Chapter One

The Loud Silence 

Ariana’s POV

I didn’t realize at first when it all started. When the silence between Sebastian and I stopped being peaceful and started becoming suffocating.

It was probably the night he first came back home late and didn’t even bother to talk to me.

Or the morning after that, when he sat across from me at the long dining table, scrolling through his phone while I spoke about a proposal I had been working on for weeks.

I remember finishing my sentence and waiting… only to realize that he hadn’t heard a word I had been saying.

“Sebastian?” I said.

Only a faint sound left his mouth, his eyes never lifting to look at me. 

Now weeks later, that silence grown unbelievably. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in our bedroom, adjusting the collar of my blouse.

My reflection stared back at me, outwardly elegant, but shaken inside. My long dark hair was pulled backwards into a ponytail, further outlining the oval shape of my face.

I tried to smile into the mirror, but the smile appeared weak, shallow. And even at that, no one would ever guess what was happening beneath the surface.

That was how I had survived everyday.

I heard a soft click as the bedroom door opened behind me. I didn’t turn immediately, but I felt Sebastian through the shift in the air… that cold presence of his that used to feel warm and safe.

“Are you going to the office?” I asked calmly, rubbing my palms against the tight red skirt I wore.

Sebastian just silently walked past me, already loosening his cufflinks.

“No.” he answered blankly.

I turned slowly, my eyes on him.

“You have a board meeting at ten.”

“I’ll reschedule.” He said, still not bothering to give me a look.

My brows knitted tightly on my forehead as I wondered what could be on his mind.

“You never reschedule board meetings.” I said to him next, searching his empty eyes for something… anything.

“I said I’ll handle it, Ariana.”

His tone wasn’t loud, but it didn’t need to be. The finality in it cut much deeper than that could ever.

I swallowed the response forming in my throat.

This wasn’t new. Lately, everything I said seemed to irritate him… my voice, the words that came out of my mouth, and even my presence.

It was as if I had become… obsolete to him.

“Alright,” I murmured.

Still, he didn’t respond.

Instead, he just moved toward the bathroom, already dismissing me without as much as a single glance.

I stood there for a few seconds longer, staring at the closed door after him. Moments passed before I tried to force my composed expression back.

Breakfast was worse, as the Frost mansion dining wasn’t a room at all. It was a large hall… too large for just three people.

The long table stretched endlessly, polished to perfection, surrounded by silence thick enough for someone to choke on.

Isabelle Frost sat at the head of the table, as she always did… even though it was her son’s house. Her sharp brown eyes lifted up the moment I entered the room, scanning my entire frame as if I was something unpleasant.

“Ariana,” she greeted sourly.

“Mother,” I replied rather politely, taking my seat next to her.

Sebastian joined us moments later, his presence doing nothing to shift the air in the room. He nodded briefly at his mother before sitting down, completely ignoring me.

No one spoke at first. Then Isabelle broke the ice.

“You’re late.”

I glanced at the clock. But I wasn’t.

“I apologize if it seemed that way,” I said calmly.

Her lips curled slightly. “Seemed?”

I held her gaze. “Yes.”

There was a pause that felt much longer than it was. Then her expression hardened, displeased by my answer. But she turned to her son instead.

“Sebastian darling, how is the company’s progress this week?” she asked with a smile that seemed like it didn’t come from the same face.

“Fine.” Sebastian answered, his attention fixed on his plate.

“And your… collaborations?”

There was slight shift on his face. Almost unnoticeable. But I saw it.

Sebastian’s hand froze briefly before he resumed cutting into his food.

“They’re progressing fine.”

Isabelle nodded slowly. “Good. It’s best that you focused on things that truly matter to this family.”

Her gaze slid to me as soon as the words left her mouth.

“…Not… distractions,” she finished.

Her words hung in the air and lingered in my chest like a heavy weight. I placed my fork down gently, resisting every urge to react to her clear insults.

“I’m glad you think so,” I said calmly, “Considering how I’ve spent the last three years helping rebuild your family company into what it is today.”

The tensed silence returned, heavier this time. Sebastian’s jaw tightened and Isabelle’s eyes narrowed towards me.

“You’ve done only what was expected of you, nothing more,” Isabelle replied coldly. “Be sure to remember that dear.”

I let out a quiet breath.

“And yet,” she continued, her voice dropping into something more poisonous, “the one thing that truly matters in a marriage… your first and ultimate duty to this family… you’ve failed miserably at it.”

There it was. The real issue behind her contempt for me. I felt it pierce my skin… that familiar pain I had grown so used to hiding. Children… or the lack of them in my case.

My fingers curled tightly under the table.

“We’ve discussed this before,” I said before I could stop myself.

“Yes,” Isabelle replied. “And yet, the outcome remains the same.”

Her eyes shifted toward Sebastian.

“Three years, and still no heir.”

Her unforgiving words hung between us. I turned to Sebastian then, waiting and hoping… foolishly hoping that he would say something.

Defend me. Correct her. Do anything.

But he didn’t. He simply continued eating, as if this conversation had nothing to do with him. As if… I myself had nothing to do with him.

“Perhaps,” Isabelle went on, dabbing her lips with a napkin, “it’s time to consider other options.”

My heart dropped to my stomach.

“What do you mean?” I asked, though I already knew exactly what she meant.

Her gaze met mine again.

“I mean, Sebastian and this family deserves a legacy. And if you as his wife are incapable of providing any…” A small, deliberate pause passed, “… then perhaps he should find someone who can.”

Her words were uttered with such calm cruelty that it almost impressed me. I turned to Sebastian again, this time, partly to see if he felt that way too.

But he just kept quiet like the whole thing didn’t concern him. And this time, my composure finally cracked.

“Are you just going to sit there and let her talk to me this way?” I asked quietly.

He finally looked at me. But there was nothing in his eyes. No warmth or any sign of guilt in them. Certainly no love. Just indifference.

“I don’t think now is the best time to talk about this,” he said flatly.

Anger flared in my chest, and barely able to control it, I pushed my chair back quickly, rising to my feet.

“Excuse me,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me.

I walked out before they could see the tears about to roll out my eyes like waterfalls.

***

After crying my eyes out the entire day, evening came and the house felt colder. I stood by the large windows in the living room, staring out at the fading sunlight.

My arms were wrapped around myself, as if I could somehow hold all the broken pieces inside me together.

This wasn’t the life I had built at all. This wasn’t the marriage I had fought for. So when did it all start falling apart? I asked myself.

I didn’t need to think long on that.

A soft sound behind me pulled me from my thoughts. Footsteps of more than one person sounded against the polished floor.

I turned and Sebastian stood there… along with someone else… a woman.

“We need to talk,” he said.

Of course we did.

I straightened, giving the woman who stood beside Sebastian with too much confidence a suspicious look.

“I’m listening.”

There was a pause, as if he was searching for the right words to utter. And in that silence, I took a good look at the woman beside him.

She was tall, blonde, curvy and gorgeous. Too gorgeous for anyone to ignore. Just then, a thought hit me. 

I’d heard of this woman too frequently to not recognize her, even though I’d never set eyes on her… until now.

A soft gasp escaped my mouth at my sudden realization. But before I could speak, Sebastian found his words first.

“This is Camilla, and she’ll be moving in with us.”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

“What?”

His gaze didn’t falter for a second.

“She needs a place to stay,” he answered, “so she’ll be staying here… with us.”

His words echoed painfully in my mind. And my pulse pounded aga

inst my ribcage.

“You’re moving your ex-girlfriend into our home?” I asked, my voice beginning to shake.