On that fateful night, after he had told her to strip, she knew he was talking about consummation. The sole purpose of their marriage was to give birth to an heir for him.
After she stripped, standing there with her face burning red—since she had never done this before, and he was her first and only—this man had just stared at her indifferently, not in the way she had imagined. The only thing he did that still made her heart thunder was when his thumb brushed against her chocolate-colored nipples.
For the first time, his eyes flashed with something she couldn't explain, and it was then he called her Choco. But before anything else could happen, his phone rang, and he left.
She had waited a long time, but he never returned. Thinking he had gone on business…as he was very popular—she decided to dress and wait. But as she almost drifted off to sleep, a soft knock woke her. For some unknown reason, she felt happy thinking it was him and ran to the door, only to see a man standing there with a maid who bowed.
The man handed her divorce papers. Her heart had stopped. She could not believe it—after stripping for him, he left, and then chose not to come back, only to send a divorce.
The next day, she heard the heartbreaking news. Maybe that was why a small wound reopened in her heart. She thought she had gotten over it, given the years that had passed, but clearly, she hadn't.
"Tell me, Choco, are you planning to run, huh?" he asked. His voice was gentle, yet coldness dripped through.
"You have to respect the fact that I am married now. You are my ex-husband. I… don't know what is happening now, but all that happened between us remains in the past…" Her words were cut short when his mocking smile graced his face, his eyes staring at her as if she were speaking utter nonsense. Avelina forgot what she was about to say.
"Ex-husband, hmm? Is that what you call me?" he asked as he lowered himself to her height.
His face was inches from hers, and Avelina was at a loss for words.
"The broken cup—you said your husband would take care of it, wouldn't he?" he asked. She nodded. And just as she did, his eyes glinted mischievously. Moving back, he softly held her hand and raised it to his lips.
Avelina stared at him, caught off guard by the sudden change in character.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Avelina." His grey eyes locked onto hers as his lips brushed her hand. Even though she wore a small glove, she could still feel the intensity of his kiss.
And he had called her Mrs.… Did this mean he finally accepted that title now that she had said her husband would take care of things? Why was he suddenly calm?
Her gaze dropped to her heels, her face flushing. It reminded her of her friend's words about leaving her heels on the stairs—yet this felt different. She turned back, only to find he was gone, as if he had disappeared into thin air.
"Why did you come here, Ave? Why do you always have to cause trouble?" she muttered, smacking her forehead.
She wanted to cry. How was she going to tell the man she planned to divorce that she needed money to pay for the broken cup? That meant she couldn't divorce him now. Oh, what was she going to do? And to make matters worse, she didn't bring her small button phone to call her friend for help.
She took a deep breath, picked up her heels, and gently slipped them on. She decided she had to act classy, not raise any unwanted suspicion—that was something she could never allow. Ignoring her racing heart, she walked calmly out of the room and into the elevator. It closed smoothly, descending until it finally pinged open.
Stepping out gracefully, she reminded herself to act like a classy rich lady. Her dress already screamed wealth—she just needed to match it with her attitude. As she walked out of the hallway and into the building's entrance, she noticed people stepping out of black cars with their partners.
She adjusted her mask and walked on, but eyes turned toward her. Of course, Avelina was beautiful. She usually found ways to avoid attention, but today, she looked like the center of the event. Many couples and guests stared at her in awe. She managed to maintain her expression and not act shy.
Just as she approached the gate, a man suddenly appeared.
"Hello, Miss. This way—you might be heading in the wrong direction. Allow me to lead you," he said with a bow.
Avelina's heartbeat quickened. She thought she had been caught. She needed to leave quickly before people noticed anything. If they did, she was sure she would be taken to jail.
At least I'd be eating three square meals for free, she told herself with forced optimism. And that would also mean I wouldn't be going to the reverend school.
"Stop that, Ave. Focus," she muttered, smiling before turning back to the man.
"Oh hahaha." She attempted a rich-lady laugh, but it came out poorly.
"Oh, I suppose… I don't want my limited-edition car. My chauffeur is bringing the new model that was just released an hour ago." It was the pettiest lie she could think of, but the man nodded respectfully and bowed.
"Oh, but how about you go inside? I'll check for it, and once your chauffeur arrives, I'll inform you myself," he said.
Avelina's face paled slightly, but she quickly brought it back to normal.
"If you're worried, I assure you everything is under control. In fact, let me call my team, just in case—"
"No, no, no," she blurted out immediately as the man stared at her with a raised brow. Avelina couldn't understand why everything seemed to be going the opposite way.
"You know, the question is—did you ask if I like to keep a low profile? You guards need to learn that not all wealthy people like to show off." She lifted her hand and flipped her hair back.
The man bowed again. Avelina felt a pang of guilt but forced herself to keep up the act.
She placed a hand delicately against her chest and said with practiced poise,
"Oh, and Stacy…poor Stacy—is unwell. Her appointment is in an hour, and I had to sacrifice my time for this rather trivial event. Now then, let's see what they have prepared for the auction."
Her voice carried the elegance of a rich lady, until she hastily added,
"Oh, and Stacy is my dog."
Silelce fell.
'Oh stupid, stupid stupid'
She cursed inwardly, she just prayed this man would not suspect anything and that she was not overdoing her act.
She needed to leave. This was wasting her time, and if they caught her, it would be far worse.
***
Zauriel held a glass of black wine, gently twirling it in his hand. His expression was calm as ever, his gaze fixed on thin air as though lost in deep thought, yet his face betrayed nothing.
A soft knock broke the silence. He turned his head, his eyes landing on the man who entered and bowed respectfully.
"Boss, there is an issue with the auctioned cu—" the man's voice trailed off as Zauriel raised his hand.
"Use the Midnight Obsession instead."
The man bowed again before leaving.
The Midnight Obsession is an ancient ring tied to an unending love story between King Zavren and Queen Ariana centuries ago.
Zauriel's emotionless eyes lingered on the black wine before shifting toward the window. His lips curved upward ever so slightly as his gaze fell on Avelina, who appeared to be in a heated argument with the guard below.