Chapter 1: Broken Heart

Ariana's pov 

"I don't love you anymore, Ariana. You are a part of me that doesn't exist."

 The room echoed with Liam's icy disinterested voice cutting like a knife through the tense atmosphere. 

I was frozen. 

I was so shocked that I couldn't say a single word.

I was hoping silently that all this was just a dream but his words were real and they pierced my heart and tears rolled down my cheeks and blurred my vision.

But it was true.

What did you just say?.

 With a tone as flat as if he were talking about the weather he continued , looking away and trying to avoid my gaze like global warming and everything was all my fault.

"I'm in love with someone else."

 Even though his eyes were piercing mine they were devoid of regret. They wrote so coldly and I wondered if this was the same man that had promised me forever .

In an attempt to find humor where none existed I chuckled shakily. "You can't be serious can you? You're kidding."

And something in me was hoping he had say that it was all a prank

"Liam, we've experienced so much. After being married for four years, you say this now? "

As if those years didn't matter he shrugged.

" I've found a better person. Someone who can fulfill my desires." 

The words struck me like a hard slap and I blinked rapidly trying to drive back that tiny sting of tears from the back of my eyes.

"Better? I said my voice was breaking. "You're here today because of me. Liam I saw you and loved you unconditionally even though you had nothing to offer me. And now you just want to throw me away like I'm some worthless thing. " I gasped and looked around me wildly and felt my knees going weak.

"Have you forgotten that I was the one who picked you up when you had nothing left and that I was the one who believed in you when no one else did?"

I didn't want to remind him of this 

No. I had swore I wouldn't but now the pain in my chest was just too much.

I swallowed hard and looked away quickly so he couldn't see the tears that slipped down.

Liam raked a hand through his neatly combed hair and sneered.

" And Ariana I'm thankful for that. Gratitude however is not love. You and I are not meant to be together, let's face it."

This was just too much for me and never in my life would I think that Liam would look me in the eyes and say such inhumane words to me.

That very moment my heart broke into thousands of irreplaceable pieces.

" Instead of clinging to the past, I need someone who fits in with my life right now." He continued, his voice dripped with something I couldn't place my hands on.

I felt as if the air was suffocatingly thick, my chest tightened and I couldn't even breathe.

 I made myself say something in the hopes that he would change his mind. "Please Liam. Think what you are saying. Through all of it—through your hardships, your ascent to prominence and even your imperfections—I have supported you. Does that not have any importance for you?"

 He let out a sigh as though I was wearing him down. 

Like I was a burden he wasn't ready to carry and would happily push aside

"Ariana, it isn't about the past. It concerns the future. Someone who can bear me children . I want someone who would love me like crazy."

 Even though he spoke slowly, I could hear the resentment in his voice. It was as if someone had slapped me. 

"Because I haven't been able to conceive, so that's what this is about?" I croaked , my voice barely above a whisper and a tear rolled down my cheeks.

His face conjured up into an ugly frown as he yelled ."It's not just that!.

Aria you're slowing down my progress. You are trapped in an outdated version of myself. I've moved on and I need someone who understands the life I've created. "

Why was he acting this way ?

What has changed?

Liam was never this way.

He was the perfect loving husband all my friends had wished for.

Outdated version of him.

I sniffed and I felt like I had been trapped in a dream I desperately wanted to wake up from.

Tears clouded my vision but I could not let them drown me. With my voice shaking I questioned.

" And who is this someone better?"

 Liam took a while to respond. Instead he reached into his pocket, took out his phone and gave the screen a few taps. 

He held it up for me to see after that without saying anything.

 I felt uneasy. I was too familiar with the woman who was staring back at me from the screen.

"Claire?" I whispered my mind reeling from the shock, my spirit almost leaving my body ."Are you going to leave me for my cousin?"

All I needed was his silence to confirm it. 

As if it validated everything he said .

"She understands me in ways you never could. She is intelligent, attractive and driven. I need her more than anything else. "

I staggered back, disbelief etched in my face and shook my head. 

"This cannot be real. For how long? How long have you been cheating on me with my cousin ?My own blood?"

 Liam remained unflinching. 

"Does it make a difference? The important thing is that it's over between us. You must sign these documents."

He picked up an envelope and tore it open and without looking at my face threw them at me.

They flew in the air and fell on my feet.

 . 

divorce documents?

 My tears finally rolled down my cheeks as I gazed at them, the carefully typed words fading. 

"Liam you can't just end this like it's nothing.I gave it all to you. How can you treat me this way?"

His face grew stern.

" Because Ariana I no longer love you. It really is that easy."

 "It's not easy!" I exclaimed, my voice cracking. "I sacrificed my life, my dreams, my entire world and my family for you and now you're just throwing me away like garbage?

 Liam tensed his jaw but remained silent. Rather he turned and started to move in the direction of the door.

 With my heart aching I yelled after him .

"Liam, hold on!."

 He stopped his hand resting on the doorknob but he didn't look back. "Ariana, please sign the documents. There is no use in prolonging this."

 $Please. . . "I was now begging in a broken voice that was hardly more than a whisper. "Don't do this to me . We can correct this. We can work together to resolve any issue. "

At last he looked up at me but his eyes were more ice than ever. 

"Nothing needs to be fixed. Ariana good-bye."

 I was left standing there with a broken heart and a stack of papers that represented the demise of everything I had worked so hard to create when he left abruptly

 With the weight of everything falling on me, I collapsed to the ground. My body erupted in tears as I gripped my chest in an attempt to keep myself together. 

The man I had dedicated my entire life to, the man I loved had suddenly become a stranger. How did this happen? A single thought crossed my mind as I sat there broken and alone: I needed to figure out how to pick up the pieces of my life. I couldn't let Liam or anyone else ruin me no matter how much it hurt.