Ivanna woke up to soft sunlight penetrating the silk curtains. The mansion was quiet ,too quiet, like it was waiting to exhale.
She sat up in the enormous bed, the sheets still crisp. Another night of sleeping alone, even in marriage. She should've been relieved. Instead, there was an ache in her hear that she couldn't explain.
Adrian hadn't come to their room once since the wedding. He stayed busy, disappearing into dark meetings and long phone calls. And when she saw him, he barely spoke.
It wasn't love. It wasn't even hate.
It was something worse — indifference.
The door creaked open.
"Get dressed," said Anna, one of the house staff. "Mr. Adrian wants you downstairs."
Ivanna frowned. "Did he say why?"
Anna shook her head. "But… there's a man waiting for you."
Ivanna froze.
Lucas?
Downstairs, she heard voices — low, heated. As she stepped into the room, her breath stuck in her throat.
Lucas stood there.
Not polished like before. Not charming. Just cornered — eyes darting, sweat on his brow.
Adrian sat across from him like a lion watching its prey, calm but dangerous.
Ivanna instinctively stepped back, but Adrian's eyes met hers.
"You should hear this," he said coldly. "You deserve to know what kind of man you were going to throw yourself away for."
Lucas turned toward her. "Ivanna, listen"
"Don't," Adrian snapped. "You had your chance. You chose greed."
Adrian stood, walked slowly toward Lucas, and tossed a folder onto the table. It slid open — filled with documents, screenshots, bank transfers, even private messages.
Ivanna's hands trembled as she picked up one of the pages. A message from Lucas… to someone named Ronan:
"Once I get the girl's inheritance, I'll disappear. She's soft. Won't see it coming."
Ivanna's stomach turned.
She looked up at Lucas, her voice barely a whisper. "Was it all… fake?"
Lucas didn't answer.
But his silence screamed the truth.
Adrian stepped beside her, his voice soft but fierce. "I didn't force you to marry me because I wanted power, Ivanna. I did it… to keep him from destroying you."
Tears blurred her vision. Everything she believed was a lie.
Her first love was a lie.
And the devil she hated… might have been the only one who truly protected her .
As Lucas was dragged out by Adrian's men, Ivanna stood frozen. She didn't speak. Didn't cry.
But something inside her shifted.
Not quite love.
Not yet.
But a question she never thought she'd ask:
What if Adrian isn't the villain after all?