2. Humiliated

Xander walked into the mansion, ignoring Ariadne's warm smile.

"Hey Aria, sorry I came unannounced."Crystal smiled politely at Ariadne.

"What are you doing here?" Ariadne couldn't hide her displeasure upon seeing Crystal with Xander.

"I will tell you, but may I atleast enter?" Crystal kept her sweet smile and polite demeanor intact.

"She came with me; be courteous to your guests." Xander's harsh and warning voice came from behind.

"I am sorry, please come inside." Ariadne said finally.

She didn't miss the faint smirk on Crystal's face before she entered the house.

After some time, Xander, Ariadne and Crystal sat down to dinner.

Crystal kept talking to Xander about some business matter, completely ignoring Ariadne.

Ariadne's heart ached every time Xander used a gentle tone with Crystal. He never talked to her like this.

"Xander! I got the Blue Mall contract."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you; I am very excited. This is my first contract as a CEO. I will come to you if I need help. You will not refuse me, will you?"

"No."

Ariadne knew exactly what Crystal was trying to do. She never failed to demonstrate her capabilities and how worthless Ariadne was in comparison to her.

Ariadne was a worthless housewife living a luxurious life on her husband's money, whereas Crystal was a highly talented independent girl. A successful businessman like Xander, would prefer to have Crystal as his wife rather than Ariadne.

"Oh, Aria, I forgot." Crystal blurted, which made Aria snap out of her reverie.

"I have come here to invite you to my celebration party, as the new CEO of Miller group. As my sister, you must come." taking out an invitation card from her handbag she handed it to Ariadne.

"I have already given Xander his invitation card."

After taking the card Ariadne looked at it. However, the fact that she had given Xander a separate invitation card caught her attention.

"You didn't congratulate Crystal on her achivement, Ariadne." Xander pointed out in a rough voice.

Ariadne looked at him. She felt humiliated in her own house by them.

"Sorry I forgot. Congratulations, Crystal. I will not miss it." swallowing the lump in her throat Ariadne uttered the words.

"Thank you Aria."

No one said anything after that.

After dinner, Xander went into his study to retrieve a file from his desk. He was searching through the files when a soft voice came from behind.

"Are you staying the night here today?"

He paused for a moment after hearing the voice, gritting his teeth.

"No." He resumed looking through the files.

"Did you enjoy the food today?" Ariadne asked nervously.

She spent a lot of time preparing his favourite dishes.

"Yes." he replied absently.

"I prepared them."

"Why don't you stay the night here today? I will make your favourite breakfast tommorrow." holding her breath, she added as there was no response from him.

He came here after a few months, so she was hoping he would stay.

"I have plenty of excellent cooks in my penthouse and they can cook better than you."

She felt dejected. She wanted to spend some time with him. She yearned to get to know him more and express her love to him. However, he had never given her the opportunity.

"Since you don't come here very often, please stay tonight." she made another attemt. The desperation could be seen in her pleading.

Xander paused. He turned around and approached Ariadne where she was standing.

His abrupt act startled Ariadne. She stepped back a little.

"Are you really that frustrated, Ariadne?"

She gulped with fear. He stood very close to her.

"Are you that much frustrated to spend a night with me, that you started to beg now?" He gritted his teeth.

She shook her head, understanding what he meant by spending the night with him.

Xander placed his finger on her lips just as she was about to explain.

"I know what you want; afterall, we have been married for two years and I have not even touched you once."

Ariadne's eyes widened with disbelief at how wrong he thought of her. He looked down at her body, from head to toe. Ariadne felt an unbearable pain and insult.

"You are not bad, but not good enough for me." She stiffened.

"You disgust me, Ariadne." he whispered into her ear.

She shut her eyes, which were now moist.

"But, since you are so frustrated, I have a suggestion for you." He moved closer.

"There are plenty of men around; they might like you. You are not that bad and you are quite famous in that. Don't you?" he said before stepping back.

Her voice got stuck in her throat. She had never felt so humiliated. Emma and Crystal spread many scandals to damage Ariadne's reputation. Some of them included men. What hurt Ariadne most was that even her own father believed them.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as Ariadne openned her eyes to meet the man's gaze.

Xander gently picked a drop of tear from her cheek with his finger and blew it into the air before turning and leaving the room.

Ariadne stood there like a statue. She was too numb to move an inch.

"Did you get the file?"came Crystal's voice from outside.

"Yes." Xander replied.

"Wait, where is Aria?"

"Don't mind her. She is not coming. Let's go now, I will drop you." was their final conversation before the sound of the main door opening and closing was heard.

........

It's the day Crystal was throwing her celebration party.

Together with Jennifer, Ariadne entered the venue. The place was exquisitely decorated. It's Blue Star hotel, one of Blake Corporation's high restaurants.

They passed through the hallway while people stared at them. Ariadne kept her head low, avoiding the gazes of others.

The guests were all well-known businessmen from Zavion City.

Almost none of them knew Ariadne as she had not established herself in the business world or in any other field. Only a few of their family friends and relatives were able to identify her.

However, Ariadne was well aware that everyone disliked her. They described her as a spoilt brat who used to waste her father's money and was now wasting her husband's money. They didn't consider Ariadne to be worthy of Xander as well. They believed Crystal was ideal for him.

After they found a comfortable spot, Ariadne's gaze wandered around the hall in search of a particular person. It didn't take her long to find him.

He was dressed in his usual business attire, a white shirt and a black coat and he looked attractively handsome as always.

However, the presence of the woman beside him broke Ariadne's heart. Crystal was dressed in a stunning red gown and was speaking with some businessmen while Xander stood beside her. She looked stunning and Ariadne could tell that people admired her based on their comments.

Xander's eyes shot towards Ariadne as if he sensed her gaze on him. They held eye contact for a moment before Xander looked away unbothered. Ariadne didn't have the courage to aproach him after their last encounter.

"He didn't even give you a smile. How rude!" Jennifer whispered.

"It's nothing new Jennie."

"Hey, Ariadne, come on here." Crystal spotted them as well. She waved to them. Ariadne went hesitantly. Jennifer trailed behind her.

"This is Ariadne, my sister." Crystal introduced her to the guests who were there. They said hello to each other.

Xander didn't bother to introduce her as his wife to them. He looked unfazed.

"Do you run the family business as well?" one of them asked Ariadne.

"No, I am a house wife."

"Oh, you are already married."

"She doesn't have any interest in business." Crystal interjected.

"Hey, You are Mr. Blake's wife, right?" a woman asked after examining Ariadne for a while.

Xander pretended not to hear anything. She felt disappointed.

"Yes." Ariadne replied.

"Oh, I see."

They stared at her with criticism in their eyes. It's obvious they didn't think she was deserving of Xander.

"I have heard that you spent a long time abroad." the woman added.

"I went for study." Ariadne furrowed her brows.

She was interested in design and went abroad to study the subject. However, Emma and Crystal spread rumors that she went abroad to live a lavish life, away from her family's restriction.

"Oh, what did you study?"

"Design."

"Oh." she said dismissively, as if it had made no impression on her.

"You are the older daughter, and you are a talented woman with unrivaled beauty. I am surprised that Mr. Blake married your younger sister instead of you." the woman looked at Crystal.

"Don't mind my words Mrs. Blake, I don't mean to offend you; I am just curious."

"Why don't you tell them why I married you?" at this point Xander spoke.

Ariadne looked at him, meeting his mocking gaze and faint smirk. She couldn't believe that Xander was attempting to embarrass her infront of all those people.

"Grandpa had our marriage fixed when we were younger." she replied after sometime. Sweat began to fill her face.

"Grandpa?" the woman looked confused.

"Mr. William Blake."

"Oh, that explains why."

"You look stunning Miss Crystal. Mr. Blake must be regretting marrying your sister instead of you."

The woman was Crystal's close acquaintance, so she must have known everything about them as she continued to insult Ariadne indirectly.

"You are too much, Mrs. Garner." Crystal blushed and lowered her face.

Jennifer rolled her eyes.

Ariadne began to feel uncomfortable standing there.

It's true that compared to her, Crystal looked more gorgeous. Ariadne used to be one of the most attractive girls of Zavion City. However, ever since she became Mrs. Blake, she had been depressed due to constant heartbreak. Sleepless nights had resulted in dark circles around her eyes.

She also lost weight. She no longer resembled the Ariadne that she once was, either physically or mentally.

"I am kidding, of course." the woman laughed.

The people then engaged in their conversation, completely ignoring Ariadne.

"Excuse us gentlemen." saying that, Ariadne left the group. She had enough of their nonsense.

They overheard a lot of gossips as they moved through the crowd.

"I have never seen Mr. Blake bring his wife with him to a public event. Look in this party as well. Mr. Blake is not with his wife, but with Miss Crystal and other guests."

"I think the rumours that Mr. Blake doesn't love his wife are true."

"Who could possibly love a girl like that?"

"Take a look at her sister, Miss Crystal; not only is she gorgeous, but she is also a successful woman. She even assumed leadership of the company and extended a helping hand to her father. Mr. Miller must be proud to have such a daughter. She has made her parents proud."

"She invited us to humiliate you." Jennifer was furious.

"What does She think she is? Xander's wife?"

"But Xander doesn't appear to be bothered by her antics. He is even supporting her." Ariadne sighed tiredly.

"He should be with you, not her. He didn't even acknowledge your presence."

Through the whole party Ariadne and Jennifer stayed in a corner.

While everyone praised Crystal for her achievements, they didn't hide their dislike for Ariadne.

However, nobody brought up the fact that she was the rightful heir of Aaron Miller as his only biological daughter. But her father gave the position to Crystal.

It's true that Ariadne had never involved herself in the family business as she was not interested in business. Nevertheless, her family didn't even consider to let her know about their decision.

It appeared that Crystal would have been given the position even if Ariadne had expressed interest. Thus, she didn't say anything about it.