. Morrison is ready to see you."

James Morrison is younger than I expected, maybe mid-thirties, with kind eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. He gestures to the chair across from his desk.

"What can I help you with today, Mrs. Hart?"

The words stick in my throat. Once I say them out loud, there's no taking them back.

"I want a divorce."

He doesn't react with surprise or judgment. Just reaches for a legal pad and clicks his pen.

"Can you tell me about the circumstances leading to this decision?"

"He's having an affair." The words came out flat, emotionless. "With his business partner. I overheard them discussing... discussing our marriage like it was a failed business venture."

Mr. Morrison's pen moves across the paper. "I'm sorry you're going through this. How long have you been married?"

"Two years." It feels like a lifetime and no time at all.

"Any children?"

I place my hand over my stomach. "I'm pregnant. Eight weeks."

He looks up from his notes, his expression softening. "Does your husband know?"

"Yes." My voice cracks on the word. "He knows, and he... he discussed it with her like it was a problem to be managed."

Mr. Morrison sets down his pen. "Mrs. Hart, I have to ask, are you sure this is what you want? Sometimes couples counseling"

"No." The word comes out sharper than I intended. "I'm sure."

Because I am. Sitting here, saying the words out loud, I feel something I haven't felt in months.

Relief.

"I'll need to ask about assets, property, any prenuptial agreements..."

I half-listen as he explains the process. Community property, custody arrangements, and spousal support. The legal dismantling of what I thought was love.

"I don't want anything," I interrupt.

Mr. Morrison blinks. "I'm sorry?"

"I don't want his money. I don't want alimony. I don't want to fight over assets." I lean forward, my voice gaining strength. "I just want out."

"Mrs. Hart, with all due respect, you're entitled to"

"I don't want to be entitled to anything from him."

The words ring with a finality that surprises even me.

We spend another hour going over details, paperwork, and timelines. By the time I walk back to my car, the sun is setting over Manhattan, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold.

My phone has three missed calls from Leon and two text messages.

Where are you? Your car isn't in the garage.

Aria, call me back. I'm worried.

I stare at the messages for a long moment, then delete them both.

The penthouse is dark when I get home. Leon's Mercedes isn't in the garage, which means he's still "working late" with Elena.

Good. I need time to think.

I walk through our home, his home, really seeing it with new eyes. The minimalist furniture he chose. The stark white walls I always found cold but never had the courage to say so. The complete absence of anything that feels like me.

When did I become so small in my own life?

In our bedroom, I pull a suitcase from the walk-in closet. Not the matching Louis Vuitton set Leon bought me for our honeymoon, but the old canvas bag I brought with me when we first moved in together. It feels like finding an old friend.

I pack carefully. Clothes, yes, but also the things that matter. The photo of my parents tucked in my jewelry box. The dog-eared copy of Pride and Prejudice I've read a hundred times. The positive pregnancy test I took last week, hidden in my bathroom drawer like a secret.

Everything fits in one bag.

How did my entire life become so small?

I sit on the edge of the bed we share, shared, and write a letter. Not an explanation or a justification. Just the truth.

Leon,

By the time you read this, the papers will have been filed. I know about Elena. I've known for a while.

I'm not angry. I'm just tired.

You'll receive the divorce papers in a few days. I don't want anything except sole custody of our child. I won't make this difficult for you.

I hope you find what you're looking for.

Aria

I leave the letter on his pillow and take one last look around the room.

Two years of marriage, reduced to a single suitcase and a three-paragraph note.

My phone buzzes again. Leon calling.

This time, I turn it off.

"Another round, ladies?" The bartender at the Four Seasons gestures to the nearly empty bottle of champagne chilling in the ice bucket.

Victoria Sterling, my former best friend, raises her glass with a laugh that's too loud and too sharp. "Absolutely. We're celebrating, after all."

Amanda Cross leans back in her chair, surveying the crowded restaurant with satisfaction. "I still can't believe she actually did it. Aria Hart, filing for divorce. Who saw that coming?"

"I did," Victoria says smugly. "The girl always was too soft for Leon. Too... ordinary."

"Ordinary is generous," Amanda replies. "She was a waitress when Leon met her. A waitress! At that little café near his office."

They dissolve into giggles, and I feel sick listening to them from the table nearby.

"How long do we think it'll take before she comes crawling back?" Another voice joins the conversation, Catherine Liu, Leon's sister.

"Three days," Victoria declares. "Five at most. She has no money, no skills, no family. Where's she going to go?"

"Should we start a pool?" Amanda's eyes light up with malicious glee.

"Oh, we absolutely should." Catherine pulls out her phone. "I'll text everyone. Twenty dollars to enter, winner takes all."

"I'll take three days," Victoria says immediately.

"Two days," Amanda counters.

"One week," Catherine adds. "She's stubborn enough to try to make a point first."

They clink glasses, celebrating my predicted downfall like it's entertainment.

If only they knew.

But they don't know. None of them do.

They don't know about the skills I've hidden for two years. They don't know about the woman I was before I became Leon's wife. They don't know that playing helpless and ordinary was the hardest role I've ever had to maintain.

They think I'm running away.

They have no idea I'm finally free to be who I really am.

I finish my wine and leave cash on the table, slipping out of the restaurant before they notice me.

Let them have their betting pool.

Let them assume I'll be back, broken and begging.

In three years, when I return to this city, they'll learn the most expensive lesson of their lives:

Never underestimate a woman who's been underestimated her entire marriage.

The game is just beginning.