The soft click of the front door broke the suffocating silence inside the penthouse.

Arkana stepped inside, loosening his tie as exhaustion showed on his face. But he stopped short the moment he realized Aurelia wasn't there to greet him as she always was.

She sat upright on the living room sofa, staring at him with a look he had never seen before.

"Sweetheart, this is unusual. You're not coming to greet me?" Arkana tried to lighten the mood as he walked toward her. "I'm sorry about this morning. The meeting really took up my time, but thankfully it ended earlier than expected."

Aurelia didn't move.

Her eyes remained fixed on the shirt Arkana was wearing, the very shirt she had lovingly ironed just a few hours ago. Now it was slightly wrinkled from another woman's embrace.

"The meeting?" Aurelia's voice was flat, almost a whisper. "Was it a board meeting, or was it at the VIP wing of the Upper East Side hospital, Arkan?"

The room instantly turned ice cold.

Arkana's hand froze halfway through removing his watch. His jaw tightened, and his eyes sharpened.

"You followed me?" he asked, his voice low with disbelief.

Aurelia let out a hollow laugh, one filled with nothing but pain.

"Followed you?" She rose from the sofa, gripping her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. "If I hadn't gone there and seen it with my own eyes, I'd still be the fool who believed her husband was busy leading a meeting, while my husband was actually busy holding another woman as she cried against his chest!"

"Enough, Aurelia!" Arkana snapped, his voice echoing through the spacious penthouse. "Stop making baseless accusations. You don't know anything about what happened there!"

"Then explain it!" Aurelia shouted.

The tears she had been holding back finally broke free.

Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe through the overwhelming pain.

"Tell me who that woman is, Arkan! Who is she that she can call you in the middle of the night on our anniversary? Who is she that at six in the morning, when we hadn't even..." Her voice faltered before she forced herself to continue. "You walked away from me without a second thought just to rush to her at the hospital. Who is she?"

Arkana pinched the bridge of his nose, his breathing growing uneven as anger began to boil inside him.

He felt cornered, accused of something that, in his mind, wasn't what Aurelia believed it to be.

But his pride, and the promise he had made, kept him from explaining.

To him, everything involving that woman was his responsibility alone, something Aurelia had no reason to interfere with.

"I don't have to explain every detail of my life to you when you're acting this childish," Arkana said coldly, disappointment flashing in his eyes. "I went there because there was an emergency I had to handle. Why has your mind become so twisted? Where's your trust in your own husband?"

"Trust?" Aurelia pressed a hand against her shattered chest. "How am I supposed to trust you when you keep lying to me? You said it was work, but you went to the hospital. You hid her behind a contact saved as 'S.' And..." She swallowed hard. "That mark on your neck last night, was that part of your office business too?"

For a brief moment, Arkana's expression stiffened at the mention of the mark on his neck.

But instead of explaining himself, he felt his pride as a husband being trampled. In his eyes, she had treated him like a criminal by following him and questioning everything he did.

"Enough, Aurelia! I won't be interrogated and followed around like this!" Arkana shouted, fury blazing in his eyes. "I married you because I thought you were understanding, not because I wanted a jealous woman who loses all common sense and spies on her own husband. Then accuses him without knowing the truth!"

His words struck the deepest part of Aurelia's heart.

Childish?

Lacking common sense?

Her mind drifted back three years.

They had fallen in love while working at the same company.

For three years they had dated, laughing together, supporting each other's careers until Arkana finally proposed.

After they married, it had been Arkana's wish for her to live comfortably without the pressures of work.

She had willingly given up a thriving career.

She had buried her ambitions and devoted herself completely to becoming the wife who would always be waiting for him at home.

And after every sacrifice she had made...

This was all she had become in his eyes.

A childish, unreasonable woman.

"We dated for three years, Arkan... and we've been married for one." Aurelia's voice trembled violently between broken sobs. "I gave you my entire life. I quit my job so I could take care of our home, so I could be the person waiting for you every day. But what have I gotten in return? You treat me like a stranger who doesn't even deserve to know the truth about her own husband's lies."

Arkana turned his face away.

His wounded pride refused to let him look at his wife's tears.

"If you're going to keep accusing me without even trying to understand my position, then this conversation is pointless."

"It is pointless!" Aurelia cried.

Her emotions surged past the point of control.

The pain and disappointment bursting inside her forced the words from her lips before she could stop them.

"If you'd rather protect that woman than care about how I feel... if this marriage is nothing but lies, then let's get divorced, Arkan. Let's just get divorced!"

The room fell completely silent.

Only Aurelia's heartbreaking sobs could be heard.

Arkana stared at her with piercing eyes.

His jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles in his neck stood out.

The anger he had been suppressing finally exploded the moment she spoke that forbidden word so easily.

"Divorce?" Arkana asked, his voice now icy and razor sharp.

He let out a mocking scoff.

"You think this marriage is some kind of game? Something you can end whenever you throw a childish tantrum?" He gave a bitter laugh. "Fine. If that's what you want, if you've already decided you can't trust me anymore... then fine. A divorce it is."

The moment those devastating words left his mouth, Arkana snatched his car keys off the table.

Without another glance at Aurelia, who stood frozen in place, he turned and strode out of the penthouse.

The front door slammed shut behind him with a deafening bang, leaving an oppressive silence throughout the apartment.

Arkana left to cool off.

He left behind the storm he had just unleashed on his wife's life.

Aurelia slowly collapsed onto the cold marble floor.

She covered her tear-soaked face with both hands.

Her entire body shook with painful sobs.

Her chest felt hollow, tight, and shattered into countless pieces.

The man she had loved for four years, the man who had promised before the altar to cherish and protect her, had just agreed to divorce her rather than set aside his pride or explain another woman's place in his life.

She cried for hours on the cold floor, letting every ounce of her pain pour out through her tears.

Gradually, her sobs began to subside.

Aurelia slowly lifted her head and looked toward the empty front door.

She wiped away her tears roughly with the back of her hand, though her eyes were swollen and red.

The warmth that had once filled her heart was gone.

In its place stood a quiet resolve, forged from unbearable pain.

*Fine,* Aurelia thought, drawing a long breath that ached in her chest.

*Maybe divorce really is for the best. I won't let myself be destroyed any further in this house.*

The slow ticking of the wall clock echoed through the luxurious penthouse, breaking the oppressive silence.

Seven o'clock in the evening.

Arkana stepped through the front door, his body weighed down with exhaustion after burying himself in stacks of paperwork all day. It had been the best distraction from the explosive argument they had earlier that afternoon.

The house was dark and unusually quiet.

As he slipped off his wool coat, his gaze instinctively swept across the living room and kitchen.

Empty.

There was no sign of Aurelia anywhere.

*She must already be asleep. Or maybe she's locked herself in the bedroom because she's still angry,* Arkana thought, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling creeping up the back of his neck.

He let out a quiet breath, convincing himself that her outburst earlier had simply been the result of heightened emotions. The word *divorce* that Aurelia had thrown at him, along with his own harsh agreement, had surely been spoken in the heat of the moment.

As he walked farther into the apartment, he made up his mind.

Tonight, he would set his pride aside.

He would finally explain who Selena really was, for the sake of the marriage they had built over the past year. What they had shared, three years of falling in love while working together and another year as husband and wife, was too precious to let fall apart so easily.

Arkana headed toward the master bedroom.

He carefully pushed open the heavy wooden door, making as little noise as possible. He didn't want to wake the wife he assumed was sleeping beneath the blankets.

But the instant he flipped on the light, the sight before him stopped him cold.

The room was neat.

Too neat.

The velvet comforter stretched perfectly across their king-size bed without a single wrinkle.

The soft vanilla fragrance that always lingered whenever Aurelia was there was gone, replaced by a cold, lifeless stillness.

His gaze locked onto the center of the bed.

Aurelia wasn't there.

Arkana immediately reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone to call her.

Each attempt went straight to voicemail.

Her phone was completely turned off.

"Damn it, where are you, Aurelia?" he muttered through clenched teeth as anxiety mixed with irritation settled heavily in his chest.

Using the emergency tracker connected to the spare car Aurelia had taken, Arkana quickly pinpointed her location.

A quiet city park on the outskirts of town, not far from an apartment complex.

Without wasting another second, he grabbed another set of car keys and sped through the evening traffic.

Meanwhile, beneath the dim glow of the mercury streetlights, the winter fog drifted through the deserted park, biting at the skin.

Aurelia sat alone on a long wooden bench, her fingers tightly intertwined.

Even her thick casual clothes couldn't stop the shivering that ran through her body, not only because of the cold, but because of the turmoil raging inside her heart.

She had deliberately turned off her phone that afternoon.

She needed time to calm herself, far away from the walls of the penthouse that had begun to feel suffocating after the exhausting emotional collision.

*Should I really give up and get divorced?*

The question circled relentlessly through Aurelia's mind.

At first, the unbearable pain had forced the word *divorce* from her lips without a second thought.

She had been devastated by Arkana calling her childish and unreasonable.

But after spending hours alone in the quiet park, her anger had gradually softened.

Reason began to return.

Four years together, three years of falling in love after meeting at work, followed by one year of marriage, was not a short chapter of her life.

She still loved him.

That love remained deeply rooted in her heart.

Aurelia wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the blurred city lights through eyes clouded with fresh tears.

*I can't accept our marriage ending like this without knowing the truth. I won't give up this easily before I hear the truth directly from Arkan himself.*

She made up her mind.

Once she had completely calmed down tonight, she would go home.

She would demand a full explanation.

No shouting.

No more secrets.

"Aurelia..."

A familiar voice shattered the silence.

She startled and looked up to find a tall man wearing a dark brown coat standing in front of her.

"Jensen..." Aurelia whispered, her voice catching.

The moment she saw the one person who had always understood her better than anyone else, every wall she had spent the entire day building around herself collapsed.

Her careful reasoning disappeared beneath a tidal wave of grief.

The man she had always regarded as an older brother, the one who had spent years protecting her, stepped forward without a word.

He pulled her into a firm, protective embrace, allowing her head to rest against his broad chest.

He had only recently returned from Italy with his wife and child.

After spending four years abroad, he had come back just a few days earlier.

Aurelia had never had the chance to introduce Jensen to her husband because of how busy he had been.

Aurelia broke down in the arms of the man she considered her brother.

Her shoulders shook uncontrollably as every ounce of pain, heartbreak, and loneliness she had carried since their ruined anniversary poured out in tears.

Jensen remained silent.

He simply stroked her back with gentle, reassuring motions, offering the comfort his little sister needed more than anything at that moment.

Across the street, Arkana's car had just come to a stop.

He climbed out in a hurry, intending to find his wife and clear up every misunderstanding between them.

But after taking only a few steps into the park, he froze.

Beneath the dim glow of the park lights, the sight before him struck him like a crushing blow.

His wife, Aurelia, was in the arms of a man he had never seen before.

The stranger held her tightly, gently rubbing her back in what looked like an unmistakably intimate embrace.

Arkana's blood ran hot.

His determination to explain everything about Selena and repair their marriage vanished in an instant, replaced by a searing fire that consumed his pride.

Disbelief and suspicion immediately poisoned his thoughts.

*So this is why you turned off your phone. This is why you were so quick to ask for a divorce.*

Arkana's breathing became ragged as he struggled to contain his anger.

He had believed Aurelia had left to cool off after their argument.

Instead, she had sought comfort in another man's arms.

His wounded pride and overwhelming sense of betrayal made his fist tighten inside the pocket of his coat.

His eyes turned as cold as ice, filled with profound disappointment.

He refused to lower himself by confronting them in the middle of a public park.

He didn't want to know.

He didn't care.

He refused to find out who the stranger holding his wife was.

To Arkana, what he had witnessed tonight was proof enough that Aurelia had already given her heart to someone else.

His jaw tightened, carving sharp lines across his handsome face.

Then he turned around and strode back toward his car.

Inside the VIP hospital room, Arkana leaned back against a leather chair, staring blankly out the window at the fading remnants of the night. His mind was in complete disarray. The image of Aurelia embracing another man in the park the previous evening kept replaying in his head, slowly consuming what little sanity he had left.

From the hospital bed, Selena studied the frustration etched across his handsome face. Moving deliberately, as though her body were still terribly weak, she gently touched his arm.

"Arkan... what's wrong?" she asked softly, her voice laced with carefully crafted concern. "You've been so quiet. Did something happen with Aurelia?"

Arkana let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"I saw her hugging another man in the park."

A flicker of satisfaction flashed across Selena's eyes before she quickly replaced it with an expression of dramatic shock.

"What? Hugging another man? Didn't you ask her who he was?" Selena paused for a moment before continuing hesitantly. "But, Arkan... actually, I..."

She stopped again, pretending to struggle with whether she should continue.

"Actually what? Just tell me, Selena."

"I've wanted to tell you since yesterday... but I was afraid you wouldn't believe me."

Arkana turned to her sharply.

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen Aurelia leave by herself several times," Selena lied effortlessly, her face utterly convincing. "I thought she was just out shopping. But it turns out she was meeting someone... Maybe she exaggerated everything between you two just to create an excuse. She painted you as the bad guy so she could leave without feeling guilty. She's the one hiding secrets, yet she made it look like you're the villain."

Her words flowed like poison, seeping directly into Arkana's already wounded pride. His reason completely shut down. The resentment and betrayal that had been burning inside him ever since witnessing that embrace in the park made him accept Selena's lies without question.

---

The next morning, the sun shone brightly, but it couldn't melt the icy silence that filled the penthouse.

Aurelia stepped inside with a long, weary sigh.

After spending the entire night crying on her brother's shoulder and thinking everything through, her heart had finally calmed. Her pride had softened. She came home with only one purpose, to save their one-year marriage and listen to Arkana's explanation with a clear mind.

The moment she entered the living room, however, she found Arkana already sitting there.

He was still wearing the same shirt as yesterday.

His face looked exhausted, and his bloodshot eyes revealed that he hadn't slept at all.

Hearing the door open, Arkana slowly looked up. His gaze was cold enough to pierce through her.

"Where have you been?" he asked without any greeting.

Aurelia tightened her grip on her handbag strap, trying to steady the pounding in her chest.

"I went out to calm myself down, Arkan. Yesterday, we were both too emotional..."

"So," Arkana interrupted flatly, his tone as emotionless as if he were discussing business, "when are we going to finalize the divorce?"

The question struck Aurelia like a brutal blow to the chest.

Her legs nearly gave out beneath her.

The emotional walls she had painstakingly rebuilt since dawn crumbled in an instant.

A crushing pain spread through her chest, leaving her struggling to breathe.

She looked at her husband through eyes that were already beginning to glisten.

"So... you really want us to get divorced, Arkan?"

Her voice trembled violently as she fought back another wave of tears.

"I came home hoping you'd comfort me. I hoped you'd put your pride aside, just a little, and explain who that woman is for the sake of our marriage. But instead... the first thing you ask me about is the divorce papers."

Arkana let out a mocking scoff.

He rose from his seat and walked toward her, his intimidating presence pressing down on her.

"Why should I explain anything to a woman who's already moved on?" he said coldly. "You accused me of cheating and acted like you're the innocent victim here. But what about you, Aurelia?"

She froze, her brows knitting together in confusion through her tears.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb!" Arkana shouted, his eyes blazing with jealousy and rage. "I went looking for you at the park last night! And what did I see? You were wrapped up in another man's arms! So that's why you turned off your phone? That's why you demanded a divorce yesterday? Because you already had another man waiting for you?"

Aurelia staggered backward, unable to believe the cruel accusation coming from her own husband's mouth.

The tightness in her chest became unbearable.

"Arkan, watch your words! The man I was with last night was actually..."

"Arkan..."

Her explanation was abruptly cut short when the front door, which had apparently been left unlocked, slowly opened.

Selena stepped inside, her face still pale, wrapped in a thick knitted cardigan.

"Arkan, I'm sorry for coming here without permission," she said softly, deliberately making her voice tremble.

She glanced briefly at Aurelia before turning back to Arkana with carefully rehearsed vulnerability.

"I came because I wanted to explain to Aurelia that I..."

Her voice trailed off.

Aurelia clenched her fists so tightly her nails dug into her palms.

Her head throbbed as she watched Selena's pathetic performance unfold at the worst possible moment.

"You..."

"There's nothing you need to explain, Selena," Arkana interrupted firmly.

His voice softened dramatically the moment he addressed Selena, a complete contrast to the harsh tone he'd used toward Aurelia only seconds earlier.

Without hesitation, he strode past Aurelia and went straight to Selena.

Seeing her sway unsteadily, he instinctively wrapped an arm around her shoulders, supporting her before she could stumble.

"You're still weak. Why did you insist on coming here?" he asked gently. "You should've stayed at the hospital or rested at your apartment."

Aurelia stood frozen.

Her body went completely numb, as though every ounce of strength had been drained from it.

Her eyes remained fixed on Arkana's arm wrapped protectively around Selena's shoulders.

Inside their home.

Disbelief, disgust, and heartbreak merged into one overwhelming ache, clogging her throat until she couldn't force out a single word.

Only moments ago, her husband had accused her of infidelity without giving her a chance to explain.

Yet now, without the slightest hesitation, he was openly embracing another woman right in front of her while refusing to hear a single word she had to say.

At that very moment, Aurelia realized the hope she had brought home that morning had died completely.

There was nothing left worth saving with a man who had become blind to everything except the lies he chose to believe.

"Arkan..." she said quietly, her voice almost breaking. "Are you really not going to explain who this woman is? And you're not willing to hear my explanation about the man you saw with me last night?"