MY ULTIMATE REVENGE

The air in the office was filled with sounds that could generate an electric current, it was laced with lust. Behind the closed door, moans tangled with the rustle of clothing and the sharp gasp of skin meeting skin. The man held his lover's hip and desperately but cautiously thrust a chase toward release. Her breath hitching with every surge of pleasure, her fingers tightened as she held the edge of the table tightly, her eyes shot as she inhaled to grasp the moment in her mind. Desire spreads across the room like a perfume undergoing a diffusion process, heavy and inescapable.

It was a movement that was raw and reckless, hunger being the driving force. An undeniable moment of secrecy.

"Lower your voice!" Daniel pleaded through gritted teeth, his breath hot against her ear as her moans grew louder, trembling beneath him. "The hallway isn't that large,anyone could hear you."

The woman's eyes were gleaming with defiance and as she lifted her gaze, mischief was written all over "Who cares?" she whispered, her voice gently and cracked,hot breath escaping through her mouth. "Maybe I should scream-let Aria hear every second of it. Seems like you need a little push to end things with her." Her lips curled into a daring smile.

Daniel shut eyes, removing his force from the guilty welling up in his mind and diverting his focus on the heat coiling low in his abdomen, the rush of pleasure drowning his thoughts. This wasn't the time to think about his wife-not when he was buried deep inside his secretary, chasing a high he couldn't explain.

Her hands tightly holding his arm as she looked up at him, eyes burning with a mixture of sadness, hope and frustration. "Why are you still with her, anyway?" she asked, her voice trembling despite the anger behind it. "You have me-I give you everything, I am everything. So why do you keep that worthless woman around like she means something?" Her breath hitched, raw emotion spilling through every word. "Is she really that hard to let go of... or am I just not enough?"

Daniel slowly pulled his length out of Bella, watching the way her body quivered with anticipation. When only his tip hung on her clit, he held it and rushed back into her with force, drawing a sharp, breathless gasp from her lips. Her fingers tightened around the desk,her nails piercing into the wood as he began thrusting harder, faster, with a punishing rhythm. Her head fell back,eyes fluttering shut as waves of pleasure rippled through her abdomen, mouth releasing breath as hot as steam.

Good, he thought darkly, eyes fixed on her unraveling form. She talked too much-always pushing, always demanding answers he wasn't ready to give. But like this, with her writhing beneath him, she was silent. Breathless. Submissive. There was no better way to silence her chaos than by drowning it in the only language he knew how to speak-pure, relentless desire.

Ann's voice cracked as pleasure tore through her, her fingers clutching the table in a desperate grip. "That's it Daniel! " she cried, surrendering, her moans depicting need.

Aria stepped into the company she felt proud of,her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor, but she was preoccupied- absentminded, her eyes shut tightly, reminiscing the emotionally charged trial she had just concluded-a brutal case of a husband's betrayal, where a wife had discovered years of infidelity masked behind sweet lies. Her eyes flickered,watching the woman's world shatter piece by piece. The views of that heartbreak still clung to her as she walked into the very company whose business she'd helped her own husband build.

Shaking off the feeling from the last trial, Aria plastered a smile on her face but soon that smile was replaced as her heart began pounding in her chest. A strange sound reached her ears-a low, muffled noise that didn't belong. At first, she tried to dismiss it, thinking her mind was playing tricks after the emotionally draining case she'd just handled. But then, the sound grew louder, unmistakable now-a soft, desperate gasp followed by hurried whispers. Her pulse quickened, dread crawling up her spine. She lifted her feet to take a move but mistakenly there was a crack of a door opening which echoed through the silence, freezing her in place. Something was happening behind that door... something she wasn't meant to hear nor see.

It was her husband's office, loud moans of pleasure escaped from the room, covering her mouth with her palm, she froze, her heart thudding painfully against her chest. She knew that moan. She knew it far too well.

A bitter sigh escaped her lips, and she rolled her eyes, as though trying to dismiss the wave of emotion threatening to overwhelm her. When there was an edge between them, she suspected that his coming home late wasn't really work related but she chose to give him the benefit of doubt. Hearing the sound coming from his voice and his voice, the trust and safety she had and felt shattered.

Frozen,her heartbeat accelerating, she stood there unable to take a step forward not backward. The anger bubbled beneath the surface, but there was also a strange hollow feeling, an emptiness that only grew with every passing second. She was about to turn and storm out, to walk away before she let herself spiral further, when she heard it again-louder this time, more desperate.

"Oh my God, Daniel. You're the best..."

The words cut through her, raw and sharp. She couldn't breathe. The walls of the hallway seemed to close in on her as she stood there, immobilized by the harsh reality that had just shattered her heart all over again. It really was her husband but with who?

Her heart thudded painfully in her chest, every beat reverberating in her ears as Aria hesitated in front of her husband's office door. The hallway felt unnaturally silent, but inside, she could hear something-voices, muffled but distinct. She pressed her hand to the cool doorknob, her fingers trembling as they closed around it. The weight of what she suspected hung heavy in the air, but still, she couldn't bring herself to believe it. Not fully. Not until now.

"You like that, uh?" The voice was unmistakable-her husband's. It was deep, rough, full of the kind of hunger she had once heard whispered in moments of intimacy between them. The words sent a chill down her spine, a cold that reached deep into her very bones.

Arai's mouth went dry, her grip tightening around the door handle as the familiar, masculine tone sent a shockwave of disbelief through her. This couldn't be real. It can't be him. It can't be.

But then came the next sound-a voice she recognized instantly. It was soft, breathy, almost desperate. His secretary, the woman who had worked closely with Daniel for months, the one Aria l had once smiled at during office gatherings, was now the source of a long, drawn-out moan that seemed to echo through the thin walls.

"Yes! Oh my... ohhh..." Ann's voice faltered, followed by a soft, whimpering sound that twisted something deep inside Arias' gut. The breath left her lungs in a staggered exhale, her mind racing to process what she was hearing and seeing, unable to move, unable to look away from the door that had once been a symbol of safety-of trust. But now, it felt like a barricade to her sanity, a barrier between the world she thought she knew and the cold, cruel truth that was slowly sinking in. Her husband... with his secretary.

"No..." she whispered under her breath, her voice cracking with disbelief. Her grip on the handle became vice-like, her knuckles turning white as the reality of the moment hit her like a punch to the gut. A part of her didn't want to believe it. Her heart was screaming No, her head wished it was nothing but a dream and she wanted to wake up quickly, but she wasn't waking up, it was her reality- a truth she needs to accept.

But the voice came again-louder, more insistent. Daniel's secretary, her breath shaky and needy, murmured words that sliced through the air like a blade.

"I can give you everything that she can't, Daniel. Divorce her."

Aria's mind ached as the word "Divorce" echoed in her ears. Her eyelids failed to blink, as the words hung in the air, heavy and final, sealing her worst fear into reality. It wasn't just a moment of betrayal. It was a declaration of something far more destructive. The man she trusted the most, her husband whom she had vowed her life to, was Choosing someone else over her

Aria took a step back, her head spinning as a wave of nausea rolled over her. She couldn't move, the urge to step inside the room and demand answers seems to only play in her head. Her nostrils began tighter. Her world was crumbling- the very foundation of her life was crumbling, every effort and time she spent building it was in vain, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Daniel's voice dropped, lower now, but Aria caught his words clearly. "I told you I'll take care of it, Ann." His tone was sharp, strained, as if trying to keep control.

Ann's response came quickly, laced with frustration and desperation. "You've been saying that forever." Her voice trembled, but there was a hardness in it now. "I refuse to share a man. If you don't break up with her, I'll tell her about us." The words echoed in the air, heavy with the threat of destruction.

Aria's legs felt like lead as she rushed towards the hallway , her heart pounding in her chest with every frantic step. She hardly felt the cold floor beneath her feet, the world blurring in her tear-filled vision. Tears flowed down her face,her breath ragged and broken. The door she had just stood at seemed to burn into her mind, the betrayal she had witnessed echoing in her head. With every tear, every sob that shook her body, she fled adamant to relieve the pain she felt greatly in her heart.

The large bedroom bathed in a golden glow from the crystal light fixture that hung delicately from the ceiling. Elegance was the only thing emitting in the room- from the velvet drapes to the polished oak floor-but none of it compared to the sight on the bed.

Aria lay there, her dark hair glowed in the gentle light. She looked like an angel, her features almost unreal-like something dreamt rather than real.

Without making a sound, Daniel stood by the door. His eyes didn't wander. They were locked on her, drinking her in as if he might never get used to the quiet beauty of the woman he called his wife.

Aria stirred beneath the sheets, lashes fluttering before she slowly opened her eyes, revealing her silver coloured iris,the color striking against the soft glow of her skin.Her robe,same silvery hue as her eyes, making her look like she'd been sculpted from light and shadow.

Daniel stood a few feet away, quiet. Watching.

Her voice low, with sleepy eyes, she asked, "Why are you staring?"

He took a step forward, each step accompanied with a hot breath, his gaze accessing her whole body. Lust bottling up within him."Can't I stare at my wife?"

Aria turned her head toward him, expression unreadable. "That depends. Are you admiring your wife... or looking for something to ease your guilt?"

"I didn't come here to fight! " Daniel looked down, suddenly unable to hold her gaze.

She sat up slowly, the robe shifting with her, pooling around her like water. "Then say something worth hearing."

"Disgust already churned in Aria's gut. Had she not seen her husband locked in a heated embrace with his secretary just days ago, she might've fallen for this act-this pathetic display of affection he dared to call love."

Daniel studied her expression, unease crept into his mind. Her reaction was wrong-foreign. She had never treated him like this before, and that realization struck him harder than he expected.

"Could she be the one at the office the other day!" He thought to himself.

Daniel shoved the creeping suspicion. It doesn't add up, she was always preoccupied with lots of cases at the law firm. The more he stared at her, the more anxious he was. He tried hard to calm his nerves, "Happy birthday wifey!" He uttered.

Aria sat upright on the bed, her gaze lingering on him. He remembered her birthday this year. Could he really have changed overnight? Was what I saw and heard just a joke? These questions kept popping in my head. I should just forget it all and give him a second chance.

She snapped out of her thoughts when her husband brought out a red rose. Her lips parted trying so hard to let out a smile but she couldn't. Her heart moved between caution and hope as she took the flower he revealed from behind his back, the petals soft in her hand, but not her heart.

The way he looked at her, it emitted warmth, something she hasn't seen in a long while. Daniel lifted Aria into his arms. Her breath hitched, more from the tenderness in his gesture than the surprise. She placed her head on his chest as he carried her. She missed these moments.

On getting to the dinning hall, he paused in the doorway, letting her take it all in. Every one of her favorite dishes were carefully prepared and placed on the table,steaming and fragrant, the colors arranged like a painting. In the center, a velvet cake stood proudly, its surface smooth and rich, decorated with soft swirls of cream. A single candle flickered on top, its gentle flame dancing in the low light.

"Daniel... did you prepare all this!" she called out, her voice barely audible.

He looked at her, a wide smile appeared on his check. "Every bit of it. You deserve to be celebrated... really celebrated."

Her heart swelled, but that ever-present whisper of doubt lingered at the edge. Could one night make up for everything? Could love really rise from broken pieces? And yet, as she looked at him, she felt hope and warmth, a part of her wanted to believe.

She leaned in,her lips against his cheek. "Thank you," She said, her voice very audible, her hands feeling the petals on the cake as she inhales the scent."This symbolises more than you know!"

They sat side by side, the soft clinking of cutlery and quiet conversation filling the warm space between them. For the first time in a long while, things felt almost... normal. Aria took a sip of her wine, savoring the sweetness-and the moment.

Then the shrill buzz of Daniel's phone cut through the atmosphere.

Aria glanced at the screen out of instinct. Her stomach dropped.

His secretary.

The name flashed boldly across the display, and her heart skipped a beat, then raced to catch up. Her fingers tightened slightly around her fork.

Daniel's gaze followed hers, landing on the phone. A flicker of something unreadable passed across his face. "Excuse me," he said quietly, already rising from his chair. Without meeting her eyes, he stepped away, phone to his ear, voice low as he disappeared into the hallway.

Aria sat still, her appetite vanishing.

As Daniel left, Zara came almost immediately to the dining table. "Ma'am, I found this is Master's cloth. I think he got it for me." She said as she happily stormed into the bathroom.

Aria blinked, her thoughts in disarray. The necklace sparkled like a promise, but her heart was a battlefield of emotions.

She smiled politely, the corners of her mouth lifting. "It's lovely," she murmured. But inside, she was anything but certain.

Was it a gift of love... or guilt?

Daniel stepped back into the dining room, his expression tense and unreadable. He leaned close to his wife, his voice low but firm. "I have to go Something urgent just came up at the office.'"

A wave of unease washed over Aria as she listened to her husband's words. She managed a silent nod, masking the storm brewing inside her. The moment he turned his back and stepped out of the house, whatever trace of appetite she had left vanished completely.

With a tense breath, she reached for her phone, her fingers hesitating for a moment before dialing the number of her husband's primary secretary. As the line rang, she could feel the knot tightening in her stomach. "Is there an urgent meeting this morning?" she asked, her voice steady but laced with an underlying tension.

"No ma'am, there isn't any at the moment!" She said,

Aria dropped the phone with trembling hands, her heart sinking as the cold reality hit her. Tears began to streak down her flawless face, each one a silent confession. 'I was so foolish to believe he changed overnight,' she whispered, the weight of her own naivety pressing down on her chest.

She rose up to her feet as determination surged through her.She stared at the beautifully decorated table, the same table that made her smile made her feel sick. Her hands swiftly without caution swiped the beautiful dishes and glasses, sending them crashing on the floor. As the shards scattered around her, she swore to herself, her voice barely a whisper yet laced with evil, "I'll make them both regret this.'"

Aria sank into the armchair by the window, the quiet hum of the law firm around her fading into the background. A small smile tugging at her lips as she took in the soft light of the morning and the calm it brought. Just then, the door opened, and her husband's secretary walked in.

Ann with her chins up walked into the room, her footsteps slow and swift. As she bent slightly to set a file on the table, the necklace slipped into view, catching the light-sleek, familiar, unmistakable.

Aria's breath seized. Her fingers, once loosely draped over the armrest, curled into her palm. Her eyes lingered on the necklace, unmoving, while the corner of her mouth twitched ever so slightly. A flicker of something sharp danced behind her calm gaze, and then her jaw tightened.

"What a lovely necklace," she said, her tone light but edged like glass. "New?"

Ann straightened, brushing the dust from

her pencil skirt. She paused for a moment. "Oh, this? Yes. A gift... from someone special."

Aria's eyes didn't flinch. "Is that so?" She leaned back, one brow rising slowly. "Funny. I could've sworn I saw it somewhere else recently."

"Yes, it was the recent jewelry that was auctioned two days ago! Does it look eye-catching?"

Ann shifted her button, letting the necklace dangle a little longer. Her lips curled into a knowing smile

"I never thought you would notice it?" she said, feigning surprise. "I wasn't sure you'd recognize something so... refined."

Taking a step closer, her gaze fixed on Aria, "When I saw it, I just knew it had to be mine. It's Something about me, the design-it didn't quite scream you, you know?"

Her gaze swept over Aria's face, trying so hard to determine her expressions.

"You don't have to worry, Classic pieces like this can be... a bit intimidating. Take the right kind of woman to wear them. It isn't meant for houseWives."

She walked away before Aria could respond, the faintest smirk playing on her lips.

"Ann," Aria said, her voice smooth and bothered, but laced with quiet venom causing Ann to freeze on her steps.

Ann paused, glancing over her shoulder.

Aria rose from the armchair,each of her movements steady and cautious and her eyes locked on Ann's with unsettling calm. "You're right. It does take a certain kind of woman to wear something like that." She smiled-cool, deliberate. "The kind who doesn't mind sloppy seconds."

Ann blinked.

Aria stepped forward, just enough to close the distance with her presence alone. "enjoy it while it lasts. That necklace could return to its owner any time soon."

The smirk vanished from Ann's face. She opened her mouth trying to let out a word but found none. Aria's face lit with a smile, reclaiming her seat like a queen settling back into her throne.

Ann stood frozen for a second too long, her gripped tightened as she held the file in her hands.She forced a laugh, but it came out brittle. She tried to mask the uneasiness she felt.

"Well," she said, turning fully now, voice a touch too high, "I suppose some women cling to what they used to have. Nostalgia's a powerful drug, isn't it?"

Aria didn't answer-she didn't need to. She simply sipped from her teacup, gaze steady, the silence between them thick enough to slice through.

Ann's eyes flicked to the necklace again,it felt heavier than it did earlier on, her hand reflexively reached up to touch it, as if to confirm it was still there-still hers.

"Besides," she added, recovering with a tilt of her head, " I don't think your husband thought of you before getting this necklace! "

That did it. Aria set the cup down gently-deliberately. "Careful, Ann," she said quietly. "It's easy to confuse a borrowed moment for something permanent. Just like it's easy to wear diamonds you didn't earn."

Ann's jaw clenched, lips parting, but no comeback came. The silence roared.

And Aria? She simply looked away, as if Ann had already left.

"You think you're better than me, don't you?" she hissed, the polished assistant act falling away. "Sitting here in your little throne, sipping tea like you're untouchable. News flash, Aria-he doesn't even look at you the way he looks at me."

"That says more about him than it does about me." Aria shot back at her without flinching.

Before Ann could snapback, the door opened.

Daniel stepped in, a file in hand, brows slightly raised at the tension that smacked him the second he entered. He took one look at Aria's rigid posture, then at Ann-her face flushed, breathing uneven.

"What's going on?" he asked, stepping closer to Ann instinctively.

Ann turned to him, her voice softening, playing the victim. "Nothing, I just- I think I overstayed. Aria was just... making a point."

Aria laughed under her breath, dark and hollow. "Tell him what point, Ann. Go on. Don't be shy now."

Daniel looked between them, tension knotting in his jaw. "Aria, whatever this is-can we not do this here?"

Oh, how convenient," Aria replied, voice calm but cold. "You walk in just in time to rescue her, like clockwork."

"Not everything is about you, only if you could take a moment to realize it rather than looking for someone to blame." He shot at her.

Ann laid a hand gently on his arm, eyes wide, wounded. "Daniel, it's fine. I shouldn't have said anything. She's just upset."

Hot sensation stirring in her throat like a sharp knife cutting through it, Aria's chest rose, her breath hitched but she didn't let out the scream to relief her throat.

"Of course she's upset," she said quietly. "She's wearing my necklace. Standing beside my husband. And now she's pretending to be the injured one?" She looked at Daniel then-really looked. "Tell me, do you defend her like this when it's just the two of you?"

Daniel didn't answer.

And that silence-thick and ugly-was louder than anything he could have said.

Aria stared at him, her face void of emotions. Then slowly, she gave a single nod. Not in agreement-but in understanding. A bitter kind of clarity.

she said softly, yet carefully letting out each word slowly as she masked her pain. "I used to pray you'd choose me. I used to think if I was patient, if I stayed quiet and loyal, you'd remember who stood with you when no one else did."

Her voice didn't shake-it was steady, sharp, carved from heartbreak.

"But now I see you clearly," she went on. "You didn't stop loving me-you stopped respecting me. And that... that's worse."

Daniel shifted uncomfortably, guilt flickering across his face, but Aria didn't give him the space to speak.

She turned to Ann, eyes icy. "And you-enjoy the illusion. He might defend you now, but one day, you'll realize the same man who betrayed his wife has already betrayed you-he's just dressing it in charm."

Ann's mouth opened, but nothing came out.

Aria took one last look at them-two people caught in their own lie-then adjusted her coat, straightened her spine, and walked toward the door.

As she opened it, she paused without turning back.

"Next time, Ann... keep the necklace. I don't wear things that stink of desperation."

And with that, she stepped out, heels clicking with quiet power-leaving behind a silence that neither Daniel nor Ann dared to break.