Aria
"It can't be," I muttered softly, my hands trembling as I covered my mouth in disbelief at what I was seeing.
Through a small crack in the door, I could see my husband making out with my best friend. Tears quickly welled up in my eyes, and my chest felt tight as I watched the betrayal unfold.
Unable to bear it, I turned around, intending to leave. But my steps faltered when I heard what my husband, Arden, said.
"Stay here with me. I'm sick of that useless bitch," Arden said as he caressed Rhea's cheek affectionately.
Rhea laughed softly, blushing shyly, then slowly laid her head on Arden's chest.
"Then when are you going to divorce her? I can't wait to be with you," replied Rhea with a small pout.
"Shh... Have you forgotten our plan? After she dies, we can get her insurance money. So, be patient for a while; it would be better if you could make her even more stressed." The smirk on Arden's face widened perfectly, looking impatient to finish me off.
"At least with her death, Aria can be useful for our wedding later." Rhea's mood improved, and giggling, she hugged Arden's neck and kissed him passionately.
My face paled when I heard their words. I never expected Arden to plan to kill me to get my life insurance.
"How could Arden intend to do this to me?" My legs felt shaky, and I had to hold onto the wall to stay on my feet.
My brain immediately signalled that I couldn't stay here because it would be dangerous if Arden and Rhea saw me here.
With the last of my strength, I walked away from the company where Arden worked. I walked sluggishly, my mind unfocused, accidentally bumping into several people along the way as I left the company building.
My mind was completely blank at that moment, still unable to believe what Arden had been doing behind my back all this time.
Without realising it, my tears began to flow, unable to hold them back any longer. My chest felt so tight right now, discovering the betrayal of the two people I trusted most in my life.
"What did I do wrong for them to do this to me?" I muttered softly, lamenting my life that was in shambles after I married Arden.
That was when I felt someone bump into my shoulder so hard that I almost fell forward.
I could see the cold floor getting closer, and just as I was preparing myself to fall, I felt a pair of warm hands wrap around my waist.
My closed eyes immediately opened wide, and that was when I realised that I was now face-to-face with him.
"Hey, are you okay?"
The man's voice sounded deep in my ears, bringing me back to reality. I quickly nodded my head.
"Sorry, I should have been more focused," I replied softly, trying to free myself from the man's embrace.
But for some reason, the man stared at me intently, his arms still firmly wrapped around my waist.
I looked up at the stranger. I blinked my eyes slowly in confusion because of the strange look in his eyes when he looked at me.
It was as if he were meeting someone he had been waiting for a long time. I was even more confused because I had never met this man before, so why was he looking at me like that?
"Can you let me go? I have to go," I said, trying to free myself from the man's embrace.
The man coughed softly, looking embarrassed, then immediately released his embrace around my waist. I just nodded my head slowly at him, then walked away from there.
After I was far enough away, I glanced back at the strange man. "Why did he look at me like that?" This still bothered me, because I really didn't remember ever meeting him.
"No, I have to focus. I have to leave the Blake family's house immediately, otherwise Arden could really kill me at any time," I continued, trying to focus on solving more urgent problems.
I had to take care of my divorce from Arden immediately, even though in return I had to be prepared to go back to being my family's puppet..
. . .
When I returned home, I hurried to my room, but my steps were halted when I saw my mother-in-law blocking my way.
"Mom, can we talk later? I have something I need to do right now," I said, trying to make my mother-in-law understand.
I started walking again to go up to the second floor, where my and Arden's rooms were, but in an instant, I felt a hand swing hard towards my cheek.
The sound of the slap echoed loudly throughout the room. The slap was so hard that I could taste blood in my mouth, and the corner of my lip hurt at that moment.
I turned and looked at my mother-in-law in disbelief. I didn't know what else could have made her so angry that she would slap me like this.
"How dare you go out without telling me! Didn't I tell you that you can't leave the house without permission! No one cleaned the house because you were gone!"
My mother-in-law shouted angrily, her eyes glaring at me with hatred.
"I just went out to get some money, Mom. The money Arden gave me earlier wasn't enough," I said, trying to give a reasonable excuse. I couldn't let them know that I had gone to Arden's company today.
"You're useless!" My mother-in-law's hand rose again to slap me.
This time, I fell to the floor from the blow.
"It was a waste for Arden to marry a useless woman like you. All you can do is spend Arden's money and be a burden to him! You'd be better off dead. Even your death would be of no benefit to us!" A string of harsh words continued to pour out of my mother-in-law's mouth.
I just stood there silently, clenching my fists tightly, trying to hold back my anger. I couldn't act rashly, or my life could be in danger.
"Don't just stand there, hurry up and clean this house and cook something for us!" My mother-in-law kicked me in the stomach before walking away without a shred of guilt.
Slowly, I tried to get up while holding my stomach. With my other hand, I wiped the corner of my mouth and saw blood on my fingertips.
"How stupid of me to think that this was the life I wanted," I muttered sharply, dragging my feet to leave.
. . .
It only took me three days to prepare my divorce papers with Arden. Of course, I asked one of my old friends to help me take care of this quickly.
I was sick of living under the same roof with these disgusting people. I was truly blind to have endured three years with Arden. I thought I could find true love when I decided to marry Arden.
But instead of true love, Arden showed me that people reveal their true colours when reality doesn't match their expectations.
I took my phone out of my bag and pressed a few buttons until a call connected.
"Dad, I'm coming home. I'll do the arranged marriage if that's the price I have to pay to come back."