Chapter 2 Fractured Trust

• Aria’s POV
• When I woke up, the sterile scent of antiseptic filled my nostrils, and the harsh fluorescent lights above me made my head throb. I blinked, trying to make sense of where I was. The hospital.
• Panic rose in my chest as I reached down, my hands trembling as they settled over my abdomen. The baby–
• “Aria! Oh, thank God!” Isabella’s voice broke through my daze.
• She was sitting beside me, her eyes red and puffy from crying.
• When she saw I was awake, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly, as if afraid I might slip away again. “You scared the hell out of me! I thought I’d lost you.”
• I could barely process her words, my thoughts immediately jumping to the baby. “Isabella... the baby...”
• She nodded quickly, her expression softening with relief. “The baby’s fine, Aria. The doctor said you fainted from stress and exhaustion, but the baby’s okay.”
• A wave of relief washed over me, but it was quickly followed by a sharp pang of anxiety. “Did Liam come?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
• Isabella’s face hardened with anger and disgust. “No, he didn’t. Probably too busy with Sophia to care,” she spat, her words laced with venom.
• My heart sank. No, he must not have received my message. Liam wouldn’t ignore something like this—he couldn’t.
• “He didn’t get the message,” I insisted, my voice shaking. “He doesn’t know. Isabella, please, keep calling him.”
• Isabella hesitated, her eyes filled with pity, but she pulled out her phone and started calling again. I watched her, my heart pounding. With each unanswered ring, the silence between us grew heavier.
• No answer.
• I tried to convince myself it was just a misunderstanding, that something had gone wrong with the message, that Liam would walk through the door any minute now.
• But then, Isabella’s expression hardened. She cursed under her breath and thrust the phone toward me. “Look at this.”
• I took the phone, my hands trembling as I stared at the screen.
• There, in vivid color, was a photo of Liam and Sophia. They were close, too close– her head rested against his bare chest– and the atmosphere between them was unmistakably intimate.
• I felt the blood drain from my face as I scrolled down to see another message. This one was even worse.
• Liam had turned off his phone to be with Sophia. The message was clear: I shouldn’t waste my efforts anymore.
• It felt like someone had punched me in the gut. My hands went numb, and the phone slipped from my grasp, clattering onto the bed. I couldn’t breathe. How could he do this? How could he just... abandon me?
• Isabella’s voice was distant, muffled, as she continued talking, but her words barely registered.
• “The news is reporting that today’s award-winning interview was basically a love letter to Sophia. And guess what? She was in the audience, smiling like she’d won the lottery.”
• The tears came before I could stop them, hot and silent as they slid down my cheeks.
• I had been married to Liam for three years, but I had never been afforded any public attention. He had strictly forbidden me from appearing at his races, from being part of his world. I was nothing more than a secret, a hidden mistress. And now... now I was disposable.
• Isabella’s voice softened as she reached out to touch my arm, as if reading my thoughts.
• “Aria... you can’t keep doing this to yourself. He doesn’t deserve you. He never did. You need to leave him. I think… you need to divorce him.”
• The word hung in the air like a death sentence, but it was also a lifeline.
• Divorce. The one thing I had been too afraid to consider, too afraid to say out loud. But now... what choice did I have?
• “Then, we’ll divorce,” I whispered, the words leaving my lips like a bitter poison.
• It hurt, but it was also freeing in a way I hadn’t expected.
• I had spent too long tied to a man who didn’t love me, who would never love me.
• Back home, the house felt emptier than ever, the silence suffocating.
• I hadn’t expected to feel so hollow after making the decision to leave, but I supposed it was the weight of years of hopes and dreams crashing down around me.
• As I stepped into the living room, something caught my eye. A pair of women’s shoes—red stilettos—stood by the entrance. My heart lurched. I knew those weren’t mine.
• Sophia’s voice, annoyingly cheerful, called out from the kitchen.
• “Liam?”
• My blood ran cold.
• “Why are you here?” I asked, my voice as cold as ice.
• Sophia appeared in the doorway, a smug smile on her face.
• “Liam allowed me to live here. If it weren’t for you taking advantage of the situation, I would have been the mistress of this place long ago.” She paused, her smile turning into a sneer. “But that’s going to change soon. I suggest you pack your things.”
• I felt a cold fury rise within me, but I refused to let her see how much she was getting under my skin.
• “Get out of my way,” I said, my voice eerily calm, echoing Liam’s tone.
• Years of living under his shadow had taught me how to mirror his cold detachment.
• Sophia blinked, taken aback by my tone. For a moment, she hesitated, her bravado faltering as she stepped back. But her foot caught the edge of the stair, and before I could react, she stumbled.
• I reached out instinctively, but it was too late. She tumbled down the stairs with a scream.
• My heart raced as I rushed after her, my hand shaking as I tried to help her up. But before I could reach her, Liam burst through the front door, his eyes wild with panic.
• “It was her!” Sophia cried, clutching her abdomen. “She pushed me! She wanted to kill my child!”
• Her words hit me like a train.
• Child? Sophia was pregnant?
• I stared at her in shock, my mind reeling.
• Liam’s expression shifted from panic to fury as he knelt beside Sophia, his eyes narrowing at me.
• “Is that true?” he demanded, his voice low and dangerous.
• I could only shake my head, too stunned to speak.
• How could this be happening? Everything was spiraling out of control, faster than I could keep up.
• Sophia continued to sob, clutching Liam’s arm as if her life depended on it.
• “She’s jealous, Liam. She’s always been jealous because you love me, not her.”
• I wanted to scream, to deny it, but the words caught in my throat.
• Liam’s eyes bore into mine, full of accusation and anger.
• I could see it now—the life I thought I had, the future I had clung to, was slipping away, crumbling before my eyes.
• Liam’s voice was the coldest I’d ever heard it.
• “Leave, Aria. Now.”
• The look in Liam’s eyes left no room for argument.
• He believed her. He chose her. There was nothing left for me here.