My Perfect Marriage, His Deadly Secret

I thought our marriage was a fairy tale, and the welcome dinner for my new i

, unhinged ex, Diana, crashed the party an

ok in my husband's eyes. He cradled his attacker, w

way

watched as she threw me into a kennel with starving dogs, knowing it was my deepest fear. He let her hav

begging for help as a group of

of a second-story window. As I ran, bleeding a

he phone. "I want a divorce. And I

y. They had no idea they'd just d

pte

Elli

n with an emotion that wasn't polite indifference, s

y, I' d finally convinced him to let me intern at his company. I wanted to feel like more than just a beautiful accessory on his arm, a

ike walking in

latile woman I had ever seen. She stormed into the private dining room, her red dress a slash of color agai

snarl, laced with disbelief and contempt. She reek

y cheeks heat up, my hand instinctively tightening around Axel's under the

he said, his voice dang

you are, Axel, you know that. And you choose to be here, with

s to provoke me, didn't you? You found some bland, wide-eyed girl who look

he same dark hair, the same sharp jawline. But her features were hard, ja

said, his voice tight as he

em. It was a toxic energy that sucked all the air from the room. He wasn't looking at a d

venomous whisper only he and I could hear. "You promi

ld my face in his hands, his eyes sincere, and told me that I was the only one who wou

b the steak knife from the table. "I'll k

a strange, unreadable expression on his f

suit and into the flesh of his forearm. Blood bloomed

om. I jumped to my feet, my chair scr

ere locked on Diana, and in them, I saw it. A flicker of something dark and po

her. It was an answer to a question I hadn't heard

or. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with her smeared mascara. She threw herself

d stroked her hair, his chin resting on top of her head. The cold, ruthless CEO I

faces a mixture of shock and awkward pity. Their eyes darted from the bleeding

ne whispered from a nearby t

"She really does look like a younger Diana Buc

t even know I was playing. My stomach churned, and a wave of nausea washed over me. My b

, holding her by the shoulders. His gaze was soft, his vo

assistant. "Get

s vanished, replaced by the cool, distant mask I was so familiar with. He pulle

ght?" he asked, his

y throat felt like

ond later, my own phone buzzed

... complicated. I'll handle it. Go hom

weeping Diana, guiding her gently toward the exit. He didn't see

ressing down on me. I tried to call him. The first time, it rang until it we

The brilliant, charismatic tech mogul sweeping a simple university student off her feet. He had pursued me with a single-minded intensity

l in another state just to be in Austin, just to be with

pered promise, every grand gesture. It wasn't for me. It was a perform

ust the

, once a symbol of our new life together, now felt like a gilded cage. Every photo of us smil

promised me. You promised you' d wai

oing in the silence. I went to his office, a place I rarely entered. It was sleek and minimalist, just like him. But one door wa

ner on his desk and jammed it into the lock. I twisted and pushed, f

or swu

erfume. Not my perfume. It was a rich, heady scent of tuberos

t an office. I

a. Diana on a yacht, her hair blowing in the wind. Diana and Axel, their faces close, their eyes alight with a fire

a silver locket. On the desk, a stack of letters tied with a red rib

e fight, even when I hate you

ole body shaking. He had been coming in here. For the three months of our marriage, he had been

ging through me. I wanted to tear the photos from the wal

, startling m

voice was calm, controlled,

asked, my own voice

llout from tonight," he said e

g like ash. "Please. I'm... I'm scared." It was a

I could hear his hesitation. I could

finally said, and his voice was

don't y

ome in the

t. A faint, feminine sigh in

ne wen

t wasn't just a sigh. It was the conten

esolve replaced the heartbreak. I grabbed the oil painting of Diana, its frame heavy in my hands. With a scr

awn in their game. I w

a war? They

d barely type. I scrolled to a number I hadn't called i

id, my voice cracking,

his voice, sharp and concerned. "Keira

words finally breaking free. "And

his voice, I heard the promise of re

And Axel Delacruz had no id

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