Chapter 1
"Sign it. You have five minutes."
"Sign... what?"
"The divorce papers, Serena. Or do I need to spell it out for you?"
Dominic Ashford, CEO of Ashford Industries and the most powerful man in New York, stood before me in his $10,000 suit, holding a Manila envelope like a verdict.
It was our second wedding anniversary.
I was eight weeks pregnant and had planned to surprise him tonight with the ultrasound tucked inside my clutch.
But when I arrived at the penthouse, I found a woman sitting on our bed in his robe.
Vivienne Laurent. His first love. The woman who supposedly died in a car accident four years ago.
She was very much alive, her legs crossed, a champagne flute dangling from her manicured fingers.
"Dominic..." My voice cracked. "What is she doing here? In our bedroom?"
He didn't even look at me.
"Vivienne is back. She's been in witness protection. The accident was staged to save her life."
He tossed the envelope onto the coffee table.
"You were always a replacement, Serena. A placeholder. You knew that when you married me."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
"That's not true," I whispered, my hand instinctively going to my stomach. "You said you loved me. On our wedding night, you said—"
"I said what you needed to hear," he cut me off coldly. "Vivienne is the love of my life. She always has been. This—" he gestured between us— "was never real."
Vivienne rose from the bed and glided toward him, wrapping her arm around his.
"Don't be so harsh, Dom," she cooed, her eyes flickering to me with barely concealed triumph. "The poor thing looks like she might faint."
I wanted to tell him about the baby.
I opened my mouth, the words on the tip of my tongue.
But Vivienne's hand slid to his chest, right over his heart, and she whispered something in his ear that made his jaw clench.
"You have three minutes left," Dominic said. "Sign it, or I'll have security escort you out with nothing."
"Dominic, please." My legs buckled. I grabbed the back of the sofa for support. "At least let me explain—"
"There's nothing to explain." He pulled away from Vivienne long enough to grip my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his.
Those dark eyes that once looked at me with such tenderness were now glacial.
"You were convenient, Serena. Nothing more."
"Now get out of my house before I lose my patience."
Vivienne pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile.
I looked down at the divorce papers. The terms were clear: I would leave with nothing. No alimony, no property, no claim to any Ashford asset.
Two years of marriage, erased like a typo.
My trembling fingers found the pen.
I signed.
Not because I believed him. But because the cruelty in his eyes told me that any fight I put up would only entertain them both.
I picked up my purse and walked toward the door.
"Oh, Serena?" Vivienne called after me.
I stopped but didn't turn.
"Leave the ring. It was my grandmother's design. Dom had it made for me originally."
I looked down at the sapphire ring I had worn for two years, the one he had slipped onto my finger while whispering that I was his forever.
I placed it on the hallway table and walked out.
The elevator doors closed, and I finally let myself crumble.
My hand pressed against my still-flat stomach as sobs wracked my body.
"I'm sorry, baby," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."
I didn't know then that this was only the beginning of the nightmare Vivienne had planned for me.
"Sign... what?"
"The divorce papers, Serena. Or do I need to spell it out for you?"
Dominic Ashford, CEO of Ashford Industries and the most powerful man in New York, stood before me in his $10,000 suit, holding a Manila envelope like a verdict.
It was our second wedding anniversary.
I was eight weeks pregnant and had planned to surprise him tonight with the ultrasound tucked inside my clutch.
But when I arrived at the penthouse, I found a woman sitting on our bed in his robe.
Vivienne Laurent. His first love. The woman who supposedly died in a car accident four years ago.
She was very much alive, her legs crossed, a champagne flute dangling from her manicured fingers.
"Dominic..." My voice cracked. "What is she doing here? In our bedroom?"
He didn't even look at me.
"Vivienne is back. She's been in witness protection. The accident was staged to save her life."
He tossed the envelope onto the coffee table.
"You were always a replacement, Serena. A placeholder. You knew that when you married me."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
"That's not true," I whispered, my hand instinctively going to my stomach. "You said you loved me. On our wedding night, you said—"
"I said what you needed to hear," he cut me off coldly. "Vivienne is the love of my life. She always has been. This—" he gestured between us— "was never real."
Vivienne rose from the bed and glided toward him, wrapping her arm around his.
"Don't be so harsh, Dom," she cooed, her eyes flickering to me with barely concealed triumph. "The poor thing looks like she might faint."
I wanted to tell him about the baby.
I opened my mouth, the words on the tip of my tongue.
But Vivienne's hand slid to his chest, right over his heart, and she whispered something in his ear that made his jaw clench.
"You have three minutes left," Dominic said. "Sign it, or I'll have security escort you out with nothing."
"Dominic, please." My legs buckled. I grabbed the back of the sofa for support. "At least let me explain—"
"There's nothing to explain." He pulled away from Vivienne long enough to grip my chin, forcing my eyes to meet his.
Those dark eyes that once looked at me with such tenderness were now glacial.
"You were convenient, Serena. Nothing more."
"Now get out of my house before I lose my patience."
Vivienne pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile.
I looked down at the divorce papers. The terms were clear: I would leave with nothing. No alimony, no property, no claim to any Ashford asset.
Two years of marriage, erased like a typo.
My trembling fingers found the pen.
I signed.
Not because I believed him. But because the cruelty in his eyes told me that any fight I put up would only entertain them both.
I picked up my purse and walked toward the door.
"Oh, Serena?" Vivienne called after me.
I stopped but didn't turn.
"Leave the ring. It was my grandmother's design. Dom had it made for me originally."
I looked down at the sapphire ring I had worn for two years, the one he had slipped onto my finger while whispering that I was his forever.
I placed it on the hallway table and walked out.
The elevator doors closed, and I finally let myself crumble.
My hand pressed against my still-flat stomach as sobs wracked my body.
"I'm sorry, baby," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."
I didn't know then that this was only the beginning of the nightmare Vivienne had planned for me.