Chapter 1 The Affair

• Rebecca’s POV
• “Yes, baby, I f**king love how you ride me.” These were the shocking words I heard as I stood at the door.
• Today was Gabriel’s birthday, and I had purchased a gift for him to surprise him at his office. He wasn’t expecting me, but I went anyway. After all, I was his wife. I shouldn’t be restricted from visiting my own husband, right?
• Standing at his office door, a wave of unease washed over me. Was I at the wrong door? “You’re the best, babe. I f**king love this,” I heard again, this time mixed with moans. My heart plummeted.
• There was no mistaking Gabriel's voice. Even in the dead of night or blindfolded, I could pick it out from a thousand others. I knew that voice.
• That’s why I barged in.
• My stomach churned as I threw the door open, praying I was wrong, hoping this was some horrible misunderstanding. But it wasn’t.
• There he was—Gabriel, my husband of five years. His pants were around his ankles, a woman straddling him with her skirt pushed up, revealing her bare backside. Her breasts spilled out of her shirt as she clung to him, utterly absorbed in their act.
• I froze, rooted to the spot as my heart shattered into a thousand pieces. Gabriel—my Gabriel—had his hands on her hips, guiding her like I didn’t exist. Like we didn’t exist.
• My breath hitched, the betrayal flooding through me in waves. For five years, I’d thought Gabriel was a loyal man. For five years, I’d been his wife, and this was the reward—watching him with another woman on his birthday.
• How long has this been going on? I wondered, as the world spun around me. The weight of disbelief pressed down on my chest.
• The woman… she was in a blue suit, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. I recognized her. The face from the portrait in Gabriel’s home office. She was the secretary, the one he always talked about. The one he told me they were going on a business trip together this time last year.
• When I barged in, the woman froze, shock written across her face as she hurriedly adjusted herself. She slid off him, pulling her skirt down. I thought that would be the end of it. But then Gabriel yanked her back to the table, pushing himself inside her again. Right in front of me.
• My breath caught. I couldn’t believe it.
• “Don’t mind her,” Gabriel muttered to the woman, his eyes cold and focused on her. “I’m done with her anyway.” And just like that, he ignored me.
• The room filled with their moans again, louder than before, as if I weren’t even there. My heart shattered, breaking into pieces I didn’t know existed. If someone had told me Gabriel would ever betray me like this, I would’ve called it a lie. This can’t be real.
• But there it was. He had no remorse. No guilt. He didn’t care that I had caught him. I was nothing to him now.
• I closed the door gently behind me, my legs heavy as I walked out, numb from head to toe. It was over—whatever we had, whatever I thought we were.
• When I got home, I waited, foolishly clinging to the faint hope that Gabriel would return, that he’d realize what he had done and apologize. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe he’d tell me it was just a moment of weakness, that it didn’t mean anything.
• Two hours later, the front door clicked open. Gabriel stepped in, his face hard, his eyes cold. The man I had loved for years was gone. He said nothing, his silence more painful than words could ever be. Instead, he tossed an envelope onto the table, his jaw clenched.
• “I don’t need you in my life anymore,” he said flatly, not even looking at me. “Pack your things and get out. I don’t want to see you when I get back.”
• He turned and left, his footsteps fading into the distance.
• My hands shook as I opened the envelope. Inside were the divorce papers.
• The word swam in front of my eyes as tears blurred my vision. My mind couldn’t process it. I had been discarded like a broken toy, like I was nothing. Everything that had once made sense was now meaningless.
• I didn’t know what to do. My world had just collapsed around me, and the one person I could turn to was the one I had turned my back on years ago—my mother. The same mother I had stopped speaking to because of Gabriel.
• With trembling hands, I dialed her number.
• “It finally happened, huh?” my mother’s voice was calm on the other end, as if she had expected this.
• Six years ago, when I had introduced Gabriel to her, she had warned me. She had told me not to marry him. She’d seen something in him I hadn’t. She knew. She said he was using me to boost his company’s credibility, that he wasn’t the man he pretended to be. But I didn’t listen.
• I eloped with him, believing love would conquer everything. Believing Gabriel was everything I needed.
• I was wrong.
• “Yes, Mom. You were right,” I whispered, the truth bitter in my throat.
• “And I guess he didn’t know who you really are, did he?” My mother’s voice was steady, confident. “If he did, he wouldn’t have dared to leave.”
• Six years ago, when I ran away with Gabriel, my mother had sent me an email, warning me not to reveal my true identity to him. At the time, I didn’t believe it mattered, but somehow, I kept that part of me hidden.
• Gabriel had no idea who I really was. He had no idea that my mother was the president of the largest conglomerate in Mandena City, or that I was the heir to it all.
• “No, Mom. I didn’t tell him,” I said quietly.
• “Good,” she replied. “Come home, Rebecca. Come home and take your place as the heir you were meant to be. I’ll make sure Gabriel pays for what he’s done to you.”
• I didn’t hesitate. I packed my bags and left Gabriel’s house, stepping into the car. But even as I drove away, my heart ached. It felt like my world had crumbled, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
• I started the car and reversed out of the driveway, heading toward the road. But as I drove, I suddenly saw Gabriel’s car speeding toward me. His face was twisted in anger, his hands gripping the steering wheel.
• In the blink of an eye, his car crashed into mine, sending me hurtling into a streetlight pole. The impact was brutal. My head slammed into the steering wheel, and I felt blood trickling down my face. My vision blurred as the world around me began to fade. My hands went numb.
• At that moment, everything went black.