Chapter 1

Annabelle's POV

The sudden creaking sound of the door got me flinching hard as I shifted my gaze to the door. The moment my eyes came in contact with Travis, I felt a surge of relief ripple through me.

God! The last time I set my eyes on my husband was two days ago when he came back from work, looking so haggard and wasted. And that'd been the same day the billionaire daughter, Samantha Harris returned to the city after so many years.

Just when I thought there could be hope to rebuild my marriage with Travis, she came back. And since then, he was barely at home.

"Travis!" I exclaimed as I ran to give him a hug. "Where have you been?"

The question was useless. A part of me already knew where he had been.

When he didn't say anything, I withdrew my arms around and jerked my head to look at his face. His dark eyes lingered on me for a split second, I thought he was going to kiss or probably tell me he was sorry.

However, he averted his gaze from my face and brushed past me without a word. My heart squeezed against my chest at how cold he was acting. This couldn't be the husband I married five years ago. He seemed like a totally different person.

"Travis, at least say something. Why are you giving me the silent---?" I trailed off, a frown forming on my face as my eyes came in contact with the glaring crimson mark on his nape just after he took off his suit Jacket.

I knew exactly what the mark was and I felt like someone had pierced a needle through my skin. The realization that it was love bite sunk in as my eyes took in other things that I had totally ignored.

His dark hair was ruffled and his shirt was wrinkled. He even smelled different. This wasn't his perfume. He smelled of female perfume.

I couldn't take it anymore. "Are you just going to keep quiet? Where the hell did you sleep last night? You weren't even taking your calls! For God's sake, I was worried sick about you, Travis!"

A part of me hoped and prayed he would say something that would contradict my thoughts. But instead, he turned to me with the coldest expression I had ever seen.

"And what are you to question my whereabouts?" He said tersely.

"Your wife,Travis!" I croaked, then cleared my voice. "I'm your wife for Christ sake!"

"Wife?" he repeated, and I caught a ghost of smile curl up his lips. "You mean replacement wife?"

Now, a dark chuckle wafted through his lips. "Then let me make things clear then. Since you're too blind to read the signs I've been giving you."

He brought a brown envelope and shoved it at my face. My mind emptied immediately I saw the word, 'Divorce' boldly written on it.

"D-Divorce?" My voice was barely audible as I took the envelope with trembling hands.

He cheated on me and hadn't even given me any explanation whatsoever. But now, he wanted a divorce?

"Good thing you know how to read." He said gruffly. "Now, just do the needful."

"Travis, this isn't you!" My words came off as barely a whisper, "Why would you suddenly want to divorce me? I mean we were together a week ago. We were happy. I thought--- thought... " My voice broke as I struggled to fight back the tears that were threatening to spill.

"Look here, Anna. We both know that there was never a time I loved you!" He gritted out. "I only did it to get back at my parents and you knew. You were only a replacement to Samantha!"

"No, Travis. You promised that we would work on our marriage. We made a decision to make our relationship better last week and everything was going well until she came. You were...."

"Stop it!" His voice was stiff. "If you're trying to paint Samantha as the villain here then I won't take it light with you. She had always been the one I loved. You were only a replacement and you should have known that this would happen sooner or later!"

He scoffed. "And did you say work out our marriage? What is there to work on? Your womb that has refused to give me a child for five good years?"

If words were daggers, I would be dead by now. His words drove daggers roughly through my chest and pierced my heart. It scarred it. Hearing those words from the man I loved stung like hell. It felt like my heart had cracked into two.

The constraint broke now and tears poured out of my eyes and slid down my face.

"Five good years you say? Travis, you never wanted to touch me. You never made the moves! I always did! And now you blame me for being unable to bear your child?"

As I stared at him, the broken tiny pieces of our puzzled marriage I have been trying to fix suddenly started fixing themselves in my head.

“Now I get it!” a low laugh escaped me, “I thought you did that because you wanted to take things slow. How stupid could I be? You must have felt disgusted by my presence that you couldn't even sleep with me!"

"Yes!” He screamed at me, “you wasted my entire five years for nothing. Feeding off my family's money and bringing nothing to the table or my profile. Now just sign these papers and get lost."

Bring nothing? Hell, I spent all those years with him trying to please him and his family. I worked my ass off as a maid serving them and playing the submissive wife. I let them treat me like trash, I gave up everything because I loved him. And now this is how he pays me back?

"I...I don't want to sign it." I sniffled and stepped back. "I'm sorry I can't do it. I love you so much, Travis. Can't we make our marriage work? I... I can't live without you. I will do anything you want to make this work out."

"Seems like you didn't get me clearly. You mean nothing to me! All you ever brought to me was bad luck! Now, my father is threatening to step me down as the CEO if I don't get rid of you!"

He grabbed me roughly by my shoulders. I winced as his fingers dug into my flesh in fury. "Now if you truly love me, you'll sign these papers and get out of my life or I'll make you do it forcefully."

"So...so this is about your family huh?"

He stayed silent but I continued, taking a step closer to him.

"This is about your family trying to control you like they'd always done? They're doing this because of Samantha? They want you to get back with her right?"

I wiped furiously the tears that were at the corner of my eyes. "And the hickeys on your neck, she did that to you, right? You couldn't even wait for her to get settled before sleeping with her."

I suddenly felt raw disgust at him. How could I not notice I had been living with a monster for the past one year? My breath hitched in my throat, anger and pain coursing through me.

And I was too hurt to feel panicked when Travis' face completely turned into a beast. His eyes twitched with a savage glint, but I was past caring.

"How low of you, Travis! Have you no shame at all? Sleeping with another woman when you are legally married!?"

I watched as his veins popped out and before I knew what was happening, I felt a sharp pain in my cheeks as he gripped my jaw roughly.

"Now listen up you bitch! You've no right to speak to me in such a manner?" He growled, trembling with rage.

"You are nothing to me but a replacement and you will never be like Samantha. She's pretty, she hails from a reputable world-class family. She knows just how to satisfy a man but what about you? Sex with you sucks. You don't even have a family! You are a useless piece of shit!"

He let go of me and I staggered back and fell to the ground. I felt a sharp pain in my heart then it shot up to my brain and shook my entire body. It was as if my heart was ripped out of my chest and crushed to the ground. I felt empty.

With tears blurring my vision, I scribbled my signature on the required space in the document.

"Done," I said through gritted teeth.

"Good. Now get out and don't ever show your face in front of me!

A low sinister smile crawled up my face. "By the time you realize your mistake, it will be too late for you. Just as you've made my heart ache for five years, I'll make you regret doing this in five folds! I'll make all of you regret this!"

I bolted out of the door, desperate to get outside before letting the constraint I placed on my tears break. I wasn't going to give him that privilege of watching me cry.

As I placed my hand on the gate's handle, it jerked open and almost caught me in the face. I took a few steps backwards to allow whoever was there to come in.

And when I saw the face, I froze.