His Billionaire Wife

The Scars She Hid From The World

REGINA MCBRIDE

The heavy iron gates of the Wilderness Correction Camp groaned as they released me after three years of state-sponsored hell. I stood on the dirt road, clutching a plastic bag that held my entire life, waiting for the family that claimed they sent me there for "rehab." My brother, Brady, picked me up in a luxury SUV only to throw me out onto a deserted highway in the middle of a brewing storm. He told me I was a "public relations nightmare" and that the rain might finally wash the "stink" of the camp off me. He drove away, leaving me to limp miles through the mud on a snapped ankle. When I finally dragged myself to our family estate, my mother didn't offer a hug; she gasped in horror because my muddy clothes were ruining her Italian marble. They didn't give me my old room back. Instead, they banished me to a moldy gardener’s shack and hired a "babysitter" to make sure I didn't embarrass them further. My sister, Kaleigh, stood there in white cashmere, pretending to cry while clinging to her fiancé, Ambrose—the man who had once been mine. They all treated me like a volatile junkie, refusing to acknowledge that Kaleigh was the one who planted the drugs in my bag three years ago. They wanted to believe I was broken so they wouldn't have to feel guilty about the "wellness retreat" that was actually a torture chamber. I sat in the dark of that shed, feeling the cooling gel on the cigarette burns that covered my arms, and realized they had made a fatal mistake. They thought they had erased me, but I had returned with a roadmap of scars and a hidden satellite phone. At dinner, I didn't beg for their love. I simply rolled up my sleeves and showed them the price of their silence. As the wine spilled and the lies crumbled, I sent a single text to the only person I trusted: "I'm in. Let them simmer." The hunt was finally on.

Modern Revenge Scheming

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The soft ticks of a grandfather clock filled the silent air of a rather huge kitchen. Ariadne was just about done with preparing her anniversary dinner.

Dusting her hands of any food crumbs, she reached for the device when the melodic sound of her ringtone broke the silence.

It was the call she had been waiting for.

Beaming brightly, she answered the phone. "Yeah, hello?"

"Mrs. Ariadne? We've called to inform you that the custom order you made a few weeks ago is now ready. Would you like us to deliver it to you?"

"No!" She instantly objected upon instinct, one could almost call it an everyday routine.

Although she had been married to Lucien Albrecht, a big shot in the business industry, for years- five years. But to be precise, no one in the outside world knew she was his wife.

In other words, she, being his wife, was on papers alone.

After so long of marriage, Lucien had never for once shown her the love she wanted. Not that she expected him to; after all she was just a woman he had married five years ago to meet his mother's last wish.

Ariadne knew their marriage didn't get a perfect start, but she was willing to wait, waiting for the day when Lucien would look back and see her love.

If nothing else, that was her only wish.

Now, after all that time, she had finally gotten her husband to agree on having dinner with her on the night of their wedding anniversary and she absolutely didn't want her efforts to go to waste.

"I'll pick it up right away, so don't bother." She responded, hoping this anniversary night would give their marriage a new start.

On arriving at the watch store, Ariadne took one look at her reflection, adjusting a few stray locks of her brown hair before heading inside. However, when she had just about made it pass the front desk, the conversation of two female workers caught her attention.

". I'm not joking. I saw Mr. Albrecht at the Rose Garden Restaurant, and he was with a very pretty female." The first female, a chubby and short brunette voiced.

'Lucien? With a woman?'

Ariadne' ears perked to a stand, conceiving news about her husband. But last she remembered, Lucien hated interaction with women, herself included.

Surely this employee was just making up a rumor to get attention.

She dusted their conversation aside, about to continue on her way. Yet the other female employee, a prettier brunette, squealed.

"Is this her?" The female had her index finger pointed towards the screen of her friend's phone which held the photo of a beautiful noirette with red eyes, whose features could only be defined with one word.

Celebrity.

"Yes. Wasn't she his lover years ago? Octavia Barrette, the rising star?" The chubby brunette excitedly screamed as soon as she recognized the woman in the photo.

Ariadne felt the ground beneath her feet sway momentarily and the voices became muffled.

'Octavia Barrette?'

No. She refused to believe what these people were saying.

Lucien and Octavia had already split up a while before their marriage due to her so-proclaimed illness.

She remembered how much Lucien suffered from her but Octavia was so determined. There was no way he'd still go back to the woman who had abandoned him all those years ago.

But as much as Ariadne had tried to convince herself otherwise, the next second she found her fingers dialing the number of her so-called husband.

Standing in silence, the brunette listened to the line ring, but no one picked up. She tried calling again, only to have the same fate, and on the third dial, she caught herself and instantly hung up.

'What are you doing, Ariadne Albrecht?' She thought and snickered as she lowered the device.

'Instead of picking up Lucien's present, you're here listening to rumors. Get it together.' She inwardly scolded herself and adjusted her posture the next second.

After convincing herself that the employee must have seen someone similar, she didn't waste another second, and strode towards the main shop, picked up the gift then headed straight back home.

By the time the brunette had arrived home-due to all the traffic, time had flown by and it was pretty late. Seeing this, and realizing Lucien was soon to arrive, Ariadne quickly got about setting up the atmosphere for their anniversary dinner.

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