The VIP section of the auction lounge glittered with beautiful gold chandeliers.

Just as the host requested, I arrived an hour ago to submit the ‘extravagant’ items that Hamilton Enterprises will put on auction for kids fundraiser.

But as soon I stepped closer to the semi-private area marked “Elite Access Only” familiar voices sounded behind the small crack in the door.

Alexander and his childhood friends. The men I had cooked for, laughed with, served wine to like they were my own brothers laughed like wolves encircling a prey.

“Now that Stephanie’s back in the picture, you are finally free Alexander.” one said amused.

Another chimed in curiously “But what are you going to do with Lavina now?

She is decent, sure, but come on. Between her and Stephanie? One is the Winslet family’s beloved heiress, and the other…” A chuckle. “Just a plain, awkward secretary who got lucky.”

The words sliced through the door and straight into my chest.

I remembered how Alexander had smiled that day....introducing me as the ‘humble girl from a poor village’ ,claiming his friends disliked arrogance.

But now I knew.

He wasn’t protecting me.

He was hiding my identity so that his Stephanie could stay in spotlight.

“And infertile too, isn’t she?” someone added casually. “Didn’t she miscarry once and fail IVF procedures like four times? You will be an idiot to bet your legacy on a faulty woman like her.”

The silence that followed felt like a noose tightening around my throat. The words cut deeper than knife making it harder to breathe.

Alexander didn’t mind their words.

Instead, he spoke.

“It is not Lavina’s fault, she has been a good placeholder.” he said at last, tone disturbingly calm. “But in the end that is all she is. I cannot let a substitute carry my seed.”

The world tilted beneath my feet.

“The first time I got Lavina pregnant was a pure mistake and I was unsure, but then she miscarried.

I was sad but truth to be told I never meant to have a child with her. Didn’t want to take any chances so I started giving her strong contraceptives secretly.

Only with that I didn’t mind her making a fuss about going through various fertility procedures knowing that nothing will succeed in the end.”

My heart stilled.

And then it hit me.

The bitter tablets I used to gag on. The ones he insisted I swallow. The ones he claimed would ‘keep me healthy.’

Each time I went through the painful fertility process, Alexander gave me hope… hope that I could be a mother knowing completely well that it was him at the end who would make me feel despair that was worse than death.

‘We will try again, when you're stronger.’ He said each time embracing me tightly.

“Man, you knew how much your mother despised Lavina for having a faulty womb and you still made her go through that because of Stephanie…at this point I feel pity for her.”

“I only married Lavina because my grandfather insisted.” Alexander continued, laughing bitterly. “He loved Lavina’s purity. I didn’t even have a say.”

“Stephanie is everything I ever wanted.”

That was it.

That was the moment.

I turned and ran away. My tears blurred everything as I clutched my mouth hard to stop the sobs as I held storm in.

I couldn’t cry here. Not where the walls might echo it back.

I didn’t realize how long it was when my phone buzzed.

[ALEXANDER: Where are you? Get back up here. Hurry.]

I stared at the screen through tears, a bitter smile ghosting my lips.

Of course.

Even now, he thought he could summon me like a trained pet.

With my heart completely shattered I called the butler at Alexander’s home.

“Bring me all the items inside my safe now.”

Wiping off my tears I strode inside calmly as if nothing had transpired, as if my heart wasn’t split in half.

The auction hall was filled with elite CEOs all over the city. Flashlights glimmered the moment Alexander arrived with Stephanie beside him.

“Lavina, you are here.” I looked at them without a word as the press swarmed around us.

“Mr. Hamilton!” a reporter yelled, shoving her mic over the velvet rope. “Is it true you made Miss Lavina resign from the company today?”

“Mr. Hamilton, is your personal assistant also your romantic partner? The rumors…are they true?”

More microphones. More cameras flashing.

Stephanie’s hold on Alexander’s arm tightened as her eyes glared daggers at me.

But before Alexander could coldly deny any sort of connection I stepped in.

“There has been a misunderstanding.” I said coolly, my voice slicing through the chaos making everyone quieten down instantly. “There is absolutely no personal relationship between Mr. Hamilton and me.”

“Mr. Hamilton is the CEO of Hamilton Enterprises.” I said, voice unwavering. “And I was a company employee. Nothing more nothing less.

I can resign any time, and it is be no different than an intern walking out. Infact, I have almost finalized a deal with another business tycoon to work for them.” A gasp ran through the crowd as Alexander froze in his place.

His jaw tensed as he looked at me, the faintest flicker of panic crossing his expression but he couldn’t interrupt without confirming the chaos.

One reporter, bolder than the rest, pushed forward with several photographs of a couple ring from Paris.

“Are you saying everything is false? That you didn’t got secretly married three years ago and that you are not his wife when the ring you never take off is a commissioned couple set of rings from the most famous designer in Paris- the male version of which Mr.Alexander is still wearing now-”

“But do you see me wearing that ring?” I said quietly before raising my fingers for everyone to see and no wedding ring was there.

The hush was suffocating.

Alexander took a step towards me, face unreadable remembering my smiling face as I vowed to never take off the ring: the symbol of our unbreakable bond.

Then I reached into my bag, pulled out a glossy folder, and handed it to the nearest reporter.

“Here’s a notarized statement from the Paris registrar. No record of marriage between Alexander Hamilton and Lavina. Infact I am already promised to another man.”

Gasps rippled through the press like electricity.

Alexander stepped forward, lips parting but the loud chime of the auction bell cut him off.

Perfect timing.

The grand hall fell into a hush as the auctioneer stepped onto the gilded podium, announcing loudly.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we begin tonight’s event with a priceless piece donated by Hamilton Enterprises.”

The velvet box opened under the spotlight.

Gasps echoed.

An emerald necklace deep, vivid green like wild forest after rain. Raw and captivating.

Alexander's smile froze, he could recognize that jewelry anywhere afterall he had chosen the emeralds himself saying that they matched my eyes…eyes that once looked at him like he was my whole world.

Now they glinted coldly beneath auction lights.

Stephanie leaned in eagerly. “It’s stunning! Who owned it, Alex? I want it.”

Before he could respond, she raised her paddle, bidding like a woman obsessed.

The gavel dropped.

Sold.

Another box. The second item: a limited-edition diamond wristwatch. I had given it to him on his 30th birthday…the first year he forgot mine and yet I never said a word. Just smiled and wrapped it around his wrist.

Sold.

The third: a vintage brooch inlaid with rare rubies. Passed down from Alexander’s grandmother, gifted to me when I became his wife. It was the only heirloom I had ever received.

Sold.

Each memoryladen piece sold off like it was scrap metal. And I stood beside Alexander, composed like he wanted me to…just as his secretary.

Alexander turned sharply towards me, completely ignoring the eyes, the murmurs and the cameras altogether.

“Lavina....that...that necklace was your favorite, you bawled your eyes when it was merely scratched then how could you just give it away? Don't you remember thatit was my gift to you on our wedding night?”

He watched in horror as the necklace was brought to Stephanie and even though he gifted her more expensive things…this one necklace of mine around his mistress’s neck felt…wrong.

“All I did…” I said, my voice low “..was enhance your public image. Kept your reputation spotless without costing you a dime. Isn’t that what you always wanted, Alexander?”

Picking up a glass of red wine from a nearby tray I raised it in the air.

“Cheers to Mr Hamilton!”

The crowd erupted in applause, raising their glasses.

Alexander didn’t move. His eyes locked on mine…his heart feeling unfathomable.

Then he turned away, swallowed by a sea of powerful men and fake laughter.

I downed the wine in one sharp gulp and walked out, the applause echoing behind me like cruel laughter.

The hallway was dim but as I turned the corner, I froze.

Stephanie.

I stilled, blood draining from my face when she smiled...that same cruel smile from when we were children.

When she shoved me headfirst into the pond until I nearly drowned.

When she pushed me down the stairs and framed me as a liar infront of the Winslet family.

Then came the shove.

I stumbled backward into the freezing cold storage room. The heavy door slamming shut.

“Tonight was mine!” She sneered “But you stole the spotlight my spotlight? So here..have your moment..alone, in the dark while I toast champagne with your husband.”

“Stephanie, you are insane!” I pounded on the door. “Let me out!”

“No one’s coming, bitch. You thought auctioning off those trinkets would make Alex pity you? Feel guilty?"

"I don’t care about Alexander! You can have him!”

“Oh, I will.” she purred, voice laced with poison. “But really, thank you. While I was moaning under silk sheets in Paris with your husband, you were busy playing housemaid scrubbing Alexander’s mess, building his empire from the dirt."

“You shameless snake! If anything, you are the other woman. The mistress!”

“Mistress?” she laughed. “I was his first. His everything. He lost his virginity to me, Lavina. And when you were miscarrying? I told him I had the flu, and he left you in the hospital to hold me through the night in Paris.”

My heart sank as miserable tears threatened to escape my eyes. Stephanie laughed at my stunned silence before she turned and walked away, her heels echoing, her last word hanging in the air:

“Enjoy the cold, sis.”

The auction ended and Alexander with a stomach full of anger waited for me to show up.

“Alex sister was too angry with me, I messed up big-“

“You messed up? It is her who has been throwing a tantrum just because I sacked her off! Let her be if this is what she wants!

Let me see how many days can she live without me!” With that Alexander left with Stephanie.

I pulled out my phone, fingers trembling…no signal.

Time blurred as I lost the feeling in my body and my body swayed before collapsing.

But just before everything faded, the door burst open with a loud, violent crash.

“Clear the way! MOVE!”

I couldn’t lift my head, but I caught the deep voices, the urgency in their steps and the sharp command that silenced everyone.

Men in a dark suit threw a coat over me while paramedics rescued me. "Ms. Winslet please hold on!"

Hours later I woke up to my hand attached to an IV drip.

A familiar doctor who was attending to me for the past three years for fertility treatments appeared by my side slong with others.

“Miss Lavina you are lucky.

Master Damien was deathly sick yesterday but when you did not answer your phone, he forced us to stop his treatment and go search for you instead. Even a moment of delay and your life could have been in danger. Or both of you wouldn’t have made it.” I could not speak due to astonishment before a single word registered in my mind.

"Both?" I asked making the fertility specialist smile.

“Yes, you and your baby. Congratulations Madam, you have finally conceived. The IVF treatment that failed four times previously was successful.

Last night we found that you are five months pregnant.”

After being discharged, I took a cab to Hamilton estate.

I stepped inside quietly, heading straight to the bedroom to pack what little still belonged to me when I heard the soft drag of fabric, followed by a low giggle echoing from inside.

Stephanie.

Standing in front of the mirror wearing my wedding dress.

The pearl-laced wedding gown that my grandma stitched on her deathbed, her last blessing to me when she realized that the Winslet household did not care for me at all and I was working five jobs in a row to accumulate some money to buy the silk fabric.

And now?

It hung limp on her frame, the front ripped open. She was using her hands to hold it together, her fingers curling into the delicate fabric like claws.

“Oh, here you are sister.” she beamed, twirling. “I was hoping you would have died but here you are, well guess what happened last night.”

My body stiffened. I already knew I wouldn’t like the answer.

She stepped closer, dragging the ruined hem across the floor. “Alexander took me to the rooftop suite of your favourite hotel. The one where you spent your last birthday alone in?” Her voice dripped with mock sweetness.

“He took me to your private suite with the balcony view.”

My stomach twisted. That used to be our place….the place where we spent our wedding night.

“We left the curtains open.” she said, her eyes glinting. “I screamed his name loud enough for the staff to hear.”

I tried not to flinch.

“Alexander said I taste sweeter and tore the dress open while I was still wearing it.”

My vision blurred.

Stephanie pulled back the sleeve, exposing red-purple love bites scattered across her collarbone, her chest.

“It got a little wild when I told him I was ready to start a family. He didn’t even hesitate.” She smiled, slow and smug. “Who knows? I might already be carrying his child.”

My fingers curled into fists. I was shaking.

“You are disgusting!” I whispered.

She leaned in, tilting her head with mock concern.

“Funny. That is different from what your husband thinks when he pushes my body and enter me again and again trying to impregnate me. Maybe I will finally give him what you could never.”

My last of the reason snapped and I slapped her hard.

The sound cracked through the room like thunder making Stephanie stumble in shock before she fell down with the impact.

“You!”

“Lavina?”

Alexander’s voice echoed.

He stepped in, brows furrowed, taking in the scene: Stephanie half-naked in my destroyed wedding gown on the floor, me standing in the doorway.

But Stephanie didn’t miss a beat.

“I am sorry sister!” she choked out, tears springing instantly to her eyes. “I was modelling the dress for a campaign… I swear, I didn’t mean to damage it! It just… ripped!”

“I-I am your culprit, I was the one who snatched your parent’s love but please forgive give sister, love cannot be forced…I-I can’t do anything else except….” She paused tears tumbling down her cheeks. “except dying……yes, once I die, everything will be yours…”

She got up instantly, picking up a fruit-knife.

“Stop” Alexander growled, lunging forward and yanking it from her. She let out a cry, twisted in his grip and then suddenly darted toward the nearest wall like she meant to crack her skull open.

Alexander caught her just in time, arms locking around her waist. She collapsed into his chest, sobbing like some tragic heroine from a cheap romance.

“Stephanie” he said firmly “I invited you here as my guest. If anyone has a problem with you, they have a problem with me!”

I watched them with numbness spreading in my heart, Stephanie clinging to Alexander, him protecting her like some wounded bird and my lips curled into a bitter smile.

When he turned to me his voice was colder than ice.

“Lavina, apologize to her!”

I merely looked at him numbly “Apologize? Alexander aren’t you even curious where I was last night?”

“I don’t care!” he cut in sharply. “You don’t get to hurt Stephanie! If you don’t apologize right now, I will block all your cards and shift your room to the servant quarters!”

My heart lurched.

My child had nearly died.

Our child.

And Alexander was busy soothing his mistress.

“That should humble you Lavina.” he added cruelly. “maybe I have spoiled you too much.”

I didn’t say a word.

Because in that moment, I realized the truth.

He never saw me as a wife, I was a pet, a maid he kept out of conveinience.

He thought taking away the money would crush me.

What he didn’t know was I had already been poor. Starving. Forgotten.

I only stayed because I loved him. I gave him everything my time, my youth, my soul while building his empire with my blood.

“Shift her to the servant quarters and don’t let her eat until she apologizes.” Before leaving, Alexander ordered the servants coldly.

Just like that I became a villainess in their lovestory.

The moment Alexander walked away with Stephanie, my phone buzzed to life with an anonymous number.

"Where was he? While you were losing consciousness in a storage room, where was your husband Miss Winslet?" The sheer anger in the male's voice made me freeze for a moment before I realized that there was only one person who would be angry like this.

Damien Stone.

“He was with...her.” My throat burned as I whispered.

"I can’t stay away anymore.” he answered his voice barely restrained.

“How long?” I whispered.

He didn’t hesitate.

“One week that's all. After that, I come to take you home.”

"Alright."