As I did every night, I handed Caleb a glass of whiskey laced with a mild sedative.

Lately, Caleb and his brother, Julian, were locked in a fierce battle for the position of the group's CEO.

With the succession race so volatile, Caleb was on edge, and insomnia had become his constant companion.

I poured him his nightly whiskey and watched him drink it all in one go.

After confirming he was fast asleep, I slipped out of the bedroom and into his dark, closed-off study. The desk was immaculate, everything arranged in perfect order.

Years of marriage had taught me Caleb's habits inside and out.

I went straight to the safe and keyed in the password I'd painstakingly cracked.

With a soft click, the lock disengaged. The encrypted hard drive felt cold and heavy in my hand, humming with the secrets it held.

The thought sent a sharp pain through my chest.

Shoving the feeling aside, I connected the drive to his computer with a tense urgency, my movements almost rough.

There weren't many files on the drive. I scanned through them quickly and found what I was looking for in the last folder.

It was a screenshot from the dock's surveillance camera. In the corner of the photo, I saw the blurred figures of my parents, and I saw the cufflink my mother was clutching tightly in her hand.

That pair of cufflinks was a one-of-a-kind custom design; there couldn't possibly be a second set.

I remembered vividly how I had once pressed Sienna about why only one of the beautiful cufflinks remained.

Her eyes had darted away, her voice trembling as she blamed a clumsy waiter.

But, on second thought, that waiter had always been meticulous; he would never have made such a mistake.

The only logical explanation was that Sienna was lying.

I took a photo of the screen with my phone. The proof I needed. Just then, I noticed a terminated internal investigation report on the drive—with the investigator's name at the end.

I was about to write it down when the study door creaked open.

The door creaked softly. I snapped my head up and met Caleb's eyes.

I kept my breathing steady. My face a blank mask, I stood and placed the hard drive back in its slot.

"You're awake?" I asked.

"I thought I might have left an old design draft in here," I said, my voice even. I walked past the desk to face him, schooling my features into a look of mild concern. "Just came to check."

In the shadows, a cold smirk touched my lips.

It didn't matter if Caleb believed me or not; he would find no flaw in my composure.

The next day, I tracked down the original investigator. It took some doing, but I found him, and he was willing to talk.

I had just walked in the door with the new evidence when Caleb's voice stopped me.

"Aria, the annual charity gala is coming up. You're not thinking of sneaking out to cause trouble, are you?"

Caleb sat at the dining table, his narrow eyes raking over me.

I flinched slightly but forced myself to meet his gaze.

Caleb squinted, his lips pursed in disapproval. When he noticed the file folder in my hand, his brow furrowed even deeper.

Before I could explain, my mother-in-law Eleanor’s sharp voice cut down from the top of the stairs.

"Aria. It's the morning. Why aren't you at the table with your husband? Is that any way for a wife to behave?"

I clutched the folder tighter and walked past Caleb, not bothering to answer.

Caleb must have sensed my resistance. He stood, pulled me back to my seat, and his deep voice rumbled above me.

"Finish your breakfast. Then, you're coming with me."

I was sick of being ordered around. The refusal slipped out before I could stop it.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

Caleb seemed startled by my defiance, but his grip didn't loosen. Instead, he dragged me out the door without a shred of care.

With the annual charity gala approaching, Caleb was in charge of all the preparations for the Blackwood Group.

I followed him through the city streets, the words I'd overheard replaying endlessly in my mind.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice he'd stopped and walked right into him.

I rubbed my aching forehead and looked up to see a woman in a glamorous gown stepping out of a boutique just ahead.

"Good morning, Caleb!" Sienna called out cheerfully, then her eyes shifted to me. "Oh, it's the strangest thing," she began, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. "I was just driving by, and I could have sworn I saw Aria with her bodyguard. They seemed... awfully familiar. Then again, my eyes must have been playing tricks on me."

I used to ignore Sienna's provocations, but today, I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all.

Her attempts to stir up trouble were so clumsy, yet they worked every time because Caleb always took the bait.

The slightest interaction with another man was enough for Caleb to tighten his leash, confining me to the house like a possession.

Sure enough, as soon as we got home, Caleb issued an order—I was forbidden from leaving the house alone until the gala.

Finally, the day of the annual charity gala arrived.

Blackwood tradition required both heir-apparent couples to be present, so Caleb had no choice but to have me dressed to the nines and bring me along.

At the edge of the venue, I saw the former employees of my father's company, their faces beaming as they shot me looks of blessing and envy.

Before I could exchange more than a nod with them, Eleanor cornered me, hissing a warning in my ear.

"Aria, this gala is important. It concerns the future reputation of our family. If you mess this up, you'll live to regret it."

Seeing my lack of response, she lost her patience. Her hand shot out, tangling in my hair. She yanked my head forward and barked, "Get over here."

This little drama did not escape the notice of my father's former employees. Some looked away, feigning ignorance, while others couldn't help but whisper among themselves.

"Honestly, with that attitude, she's lucky she married into the Blackwoods at all. Why does she have to be so difficult?"

"Honestly, she's just asking for it..."

Listening to their every word, my gaze drifted numbly toward the ornate stage and toward Caleb, who was walking in my direction.

I just stood there, letting Eleanor grab my arm and drag me to my seat. After another stern warning, she finally backed off.

As Caleb approached, a sliver of hope ignited in my heart against my will.

Maybe, just maybe, my husband would comfort me when I needed it, just like he used to.

However, as Sienna took the stage, she caught my hopeful gaze and offered a cryptic smile. Then, without warning, her high heel seemed to slip on the polished floor.

In a flash, Caleb was there, catching Sienna and pulling her into a compromising embrace just as she was about to hit the floor.

From where I stood, they looked like a couple caught in a clandestine affair.

Sienna's cheek rested on Caleb's solid shoulder, her expression one of a damsel in distress.

Out of sight of the crowd, she shot me a triumphant smirk, a clear declaration of victory.

In that instant, the psychological defenses I had built for seven long years collapsed like a house of cards.

The clutch that had once been a symbol of my status fell from my numb fingers.

I looked at them, a bitter laugh escaping my lips, as Caleb knelt and picked up my scattered lipstick.

As I took the ruined lipstick from his hand, a thought twisted in my mind. What a joke. Still playing the part of the caring husband.