Chapter 3

Freya's POV

All the color drained from Aaron's face, leaving him as pale as a ghost.

"Call the private medical team! Now!" he roared at his bodyguards.

Brianna didn't even blink. She let out a cold, mocking laugh.

"Still playing the delicate greenhouse flower?" she sneered, examining her manicured nails.

"Shut your mouth," Aaron snarled.

Brianna smirked. "He's an apex wolf slaughtering his way through the business world. Sooner or later, he's going to get sick of a fragile toy that needs constant coddling."

Crash!

A deafening shatter silenced the room.

Aaron hurled his heavy crystal glass directly at Brianna's feet. Shards exploded across the floor like shrapnel.

"Get out," Aaron's voice dripped with absolute, freezing venom.

The entire room held its breath. The socialites were trembling.

Brianna's face turned livid. She grabbed her designer bag and stormed out, but her eyes threw me a final, provoking glare.

The banquet resumed its fake, suffocating peace. But my whole body was ice-cold. Every smile directed at me felt like a slap.

"I'm fine," I lied, pushing Aaron's frantic hands away. "I need the restroom."

I walked down the hall, my vision blurring. But Brianna was waiting for me at the end of the corridor.

"Do you actually think he protected you back there out of love?" she hissed, stepping into my path like a venomous snake.

"Move," I ordered.

"You are just his public weakness! A shield!" she laughed bitterly. "If my daughter's heart condition worsens tonight, he will abandon you in a heartbeat and run to us."

I stared at her, my nails digging into my palms until they bled.

"Want to bet?" she taunted, stepping closer.

I didn't answer. I didn't give her the satisfaction. I pushed past her and walked straight back to the table.

The second I sat down, Aaron's phone rang.

He checked the screen, and his face instantly turned deathly pale. Absolute panic flooded his eyes.

He hurriedly kissed my forehead, his lips trembling against my skin.

"The company's core database just got hacked," he lied smoothly. "I have to handle it personally. I'll be right back."

I grabbed his sleeve. My fingers clung to it.

"Stay."

It was my final plea. The absolute last chance I was giving him to choose me.

A violent struggle flashed in his eyes.

But he gently brushed my hand away.

"I promise I'll be back before dark," he swore.

Then, he walked away. He chose them.

Thirty minutes later, my phone buzzed.

An audio file from Brianna.

I tapped play.

"You named that billion-dollar smart city after her," Brianna's voice echoed from the speaker. "So what about our daughter's future?"

Then came Aaron's voice. Exhausted, deep, and devastatingly real.

"I will transfer thirty percent of the overseas consortium's bearer shares into Sophia's trust," he said. "That is enough for her to live worry-free for the rest of her life, even if I'm not around."

He paused. "Just don't use this to stimulate Freya."

A text bubbled up from Brianna.

[See? Even the empire your husband built with his very life, he will hand over the moment our daughter needs it. You completely lost.]

I froze in place. Every sweet memory we ever shared, every kiss, every promise, burned into ash. The love of my life was a complete fraud.

That night, Aaron came home exhausted, reeking of the hospital. I faced the wall, pretending to be asleep.

The next morning was our wedding anniversary.

"I'm going to the cliffside ocean villa for a vacation," I told him calmly over breakfast.

Aaron looked up, surprised by the sudden trip.

"I'm driving the autonomous car you custom-built for me," I added. "Alone."

Intense guilt flashed in Aaron's eyes. Because of his secrets, he didn't dare force himself to come along.

"Be safe," he whispered, trying to kiss my cheek. I turned away.

Before I walked out the door, I handed him a small black USB drive.

"An encrypted cloud drive key. It unlocks in exactly 48 hours," I said softly. "My anniversary gift to you."

He smiled, completely unaware it was his death sentence.

Hours later.

Aaron sat in the top-floor boardroom of his skyscraper, commanding his empire.

Suddenly, a blaring, blood-red alert from the smart vehicle control center shattered the meeting. Sirens wailed through the system.

His head assistant burst through the double doors, stumbling over his own feet.

"Mr. Kensington!" the assistant gasped, trembling violently. "Mrs. Kensington's car...!"

Aaron stood up, his heart dropping into his stomach. "Speak!"

"It veered off course in the storm on the cross-sea bridge," the assistant cried out. "It plunged over a hundred meters off the cliff into the dark reefs!"

Aaron's coffee cup slipped from his fingers.

Smash.

"The rescue team just reported back," the assistant choked out, tears streaming down his face. "The survival rate is zero."

Aaron's face turned ashen white.

"What did you just say?!"