Today is our fourth anniversary. I looked at the keys on the table. It was the red Ferrari I had prepared for my husband Jaxon since he had always wanted to have one, then my hand instinctively rested on my stomach.

We would have a baby soon.

Everything was perfect. Or it was—until my child hood best friend Levi stepped into my room without knocking. He had always been with me since we were kids.

“Ysobel,” he said tightly, voice hoarse. “Your husband is married to another woman.”

I blinked. Then laughed, because what else was I supposed to do with a statement that ridiculous?

“Levi, what kind of greeting is that? You’re supposed to say happy anniversary.” I turned back to the mirror, adjusting my earrings. “Is this because you think he’s not good enough for me again? Haven’t we talked about this when I married him? It’s been four years.”

“I mean it,” he said. “Jaxon is married, Ysobel. Married—and to his secretary, Candice. I found the documents. The records. He’s been lying about who he is!"

My heart stilled, but I refused to show it.

“Levi, stop.” I gave him a warning look. “Not today. Not ever. We’re done with this.”

“I’m trying to save you,” he bit out, frustration breaking through his restraint.

“Well, he saved me when I almost died. He loves me, Levi. And why would he even lie? It’s been four years—”

“Yes, four years yet not once did he talk about his family. You don’t even know where he came from. But you gave him your company. You let him handle everything. And he’s using you.”

“You’re saying this,” I whispered, “because you’re jealous.”

His jaw tightened. He didn’t deny it. He didn’t have to.

“Levi, please,” I said softly, “don’t ruin this for me. Stop ruining something good just because you… can’t move on from me.”

“Ysobel—”

“I’m done with this conversation.” I stepped past him, grabbing my coat, refusing to let the tremor in my hands show.

He reached for my arm, but I pulled away before he touched me.

The wind was cold by the pier, but I barely noticed. The yacht bobbed gently, decorated with soft lights and roses. Everything looked peaceful. Safe. I tried to ignore what Levi told me. That can’t be.

I stepped onto the dock, holding my small surprise box. “Happy anniversary, love,” I whispered to the empty air.

Then—

A force.

A shove.

Cold water swallowed me whole.

I kicked, but my limbs turned to anchors, heavy and useless. The trauma I spent years burying snapped its chains and dragged me under with it. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The cold swallowed me whole.

Darkness pricked at the edges of my vision. And then—through the blur, through the rising panic—I felt the water shift above me. A splash. A body hitting the surface.

Someone jumped in after me.

For a moment I thought it was memory—an echo from four years ago, when a stranger pulled me out of a riptide during a storm. When I choked on seawater and opened my eyes to see the man who would later become my husband, Jaxon.

I remembered the warmth of his hands, the steadiness of his voice. The way he held me when I couldn’t stop shaking. The exact moment I fell for him.

And now—through the dark—those same arms wrapped around me again.

My fading mind clung to that one truth, even as consciousness slipped away—

If he was saving me again… then Levi was wrong. Jaxon loves me!

Faintly—very faintly—I heard voices. Echoes. Not underwater anymore… but somewhere between drifting out of consciousness and being pulled back into it.

“Are you insane, Candice? Why would you push her off the yacht? You could’ve killed her!”

Candice. His secretary. Levi’s accusation pierced through my fading awareness.

Candice answered, voice trembling with fury. “Because I want her dead already! Why can’t you just kill her so we can be together? It’s been four years yet we’re still faking everything!”

My heart stopped.

Jaxon growled, “Because you know I can’t. I still need her money—and the company. Didn’t I tell you to wait? I need to pay my gambling debts. Once I own everything, then I can go back to my family. My father will accept me again.”

Candice laughed bitterly. “Are you sure that’s the only reason? Not because you love her?”

“Of course not,” he snapped. “You know I don’t love her. It’s always been you. I’m just using her. Using her money. Can’t you trust me on this? No more trying to kill her until everything is settled.”

Candice exhaled sharply. “Fine.”

A door slammed.

Silence. And I slipped fully into the dark.

Until I heard the sound of beeping again. I blinked slowly, vision swimming until the room solidified.

A hospital. And sitting beside me—Jaxon.

His face was arranged perfectly: worried husband, devastated man, loving partner. It would’ve fooled anyone.

But not me. Not anymore…

“Ysobel,” he whispered, reaching for my hand. “Are you okay? God, I’m so sorry I was late. I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”

Something inside me cracked quietly—but I didn’t let it show. Not now.

“We still need to talk about the investment signing tomorrow,” he added softly. “You’ll be able to attend, right? We need you there.”

I stared at him. “It might need to be postponed.”

“But we can’t,” he argued instantly, too quickly. “How about I sign it? You can give me the authority—your signature—just for this one.”

“And why would I do that?” My voice was calm.

He blinked. “Because I’m your husband. And we’re moving everything into our joint ownership anyway, right?”

I forced a smile. “I want to rest, Jax.”

He finally backed off, leaned over, and kissed my forehead. “Of course. Rest. I’ll handle everything.”

He left. And the moment the door clicked shut, my fingers reached for my phone. My pulse thundered.

I called Levi. “Tell me what you know about Jaxon.”

Levi didn’t say a word when he entered my hospital room. His face was drawn, pale, eyes trembling with something heavier than grief.

He placed a thick envelope on my lap.

“Read it,” he said.

My fingers trembled as I opened it—photocopies, scanned documents, a passport, old articles, bank statements, photos. Too many. My eyes couldn’t focus on one without the next stabbing me.

Levi exhaled shakily. “Ysobel… Jaxon isn’t who he says he is.”

My throat tightened. “Levi, stop.”

“He’s the son of a wealthy industrialist in Asteria,” Levi continued, voice low but merciless. “He ran away from that life because of gambling debts. Serious ones. Mafia-level. His father sent him here to ‘fix his mistakes’—but he could only return if he paid everything back.”

A ringing filled my ears.

“He needed money,” Levi went on. “Real money. So he found you.”

I froze. “What are you saying… ‘found’ me? When the yacht I was on sank four years ago—are you saying that wasn’t an accident?”

Levi didn’t flinch. “He hired someone to sabotage it. Made sure he was close enough to jump in. He saved you… because he planned it. He approached you on purpose, made you fall for him, and when you married him—”

“No…” My breathing hitched. “No, Levi, that’s insane—”

“—he started embezzling the company funds.” Levi pushed the next set of papers toward me. “And here… Candice’s contract. He told her to apply. You hired his real wife as your secretary.”

The room tilted. My stomach churned violently, bile rising in my throat.

“Ysobel?” Levi stood quickly. “Sit down—”

But I was already sliding off the bed, running to the bathroom, the nausea tearing through me. I threw up until there was nothing left, until my tears blurred everything.

I clutched the sink, shaking.

He planned it. All of it. Even the moment I fell in love with him… it wasn’t real.

But my mind—cruel as it was—dragged me back to the moments I once held like treasures.

“I’ll protect you,” he whispered once, brushing my hair away as we lay on the beach. The moonlight made him look impossibly gentle.

“From what?” I laughed.

“From everything,” he answered, kissing my forehead. “You’re safe with me. Always.”

The mornings he cooked breakfast. The nights he held me because I couldn’t sleep.

The way he looked at me and said, “One day, we’ll have our own little family.”

Lies. All of it.

Because right now, I can finally see what I refused to before. Candice’s perfume lingering on his coat—he said she hugged him because she was emotional.

Her lipstick on his collar—he laughed, said she tripped and he helped her up.

Her late-night calls—he told me work never sleeps.

And I believed him. God, I believed every word.

I thought the breakfasts meant love.

I thought the way he tucked the blanket around me meant care.

I thought the way he whispered, “You’re my future,” meant something real.

Lies. All of it.

When I finally calm, I looked at Levi with hollow eyes.

“There’s no need for divorce, right?” I whispered. “Our marriage… is invalid.”

Levi nodded slowly. “Yes.”

I closed my eyes. My mother's ashes weren’t even cold when I married Jaxon. The company she left me—my last promise to her before she died of an illness—I had handed it over to a stranger wearing the face of a hero, so my father got mad at me and decided to disown me.

“Then I just have to investigate the company,” I said quietly. “See what’s left.”

Levi didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.

Two days later. I expected peace. I got devastation.

“Miss Ysobel,” my finance manager stammered the moment I stepped into the office. “I’m so sorry, but… we’re losing money. A lot. Mr. Rivas made several unauthorized transfers. And the investors he brought in—most of them don’t exist.”

My knees buckled.

Levi caught me before I hit the floor. I couldn’t breathe.

The company my mother built with her blood and youth—the company she handed to me—was being hollowed out from the inside.

By the man I loved.

No. By the man I thought I loved.

My voice trembled. “Call the board.”

When they gathered, I stood as straight as I could.

“Effective immediately,” I said, my voice cold, “fire Candice Montenegro. And postpone every contract, investment, and deal Jaxon handled until further notice.”

They exchanged shocked looks.

But they obeyed.

For the first time in years… I felt like I had control again. Until the door crashed open so violently the walls shook.

“What the hell is the meaning of this!?” Jaxon stormed in, eyes blazing, composure gone. “Why did you fire Candice?! Why am I being removed from all meetings?!”

“What the hell is the meaning of this!?” Jaxon’s voice crashed through the room like a blade, sharp enough to cut through the silence.

He stormed inside with Candice tailing behind him, pretending to be terrified, her eyes glossy, chin trembling, hands folded together like she was the victim.

I didn’t flinch. Not anymore.

“I asked you a question,” he barked, slamming his palm onto the long mahogany table. “Why did you fire Candice? And why the hell am I being removed from all meetings?”

I rose slowly from my seat, back straight, fingers laced calmly in front of me.

“I fired her,” I said evenly, “because she’s incompetent, unnecessary, and only got hired because you insisted I should give her a chance. And as for the meetings…” I tilted my head. “I simply don’t feel like giving everything to you anymore.”

Jaxon blinked, stunned for half a second—but recovered with anger. “So you make decisions like this without discussing it with me?”

“I don’t need to discuss anything with you,” I answered. “This is my company. I’m the owner.”

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “That doesn’t mean you get to—”

I cut him off, stepping closer. “You’ve handled enough. And badly.”

Candice whimpered behind him. “Ma’am… if I did something wrong, please let me expla—”

“Stay out of this,” I snapped. Her lips trembled.

Jaxon took a threatening step forward. “Ysobel, you’re being irrational. You can’t just fire people out of spite!”

“Spite?” My laugh came out cold. “You think this is spite? After all the mess you’ve created?”

His nostrils flared. “This is nonsense! I am your husband!”

My voice sharpened. “What’s nonsense is how you still think you can control me just because you are my husband.”

For a moment—just one—fear flickered in his eyes. Because he knew. He knew I was slipping out of his grasp.

“You’re not firing her!” he shouted. “I said NO!”

My voice was icy. “I already did. Effective immediately.”

He slapped the wall beside my head, close enough for the air to sting. “You’re pushing me too far, Ysobel.”

I met his eyes without blinking. “Good.”

His breath hitched. He realized something had changed. Something he couldn’t undo.

Finally, he exhaled sharply and stepped back, forcing his expression into something softer, something resembling resignation.

“Fine,” he muttered. “You win. We’ll… do things your way. For now.”

Candice lowered her head, pretending to wipe tears. “Ma’am… I’ll prepare my things. Thank you for everything and I’m sorry if I ever do something to make you mad.”

I ignored her.

Jaxon placed a hand on my shoulder, voice suddenly gentle—too gentle. “Let’s calm down and deal with this later, okay? For now… I’ll accept your decision.”

But something was off. He was agreeing too quickly. And that terrified me more than his anger.

An hour later, I left my office… only to freeze behind the hallway corner.

I inched closer.

Candice’s voice was sharp. “So what now? I lost my job. You let her win—again? How can you just agree?”

Jaxon sighed. “Calm down. I can’t argue with her knowing I still don’t have full control of the company. I need to be on her good side, so we should just play along until everything is finalized. You know that!”

Candice’s breath hitched. “Play along? How much longer?”

“As long as needed.” His tone dropped into something cold, calculating. “Listen. She’s firing you because she wants to feel in control. So let her. We’ll follow her plan for now.”

A pause.

“Because on her birthday,” he continued, voice dipped in venom, “we end it. No more investors. No more pretending. Her life ends that night, and then everything becomes ours.”