Chapter 4

Aria bit her lip so hard the wound from the night before reopened, but she didn’t notice the taste of blood.

He was demanding she strip naked. In front of Kendra. The thought was so vile it made her stomach clench.

The last thing Kendra wanted was for Cade to have sex with Aria. She had to stop it. She lifted her head and pressed her lips to Cade’s.

“Cade, kiss me.”

Cade was momentarily taken aback, but he didn’t push her away. Not with Aria watching.

Aria stood there, helpless, as her husband and the woman she hated most in the world kissed. It was a tender, affectionate kiss that made her eyes burn. The intimacy was a brutal spectacle, and she could hardly bear the overwhelming distress.

In a trance, she stared at Cade’s lips. The way he kissed Kendra reminded her of the days when they were deliriously in love. She used to kiss him just like that.

She used to stare at him obsessively, too. “Cade, your lips are absolutely captivating.”

She had once pinched his lips playfully, declaring, “These lips are mine. You’re not allowed to kiss any other woman with them.”

He had answered with a smile so full of love it made her heart ache now to remember it. “You’re the only one I’ll ever kiss.”

She had responded flirtatiously, “Cade, what happens if you kiss another woman someday?”

He had thought about it seriously for a moment before making a vow. “Aria, I will never kiss another woman. If I ever do, it only means I no longer love you.”

Then he had kissed her so deeply they were both breathless. “Aria, I will always love you.”

If I ever do, it only means I no longer love you.

His words echoed in her mind, a cruel, looping melody.

He had stopped loving her. Nothing lasted. Forever was a lie.

Aria wiped away her tears, trying to stop the flow. “Cade, let go of Kendra! She’s my stepmother! How could you… How could you…”

She sobbed, the bitterness of it all choking her.

Cade finally pushed Kendra away. His face was a mask of cold satisfaction. “Aria, have you forgotten? It was your father who raped Kendra. She never would have married him otherwise. That marriage was nothing but suffering for her. She is not anyone’s stepmother. To me, she’s just a woman I care about!”

“My father did not rape her! She drugged him and framed him!” Aria screamed, hysterical. “Cade, why can’t you just trust me?”

Cade’s answer was heartless. “Because you are not worthy of it.”

Aria refused to shed another tear for the man who despised her so completely. She was once the princess of the Montgomery family, the most sought-after artist in New York. Now, in his eyes, she couldn’t even compare to Kendra.

Kendra’s perfume filled the room, a suffocating presence. Aria knew she might actually kill the woman if she stayed a moment longer. She grabbed her bag and staggered out of the townhouse.

But she hadn’t earned a penny today. How would she pay for Leo’s medicine?

The sky opened up, a heavy downpour soaking the city streets. She walked aimlessly, without an umbrella. She used to hate the rain, the feeling of wet clothes clinging to her skin.

But things had changed. She had learned to love the rain. It was the perfect cover for tears. No one could tell the difference.

She clutched her chest, crying out loud in the storm, but the wrenching pain in her heart wouldn’t ease.

Something cold dangled against her skin. The necklace. A custom-designed pendant, a single, flawless pink diamond shaped like a heart, that still rested in the hollow of her collarbone.

It was the only valuable thing she had left.

It was a gift from Cade on her 20th birthday. He had promised to give her his heart, as long as she promised to spend her life with him.

The heart-shaped necklace was the symbol of his love back then.

Aria had been moved to tears. It was in that moment she had decided to give him everything. They had made love for the first time that night. That was when she became pregnant with Leo.

She squeezed the heart-shaped diamond in her hand. With a final, determined effort, she decided to sell it.

She was about to sell off his heart.