Chapter 2
Luna's voice was coy and syrupy, wrapped in honey so sweet it almost made me dizzy.
But inside that honey, the sharpest thorn was hidden.
She leisurely slid off the bed, barefoot, taking her time with every step as she walked right up to me.
The air was heavy with her sickly sweet perfume, mingling with the clean scent of body wash—the brand I always used.
Luna was like an intruder, brazenly claiming all that belonged to me.
"Don't be mad, Olivia," she said, reaching out to take my arm. "Samuel was worried I'd be scared all alone."
I sidestepped her touch, giving her a frosty look and said, "Get out."
My voice was quiet, but it brooked no refusal.
Luna's smile froze for a second, then her eyes reddened, looking like she was about to burst into tears.
She said, "Olivia, I know you don't like me, but Samuel and I are truly in love.
"We were together long before you came into the picture.
"If you hadn't used those dirty tricks back then, I'd be the one standing here as Mrs. Hart."
Every sentence was a cruel reminder that I was nothing but the outsider who had taken over someone else's life.
I looked at Luna's pathetic face, and it honestly made me sick to my stomach.
"I told you to get out," I repeated, my voice tight with anger I could barely hold back.
Just then, the bathroom door clicked open.
Samuel stepped out, a towel wrapped around his waist, his bare chest glistening as water droplets traced the lines of his toned muscles and vanished into the towel.
He was drying his hair, and when he saw Luna and me facing off, his brow furrowed a little.
Samuel smelled of the same body wash I always used, that familiar cedar scent suddenly felt suffocating.
"What are you arguing about at this hour?" Samuel asked. His gaze was icy, as if I were nothing but a stranger.
Luna, like she had finally found her anchor, threw herself into his arms, her voice trembling with tears. "Samuel, I didn't mean to. Olivia seems to have misunderstood."
Samuel instinctively wrapped his arms around her, gently patting her back in a tone of tenderness I had never heard from him before. "It's okay, it's okay."
After soothing Luna, he finally looked up at me, his deep eyes filled with nothing but pure disgust and impatience.
"Olivia, what crazy thing are you up to now?" Samuel snapped.
Seeing them so intimate, it felt like a huge hole had been torn open in my chest, and icy wind was howling right through it.
"Samuel, this is my room, my bed," I said, my voice quivering as I pointed at the rumpled sheets.
Samuel chuckled quietly, as if he had heard something utterly ridiculous.
His laugh was deep and magnetic, but it felt like a poisoned blade, ripping right through my heart.
"Yours?" Samuel raised an eyebrow, his lips twisted in mockery. "Olivia, did you forget? This villa, this bed, even the clothes on your back—they all belong to me.
"You're nothing but an object I bought for ninety thousand dollars. What right do you have to claim anything as yours?"
Being called an object felt like a slap in the face.
It burned, the pain sharp and raw.
Turned out, to him, I wasn't even a person.
I looked at Samuel and, out of nowhere, I laughed.
As I laughed, tears streamed down my face.
I said, "Samuel, let's end this. Let's get a divorce."
Those words left my lips, and it was like every ounce of strength had been sucked out of me.
In the end, three years of marriage felt like nothing more than a cruel joke.
I couldn't pretend anymore.
Samuel's mocking look froze, his face turning stormy and offended.
He slowly released Luna, closing the distance between us with deliberate steps.
Samuel was tall, standing against the light, and the weight of his presence pressed down on me.
I could smell the moist cedar clinging to him, mixed with the heat of his breath.
"Divorce?" Samuel asked as he grabbed my chin, his fingers digging in so hard it felt like he might crush my bones. "Olivia, is this another one of your manipulative tricks?
"You went through all that trouble to marry me for the money, didn't you? Now you want out; what, you think I haven't paid you enough?"
The sharp pain in my chin made me frown, but I didn't struggle. I just stared back at him, steady and unflinching.
"I'll walk away with nothing," I said.
Those four words hit him like a punch; he definitely didn't see that coming.
Samuel stared into my eyes, searching for any sign that I was lying.
But my gaze was calm, like a still pond.
Suddenly, he let go and stepped back, looking me up and down like he was seeing me for the first time.
"Walk away with nothing?" Samuel echoed, his lips curling into an even deeper sneer. "Olivia, did you already line up your next guy out there?
"What, found another sucker to reel in? Planning to run the same old scam and cash out again?"
His words were always so nasty.
I shut my eyes for a moment, too tired to argue with him any longer.
"Tomorrow morning at nine, I'll be waiting for you outside the city hall," I said.
Then I turned and walked out, not once looking back.
As I walked past Luna, I caught a flash of smug satisfaction and glee in her eyes.
I made it to the door, pulled it open, and was about to step out when Samuel's icy voice rang out behind me. "Stop."
I stopped in my tracks.
"Olivia, you really think you can come and go from the Hart family whenever you feel like it?" Samuel sneered.
He slowly stepped up behind me, his warm breath brushing against my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.
His voice was low and dangerous, like a demon whispering in my ear.
"Divorce? That's fine," Samuel said. "But not right now. You still owe me. We're not even close to square yet."