The Neglected Wife's Spectacular Corporate Comeback

argot, glistening with gar

the foyer. Her heart gave a hopeful leap. She

ast the dining table, his eyes sweeping over the flickering candles and the carefully prep

er voice soft. She moved to t

movement that made her fingers graze noth

of it in one swallow, his throat working. His gaze finally settled on her, and it wasn't warm. It was an assessment,

e to stay in place.

hind his dark eyes. He set the glass dow

d her waist, pulling her flush against him. It was a possess

of whiskey and indifference. It wasn't a kiss of celebration; it was a

ught on the edge of the Persian rug, and she stumbled. He didn't steady her.

ressing her down, his weight a suffocating presence. The sound of her silk slip

d line of his jaw, trying to find some connec

e physical act. He moved with a brutal efficiency, a rhythmic plunderin

the space beside her suddenly cold. He swung his legs over the

ed into her bones. She watched his broad, muscled back as he walked towards the en-suit

f the show

lit up. A special ringtone, one she'd never he

screen. A single, glowin

eraphina. His first love. T

is hips, water dripping from his dark hair onto the floor. His eyes were wide with an

. The coldness in his eyes melted away, replaced by a look

his voice a low, soothing rumble sh

end of the line. Julian's face contorted with a

e walk-in closet, grabbing a

"Julian, where are you going?" Her voice tremble

a look over his shoulder, a look of pure, undiluted anno

What about me?" she whispered, t

hand, his patience gon

a countdown to the end of her world. The sharp, decisive clicks of hi

er him, her feet bare and cold on the floor, and grabbed his sleeve in the foyer. "

nt her stumbling backward, and she collaps

ust. "Stop it. You're being hysterical. Don

omed through the cavernous apartment, a definitive, soul-c

meal for two, the candles now burning low, their wax dripping like tears onto the polished wood. Fo

uncoordinated. She grabbed the bottle of expensive red wine from the table. With a screa

yed across the wall, red liquid dripping dow

hrough her lower abdomen. It was so intense it stole her breath. Sh

e stumbled towards the living room sofa, her vision blurring w

een lit up with a new message. An anon

ed over the icon

ick. A pregnancy test. Two stark pin

age was a sing

's. We're ha

regnancy, every time her mother hinted, every time she caught the pitying glances at charity galas. She had wanted children. God, how she had wanted them. But Julian had been adamant-no

wanted children. He just had

oaring, all-consuming fire. The world tilted, darkness rushing in at the edges o