Billionaire Thane Wants Me Back

"Ma, are you still waiting for Mr. Thane?"

Leah, Mira's personal maid asked, her voice etched with concern.

She forced a smile, yet it was not enough to conceal the anger and frustration which clouded her chest.

"Yes. He will be back soon."

"I am sure he must be overwhelmed with work, satisfying clients may seem demanding most times" she defended.

"If you say so, Ma'am, I will be in the kitchen. Do you need anything else?" She asked.

"No, I will be fine." Mira assured her.

Leah hesitated, glancing at the untouched food before bowing and leaving the room.

The silence that followed Leah's exit seemed suffocating.

Mira glanced at the table one more time, her fingers tracing the rim of her wine glass.

She heaved a heavy sigh of relief as she stole a glance at the clock.

Today was her third wedding anniversary and she had prepared a candle-lit dinner for her husband.

Mira sighed, her gaze settling on the elegantly wrapped package sitting beside her plate. A navy-blue box, tied with a silver ribbon which was Thane's favorite colors.

Inside was a platinum wristwatch, custom-engraved with the words "Forever Yours, Thane".

She had spent weeks finding the perfect gift for him.

Beside the gift lay a handwritten letter, folded neatly inside a cream-colored envelope. She had poured her heart into that note, recalling their journey together, the promises, the dreams they once shared, and how, despite the growing distance between them, she still believed in their love.

She had arranged a bouquet of green and white roses in a crystal vase, the same flowers Thane had sent her on their first date.

The meal was just as carefully planned.

She had prepared his favorites:

Garlic-butter steak, cooked just the way he liked it coupled with truffle mashed potatoes, creamy and rich, seasoned to perfection.

A bottle of aged red wine sat in an ice bucket, waiting to be poured.

She had envisioned the evening a hundred times in her head. Thane would walk in, tired but smiling. He would notice the effort she had put in, pull her into his arms, and whisper how much he appreciated her. They would talk, laugh, reminisce, and just maybe, tonight would be the night they found their way back to each other.

But with every tick of the clock, her hope dimmed.

11:02 PM.

Her phone buzzed.

Mira reached for it eagerly, thinking it was Thane with an apology or an excuse or a message to reassure her that tonight wasn't another night spent waiting in vain.

Instead, a message from an unknown number flashed on her screen.

Her brows furrowed as she tapped it open.

Her world stopped at the sight of the man in the picture. His face looked familiar and upon further glance, Mira recognized him.

It was Thane, a white singlet hung loosely on his broad chests exposing his body frame.

His head tilted back in laughter, his arms wrapped around a woman draped in silk sheets. Her face was turned toward his, her lips passionately close to his lips.

The message below read:

"Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Thane. Thought you should see where your husband is tonight."

Mira's breath caught in her throat, her fingers going numb around the phone.

The beautiful dinner before her blurred as tears welled in her eyes. The gift, the letter, the effort all felt like a cruel joke now.

Thane wasn't working late, he wasn't with any client, he wasn't stuck up in traffic either.He was with another woman on their anniversary day.

A sharp pain twisted in Mira's chest as reality sank in.

She had spent the night waiting for a man who was never coming home.

Her hands fidgety, Mira picks up her phone to call Sienna, her best friend and the only person she had always trusted.

Her hands trembled as she dialed Sienna's number, her vision blurred by the tears she refused to let fall.

The phone rang once and twice and on the third ring, a sleepy voice cut up at the other end.

"Mira? It's late. What's wrong?" Sienna's voice was thick with exhaustion, but at the first crack in Mira's breathing, she immediately woke up.

"Are you okay?"

Mira let out a shaky breath, gripping the phone tightly as if holding onto it would keep her from shattering completely.

"He's with someone else, Sienna," she whispered, her voice barely holding back the sob clawing at her throat.

"Tonight is our third wedding anniversary but Thane is in bed with another woman."

The kind of silence that exuded shock lingered in the air.

"Sienna?" Mira's voice broke the silence.

"Are you still here?"

"I-I don't know what to say,"

Sienna sputtered like a child, her voice suddenly unsteady.

"Are you sure? I mean... maybe it's not what it looks like?"

A humorless laugh escaped Mira's lips. "Not what it looks like?" She pulled the phone away to glare at the screen, at the damning image that burned itself into her memory.

"He's in bed with her, Sienna.

"Don't you get it?"

"He is lying naked in the arms of a fucking stranger, Do you need me to send the damn picture?"

Sienna inhaled sharply, and for a fleeting moment, Mira thought she heard something else in the background, a rustling sound, maybe a choked breath.

"Mira, I..." Sienna's voice cracked.

Sienna's reaction seemed suspicious but Mira was too exhausted and broken to question it.

"I don't know what to do anymore," Mira admitted, pressing a hand to her forehead. "I sat here all night waiting for him. I made his favorite dinner. I wrote him a letter, Sienna." Her voice grew bitter.

"For goodness sake, I exhausted all my energy and resources preparing dinner for us while he was with another woman."

"I feel so worthless and stupid." Mira rant, tears pouring down her face.

Sienna sniffed quietly on the other end. "You don't deserve this, Mira."

"You are losing your mental health already, you have to act fast before he breaks you completely." Sienna advised, her voice now firm.

"Then tell me what to do."

Mira leaned back against the chair, gripping the edge of the table.

"Do I leave or stay? Would I be foolish to keep fighting for this marriage ?"

Sienna let out a loud exhale.

"Mira, if I was the one going through this, what would you tell me?"

Mira closed her eyes. "I'd tell you to leave."

A sharp inhale from Sienna.

"Then let go, Mira." Her voice wavered.

"Walk away before he breaks you beyond repair."

Mira's chest tightened.

She hadn't expected Sienna to say it out loud. Somehow, hearing those words made it real.

Reality dawned on her like a ton of bricks. Thane had never loved her.

Her mind drifted back to three years ago when she met Thane Ashford. She was working in The Ashford Corporations.

Thane's father had fallen in love with her hard work and commitment and had encouraged Thane to get married to her.

Her fingers curled into a fist.

"Three years of love and sacrifice just gone?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Sienna was quiet for too long before she finally spoke.

"Maybe it was gone long before tonight. You just kept holding on."

A tear slipped down Mira's cheek. She hated that Sienna was right.

"I don't know if I can do this," Mira admitted, her voice breaking.

Sienna swallowed hard. "You can. You have to."

There was a long pause and then so softly, Sienna whispered, "I'm so sorry,Mira."

Sienna let the phone slip from her fingers, staring blankly at the darkness of her bedroom. Her hands trembled as she pressed them against her face, trying to steady her breathing.

She hated the fact that she was there and she had seen everything, yet she was silent.

Mira had no idea that the message was a trap, a cruel setup designed to destroy her marriage.

Sienna's chest ached with guilt. She had watched how Thane was set up yet,she had just given Mira the final push to leave.

Had she done the right thing? Or had she just made the biggest mistake of all?

"Where have you been last night, Thane?" Mira's voice broke as she tried to hold herself together. Her hands trembled as she gripped the edge of the couch, her knuckles turning white.

Thane barely spared her a glance as he shrugged off his coat, tossing it onto the armchair as if her question didn't warrant a response. He loosened his tie, rolling his shoulders as though he had just returned from an exhausting day at work.

"Mira, it's late, I don't have time for your drama."

"I need rest." he protested.

Mira raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"Was he just dismissing her as if he wasn't absent on their third wedding anniversary?"

Mira nodded her head as her fears came to reality.

Indeed, this marriage meant nothing to Thane.

Her eyes fell to the red lipstick stain smeared on the crisp white collar of his shirt.

The lipstick was red.

Her stomach twisted painfully. She had always loved wearing red lipstick but during her first year of marriage, Thane had made it known that he detested the red color.

She had discarded all her red stuff, replacing them with the one he preferred.

She had indeed done everything to make him happy.

"He hated red lipsticks, so why was there a red stain on his shirt?" she muttered under her breath.

"Answer me, Thane!" Her voice rose this time, filled with rage.

He finally looked at her.

A tired, almost indifferent expression crossed his face as he ran a hand through his dark, slightly disheveled hair. His jaw clenched, but instead of guilt or remorse, there was nothing but irritation in his gaze.

"Mira, not now," he muttered, walking past her toward their bedroom.

Mira stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"Not now?" she repeated, her voice trembling. "You disappeared on our anniversary, ignored my calls, and now you come home reeking of someone else's perfume, with lipstick on your collar, and all you have to say is 'not now'?"

Thane let out a slow, measured exhale, as if she was the one being unreasonable. He tilted his head, his dark eyes meeting hers, void of the warmth they once held.

"Mira, you're overreacting, stop all these nagging and unnecessary drama"

A humorless laugh escaped her lips. "Overreacting?" She crossed her arms, forcing herself to hold his gaze even as tears pricked her eyes.

"I waited for you, Thane. I made dinner. I wrote you a letter. I spent the entire night convincing myself that you would come home to me.." her voice cracked,

"..only to receive a picture of you in bed with another woman."

"You were in bed with another woman on our anniversary, Thane!" She yelled.

Thane stiffened. It was the first real reaction she had gotten from him, but it lasted only a second before he scoffed, running a hand down his face.

"So that's what this is about," he muttered under his breath. "You saw a picture, and now you're jumping to conclusions?"

"Jumping to conclusions?" Mira stepped closer, her body trembling with unrestrained fury. She jabbed a finger against his chest. "Are you seriously going to stand there and lie to my face?"

Thane's lips pressed into a thin line. "I don't owe you an explanation."

His words were a slap in the face. Mira felt the air leave her lungs, her chest tightening with pain.

For a moment, silence hung between them, Mira's last hope crumbling before her face.

The last three years of her life her love, her sacrifices, her efforts to hold on to a marriage that had never existed flashed before her eyes.

She inhaled sharply, blinking away the tears she refused to shed in front of him. "You're right." Her voice was eerily calm, void of the desperation that once clung to it. "You don't owe me an explanation, Thane."

His brows furrowed slightly, as if sensing the shift in her demeanor.

"Because I'm done."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Thane's jaw tightened. "What are you saying?"

Mira lifted her chin, her hands no longer trembling. "I'm saying I want a divorce."

For the first time, genuine surprise flickered across his features. He stared at her, as if processing her words, before letting out a dry chuckle. "Mira, don't be ridiculous. You're upset. You're not thinking straight."

Thane stepped forward, his gaze cold and calculating.

"You think walking away is going to solve everything? You think you can just erase three years of love?"

Mira swallowed the lump in her throat.

"You must be joking Thane" she scoffed.

"Did I just hear you say, love?"

He exhaled, shaking his head.

"Fine. If this is what you want, Mira, then I won't stop you."

Mira blinked, stunned by his easy acceptance. A small, foolish part of her had thought he would fight, that he would show some regret or some sign that he cared.

But he didn't.

He reached for the papers, penning his signature onto it.

"I'll have my lawyer review them." he said with a tone of finality.

Pulling out a stack of dollar notes from his breast pockets, he handed it over to Mira.

'Here is twenty- thousand dollars for your alimony, you can start a life with it" he uttered, as though he was discussing the weather.

Mira stared at the money in disdain as tears blurred her vision.

"Jokes on you, Thane." she said, grabbing the dollar notes.

"It's pathetic to think I married you for this" she mocked, grabbing the dollar notes and spewing it on his face.

Her heart pounding, tears blurring her vision, Mira stormed out of the living room.

As she packed a few of her belongings, her mind was a surreal of emotions as she wondered where exactly she would be heading to and what exactly to do with her life.

She barely had any paying skill at the moment or a steady source of income. She had abandoned her job and finalizing her degree when she was about getting married to Thane.

She heaved a heavy sigh of relief as an idea struck her.

With the little money in her savings account, it would be enough for her to travel to San Francisco and at least squat with her single aunt.

A new start would be assured there.

Four years Later

"Mama, why is the sky blue?"

Mira's fingers tightened around the steering wheel as she navigated through the quiet streets of San Francisco. The question came from the backseat, where Eli sat with his legs swinging, his big brown eyes watching the sky through the window.

She glanced at him through the rearview mirror, smiling despite the unexpected turn of conversation.

"Well, baby, the sky looks blue because of the way sunlight interacts with the Earth's atmosphere. The light from the sun is made up of different colors, but blue light gets scattered the most, so that's what we see."

Eli frowned slightly, processing her words. "So, the sky isn't really blue?"

Mira chuckled. "No, not really. It just looks that way because of science."

Eli nodded, deep in thought, then grinned. "That means everything we see might not be what it seems!"

Mira's grip on the wheel faltered for just a second. Her heart gave a strange, painful thump.

"Everything we see might not be what it seems."

The words rang in her ears.

How ironic.

She reached over at a red light, ruffling his dark curls.

"You're too smart for your own good, you know that?"

He beamed. "I know!"

She shook her head, amused, but as she gazed at her son through the mirror, a wave of emotions surged through her. He was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Her mind drifted back to seven months ago, the day everything changed.

She had been in San Francisco for barely two weeks when she first started feeling sick. At first, she chalked it up to stress. After all, leaving behind a three-year marriage with nothing but a suitcase and shattered pride was no small feat. But the nausea persisted.

"Mira, you need to see a doctor," Aunt Lily had insisted, handing her a cup of ginger tea.

Mira had waved her off, too exhausted to argue. "It's probably just the flu."

Aunt Lily gave her a knowing look.

"Go take a test, Mira."

"It could be something more serious." Aunt Lily had protested.

She did and the results were out.

The test strip showed two bold pink lines.

She had stared at the pregnancy test for what felt like an eternity, her heart pounding so loudly she thought it might burst.

After seeing a doctor, he informed her that she was two months pregnant.

Her knees had gone weak, and she had sunk into the cold bathroom floor, her hands trembling.

She couldn't believe she was carrying Thane's baby.

She had wanted to cry, scream or maybe even laugh at the cruel irony of it all.

She had left Thane, determined to start over, only to realize she was carrying a piece of him inside her.

She had been terrified. She had no job, no degree, and barely any savings. How was she supposed to raise a child alone?

That night, she had sat by the window, staring at the city lights, tears slipping silently down her cheeks.

"What do I do, Aunt Lily?" she had whispered, voice barely above a breath.

Her aunt had squeezed her hand. "You live, Mira. You pick up the pieces and build a new life, not just for yourself, but for that baby."

And that's exactly what she did.

Mira had worked day and night, taking up small gigs to support herself while preparing for the baby's arrival. It hadn't been easy,there were nights she cried herself to sleep, missing the security she once had, even if it was just an illusion.

But when Eli was born, the moment she held him in her arms, all the pain, and doubts melted away. He became her reason to fight, to survive.

And looking at him now, so full of life and curiosity, she knew she had made the right choice.

And as though, the birth of Eli had sprang up a new session in her life, she had completed her Architecture course in one of the leading universities and now, her life had been a rollercoaster of bliss.

Her constant sleepless nights of waiting for Thane who would never come home were replaced by brand deals, high profile-clients and high-paying gigs.

"Mama?"

Mira blinked, snapping out of her thoughts.

Eli was staring at her, his head tilted. "You are thinking too much again."

She chuckled. "Was I?"

"Yup. You always make that face when you're thinking about something sad."

Her heart squeezed. She reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear before smiling softly at him. "I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you."

Immediately, they reached the school gate, Mira cupped Eli's cheeks.

"Be good, okay?"

"I'm always good," Eli declared proudly before stepping down and running off toward his friends.

Mira admired her son for a while before zooming off.

As soon as Mira stepped into her minimalist-designed office, her personal assistant, Janelle, practically bounced toward her, her face bobbing in excitement.

"Boss, we just landed a huge project!" Janelle beamed, holding up a thick contract file.

Mira raised a brow, setting her handbag on the desk. "How huge are we talking?"

Janelle grinned. "We are multi-million richer."

"It's a luxury resort in Las Vegas. And guess what? The client specifically asked for you to handle it."

Mira's fingers froze over her laptop keyboard.

Las Vegas.

Her pulse quickened, memories flashing before her eyes. The city where Thane lived.

The city had broken her in more ways than she could count.

"Who's the client?" she asked, keeping her voice even.

Janelle flipped through the file. "Some big real estate mogul-uh, His name is Ethan Calloway. His company is funding the entire project. They want a modern, high-end resort, and they want you as the lead architect."

Ethan Calloway. The name wasn't familiar, but Las Vegas was.

Mira's stomach twisted.

She had spent the last four years rebuilding her life, putting every ounce of energy into her work, ensuring Eli had a future she could be proud of. And now, the city that had nearly swallowed her whole was calling her back.

Janelle must have sensed her hesitation. She leaned against the desk, lowering her voice. "Mira, this deal is huge. It'll put your firm on the map internationally. And the contract? You'll be set for years. Are you okay?"

Mira forced a smile. "I'm fine. Just... surprised."

Janelle studied her for a moment before nodding. "Well, you don't have to decide today, but they're expecting an answer by tomorrow."

Mira exhaled, picking up the contract, her fingers tracing the embossed letters.

Was she ready to return?