Third Person POV

On her 28th birthday, Chelsea Schneider gave herself a very special gift.

“Alaric, can you help me draft a divorce agreement? I want to cut all ties with Magnus.”

Alaric Malcom looked at her seriously. “Chelsea, are you sure about this? I’ll do everything I can to help, but Magnus loves you. He won’t let you go that easily.”

Chelsea paused for a moment and wondered, 'Does Magnus really love me?'

“I’ll find a way to make him agree,” she said firmly.

——

That evening, she wore the most stunning gown she owned and walked into her birthday party with quiet confidence. Magnus Colon’s eyes lit up the moment he saw her.

“Wow… You look amazing tonight, babe.”

He pulled her close, his arm wrapped tightly around her slender waist as he buried his face in the curve of her neck, breathing her in like he couldn’t get enough.

His warm breath tickled behind her ear, making her cheeks flush pink. She tried to gently push away, but he only held her tighter.

“You smell incredible,” he murmured, his hand already sliding toward the deep V-neck of her dress.

“Magnus…” Her voice trembled, body softening against his as shivers rippled down her spine.

Just when things were getting intense, Magnus’s phone rang. The sound cut through the moment like a cold blade.

“Yeah. I’ll be right there,” he said after answering.

He glanced at her, clearly still wanting more, and smiled, brushing her nose with his fingertip. “Be good. Michaela needs something. I’ll be back soon—wait for me in the hall.”

He kissed her lips softly before turning and walking downstairs.

Chelsea watched him leave, unease twisting in her gut. She saw how his eyes had gone dark the moment he answered the call.

Michaela Colon, Magnus’s younger sister, had never liked her. If she was calling during her birthday party, it couldn’t be good.

Fixing the hem of her dress, Chelsea made her way alone to the event hall, greeting guests with grace while quietly waiting for Magnus to return.

But an hour passed. Still no sign of him.

The uneasy feeling in her chest kept growing. Finally, she excused herself and went to look for him.

As she rounded a hallway corner, a burst of laughter rang out from a private room nearby.

“Hahaha… Jeff, is this stuff really that effective?”

“Of course. I pulled a lot of strings to get it. Trust me—after tonight, Chelsea’s gonna be ruined.”

At the mention of her name, she instantly froze.

Slowly, carefully, she crept closer to the door, which was left slightly ajar. Through the gap, she saw Magnus lounging lazily on a couch, twirling a small packet between his fingers. His brows were slightly furrowed, but his eyes were empty, cold, and emotionless.

“Damn, Jeff, I didn’t know you had these kinds of connections,” Michaela said as she sauntered over in heels and sat beside her brother, snatching the packet from his hands and inspecting it closely.

“As long as she takes this tonight, and my brother catches her in bed with another guy tomorrow morning? Boom—divorce guaranteed. And once she’s out, her family's shares will be ours.”

Snorting, she continued with apparent annoyance, “If her dad hadn’t forced my brother into marrying her by using the company shares as leverage, Sabrina wouldn’t have left the country, and they’d still be together. All of this is Chelsea’s fault.”

She then turned to her brother, frowning. “Hey, don’t tell me you’re actually falling for her. Sabrina’s coming back tomorrow, remember?”

“She’s just a pawn. A means to help our family bounce back. Love? That was never part of the plan.”

Magnus’s voice was calm, detached. He barely glanced at the pill in Michaela’s hand.

“I’m just thinking of a good excuse to get her to take it,” he also reasoned.

His casual tone cut through Chelsea like a knife. Just an hour ago, he was holding her, kissing her, whispering sweet nothings. And now… now he was plotting to drug her and push her into someone else’s bed.

They met in college, always competing for the top spot. Their families did business together, so they kept crossing paths. Somewhere along the way, she fell for him.

But back then, he was already with Sabrina.

Chelsea never tried to interfere—she kept her feelings buried deep.

Then, three years ago, Sabrina suddenly left the country, and not long after, Magnus proposed.

She later found out that his family had nearly gone bankrupt, and her father agreed to help them, on one condition: Magnus must marry her.

She’d thought about leaving. But she loved him and couldn’t let go.

And over the three years of marriage, he’d been good to her, gentle and attentive.

She thought maybe, just maybe, he had learned to love her back.

But now she knew the truth. The kindness had been nothing more than a strategy, a transaction.

Now that his family had recovered, she was no longer useful.

Her fists clenched so tightly that blood beaded from her palms. But the pain in her hands was nothing compared to the ache in her chest.

She couldn’t listen anymore.

Swallowing the sob rising in her throat, she turned and rushed into the nearest bathroom, her vision blurring with unshed tears.

'If he never loved me… then I won’t love him either,' she declared inwardly.

Her fingers trembled as she pulled out her phone and booked a one-way ticket abroad, leaving in one week.

Then, she made a call she hadn’t made in a long, long time.

From this day forward, she and Magnus would go their separate ways.

Third Person POV

By the time Chelsea walked out of the restroom, she had already pulled herself together.

She’d reapplied a bold layer of makeup to cover her swollen, tear-stained eyes. When she returned to the event hall, Magnus and Michaela were already waiting.

“Babe, where’d you go? You were gone so long—I was getting worried!” Magnus rushed to her side. He paused for a beat when he saw her heavy makeup, then reached for her hand.

“I’m fine. Just went to the restroom,” Chelsea replied flatly, pulling her hand away from his.

“Really? You're okay?” He looked down at his now-empty hand, momentarily stunned.

She simply nodded and walked past him into the crowd, not bothering to say more.

Magnus stared after her, a frown forming between his brows. Something felt off about Chelsea tonight—different in a way he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Just then, Michaela approached Chelsea with a glass of red wine in hand.

“Happy birthday, Chelsea,” she said with a sweet smile, the anticipation in her eyes poorly hidden as she held the glass out.

Chelsea stared at the swirling red liquid for a long time before finally taking it. She turned and walked back to Magnus.

Lifting her eyes to meet his, she asked quietly, “You really want me to drink this?”

She locked her gaze on him, searching for any sign of hesitation, a flicker of guilt—anything. But Magnus simply raised his own wine glass and said, “Happy birthday, babe.”

Then he downed his drink in one gulp.

Chelsea’s heart clenched so hard, it felt numb.

She slowly brought the glass to her lips—but the very next second, her hand slipped. The glass crashed to the floor and shattered with a sharp, echoing crack.

“Oh no, Chelsea! You’re so clumsy,” Michaela said, her smile vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

Magnus, on the other hand, didn’t say a word. He just frowned and stepped forward to grab Chelsea’s hand, carefully checking her fingers for any cuts.

Chelsea stayed silent, her lips pressed into a tight line. If she hadn’t heard what they said in that private room earlier—if she didn’t know the wine had been drugged—she might have actually believed that Magnus was genuinely worried about her.

But now she knew it was all just an act.

After making sure she wasn’t hurt, Magnus called over hotel staff to clean up the broken glass.

The party continued, but Michaela wasn’t done trying. She kept approaching Chelsea with different excuses, trying again and again to get her to take the drug. But each time, Chelsea saw through her and avoided it with ease.

Eventually, Michaela grew desperate and angry. Losing her temper, she shoved Chelsea toward a table lined with wine glasses.

The loud crash of glass filled the room as several cups shattered on the ground. Chelsea, having lost her balance, fell hard to the floor.

“Oh no! Chelsea, are you okay?”

“What happened? Why were you being so careless?”

The sudden commotion drew everyone’s attention. Magnus, who had been standing not far off, rushed over.

Just as he bent down to help her, Michaela cried out again.

“Magnus! Something’s wrong—Sabrina was harassed at the airport!”

“What?!” he roared.

In that instant, Magnus’s hand, currently holding Chelsea's hand, immediately let go of it.

Without a second thought, he pushed through the crowd and ran out of the event hall.

Chelsea, now unsupported, fell back to the ground again.

Third Person POV

"Hiss..." The sharp sting of glass piercing her skin made Chelsea suck in a breath through her teeth.

“Who’s Sabrina?” Seeing Magnus anxiously rush off, someone from the crowd finally voiced the question everyone was thinking.

“You don’t know? Sabrina Knowles is the woman Mr. Colon truly loves.”

“What? Then what about Mrs. Colon?”

“Oh, everyone in our circle knows the story. Chelsea married into the Colon family when they were down and out, taking advantage of the situation, and Sabrina was forced to leave the country. But now that the Colon family’s back on top, and Sabrina’s returned... let’s see how Mrs. Colon handles it.”

“Ohhh... so that’s what happened.”

“I always thought she was so classy and graceful. Didn’t expect she was the third party all along. Tsk...”

“Shhh, keep it down.”

Chelsea listened to the whispers swirl around her. Watching Magnus’s retreating back growing smaller and smaller in the distance, she couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

So this was love? Three years of marriage, and it turned out to be a cruel joke. And everyone had known all along—everyone but her.

She picked herself up off the floor, glass still embedded in her skin. But not a single person offered to help her. Of course not. These were Colon family friends, not hers.

The party came to an abrupt end after her injury.

By the time Chelsea drove herself to the hospital, it was already late into the night. The ER was quiet, nearly empty.

What she didn’t expect... was to run into Magnus and Sabrina there, of all places.

She’d just finished getting her hand bandaged when they walked in—Magnus covered in bruises and Sabrina supporting him.

“Chelsea? What are you doing here?” Magnus froze when he saw her stepping out of the treatment room, then quickly moved in front of Sabrina, shielding her without even thinking.

That instinctive move made Chelsea’s heart sink. She forced a tight smile and raised her heavily bandaged hand. “Thanks to your dear sister.”

Magnus frowned at the sight of her hand, wrapped like a mummy. He opened his mouth to say something, but Sabrina spoke first.

“Chelsea, that’s not fair. Michaela is still just a kid. As her sister-in-law, shouldn’t you be more patient with her?”

Chelsea almost laughed out loud.

A kid? Michaela was only a year younger than her. If she were still a child, then why was everyone expecting her to act like an adult?

“And what does that have to do with you?” she asked coldly.

She glanced at Sabrina’s hand, still clutched protectively in Magnus’s. But her heart didn’t even ache anymore. She was just... done.

She turned and walked toward the exit. But just as she brushed past them, Magnus suddenly grabbed her wrist from behind.

“Chelsea, what’s with your attitude? Apologize to Sabrina. Now.”

His tone was sharp, his face dark. The anger in his voice was impossible to miss.

Even so, Chelsea looked up into his cold eyes—and felt nothing.

She had just now realized that when one's heart was deeply wounded, it was really possible to unlove someone.

“Why should I apologize?” she coldly asked.

“Because she’s right. Michaela is just a kid. Why are you being so petty with her?” He paused, then added, “And how could you talk to Sabrina like that? She just got harassed at the airport and hasn’t even recovered. Now you’re making it worse. So, apologize now.”

His grip on her tightened. The fury in his eyes looked like it was about to spill over.

So that was it. Sabrina had been harassed at the airport. That’s why he rushed off. That’s why he fought. That’s why he was hurt.

Chelsea glanced at Sabrina, whose eyes were now rimmed red with tears.

What a perfect performance.

A cold smile tugged at Chelsea’s lips.

So when Sabrina got hurt, he went ballistic. But when it’s his own wife being drugged at her birthday party, he plays along?

Love and indifference were never clearer than in this moment.

Chelsea clenched her fist. Then she yanked her arm away with all her strength. “You should focus on your injuries instead.”

Without looking back and saying another word, she walked out of the hospital.