The wine

Seraphina sat at a nearly empty café, her hands trembling as she tapped her phone screen. The city's usual bustle roared around her, yet she heard nothing but the pounding of her own heartbeat. She had been staring at the name on the marriage certificate for hours.

Adrian Thornfield.

The name rattled through her mind, a ghost from the past that shouldn't exist. It couldn't be him.Seraphina's fingers trembled as she typed the name into Google.

She held her breath, waiting for the screen to flood with images.

Nothing.

No pictures. No personal details. Just articles about Thornfield & Co.—a business empire stretching across industries. He was a rising name in finance, real estate, and luxury, but there was no face.

As if someone had deliberately wiped him from existence.

Her stomach twisted.

It was already suspicious enough that she woke up married to a man she didn't know. Now, it felt even more unnerving.

But one article stood out.

"Thornfield & Co. Expands Headquarters—New York, NY"

It was an old piece, but it had the address.

Thornfield Tower, Manhattan.

Seraphina exhaled sharply, gripping her phone so tight her knuckles turned white.

This was her only lead…

____

THORNFIELD & CO.

The skyscraper loomed over her, its sleek glass exterior reflecting the city's bright skyline. It was too big, too powerful, too…dangerous.

Seraphina tightened her grip on her marriage certificate as she stepped inside.

A towering receptionist in a crisp black suit barely glanced at her before speaking. "Do you have an appointment?"

"I need to see Adrian Thornfield," she said, her voice firmer than she felt.

The receptionist arched a brow, already looking unimpressed. "Mr. Thornfield doesn't take walk-ins. You'll need to schedule a meeting through his secretary."

Seraphina clenched her jaw. "It's urgent."

"Everyone thinks their business is urgent, Miss-...?" She trailed on with a raised eyebrow, totally disinterested.

She inhaled sharply. "Va-... Seraphina Adrian Thornfield." Seraphina corrected herself while looking at her face to get some reaction.

The receptionist's face barely shifted, but there was a flicker of something in her expression.

"Wait here."

Minutes stretched into eternity before a sharp, efficient-looking woman with dark hair and piercing gray eyes approached. She wore a pristine black suit and held a tablet in her hand.

"I'm Claire Duvall. Mr. Thornfield's executive assistant." Her voice was ice-cold. "I heard you're claiming to be his wife."

Seraphina lifted the marriage certificate. "Not claiming. I am." she said with gritted teeth. She was tired of the bullshit and just wanted to meet her HUSBAND.

Claire's expression remained blank as she took the paper, scanned it, then exhaled sharply. "This is forged."

Seraphina's blood ran cold. "What?"

Claire held up the document. "You wouldn't be the first woman trying to pull a stunt like this. Mr. Thornfield is a very wealthy man. I've seen women attempt far worse."

Seraphina's hands curled into fists. "I didn't forge this. I don't even remember marrying him." she breathed out in a frustrated and defeated tone, not realizing it wasn't going to help in her case.

Claire gave her a measured look. "That's convenient, isn't it?"

"Listen here, woman. Look at me, do you really fucking think I have the time or energy to argue with you at this time about it? You better fucking let me go to meet my fucking husband!" Seraphina shouted, angry and immensely defeated.

"I think you don't understand the language of an educated person." Claire said in the same nonchalant tone, making her frown. "Security, throw this woman out and make sure she can never return." She commanded in a harsh tone, making Seraphina look at her in shock.

The security guard was in front of Seraphina in a second. She stood frozen on her spot, not knowing how to react. Just when the security guard was going to hold her hand, they all heard a voice which made them shiver.

"Touch my wife and you will spend rest of your life regretting your fucking existence."

Seraphina's blood ran cold as the voice echoed through the room, a sound both hauntingly familiar and impossible to mistake. A shiver crawled down her spine, her breath catching in her throat as recognition dawned. It wasn't just familiarity, it was a voice laced with memories, with past wounds that had never fully healed.

Her pulse pounded against her ribs, her fingers instinctively curling into fists as dread coiled in her stomach. She wanted to believe she was mistaken, that her mind was playing tricks on her, but the chilling certainty in her gut told her otherwise.

'My wife' …

He called her his wife…

The security guard moved away from her as she slowly raised her eyes and looked at the owner of the voice. The moment her eyes met his, everything stilled around him.

"A…Adi…?" She breathed out, her voice barely more than a whisper. It was hardly audible, but he heard it—of course he did. The way his jaw clenched, his fingers curling into a tight fist at his side, was all the proof she needed.

A bitter smirk tugged at his lips, but there was no humor in it—only resentment, only the echo of something that had once been beautiful and was now irreversibly shattered.

"Long time no see, my love." The word dripped with venom, laced with a cold mockery that made her stomach churn.

There was a time when he had spoken that word with reverence, his voice brimming with devotion, as if love was the most sacred thing in the world to him—when she was the most sacred thing. Now, all that remained was a hollow shell, a man who once loved her so fiercely but now looked at her as if she were the greatest mistake of his life.

Her eyes searched his, wide with recognition, with something dangerously close to realization.

Then suddenly, something clicked in her mind.

'From the love of your life…'

The sentence. The wine.

Her breath hitched as the memories of last night flashed through her mind, piecing themselves together like a cruel puzzle.

"You… you were the one who… gave me the… red wine last night…!"