Our Marriage: A Twisted Revenge

My husband, Aiden, brought his mistress to a gala. She was carrying my clutch bag, a gift from him. He was laughing, daring me to make a scene.

But the ultimate cruelty wasn't the affair. It was when he brought up my kidnapping from ten years ago, using my deepest trauma as a weapon to publicly shame me.

His mistress, Ember, piled on, her voice dripping with false pity.

"Oh, Julia, I just can't imagine what you went through. Aiden told me everything. How you were… so damaged."

I suddenly realized who she was: the daughter of the man who had orchestrated my kidnapping. This wasn't just an affair; it was a long-con revenge plot to destroy the company I had sacrificed everything to save.

Aiden, the man who once swore to protect me, was her willing pawn. His cruelty had already cost me our unborn child years ago.

In that moment, the last bit of love I had for him turned to ice. He thought he was breaking me.

He had no idea he was just handing me the keys to his destruction.

Chapter 1

JULIA GARRETT POV:

The world, I' ve learned, has rules. Rules for decorum, for business, for marriage. Rules for everything, it seems, except for how to deal with a husband who brings his mistress to a gala and forces her into your face.

Aiden Daniel has always been good at breaking rules, especially the ones that mattered most to me.

He was laughing across the ballroom, a loud, booming sound that used to make my stomach flutter. Now, it just made my jaw ache. His arm was around Ember Stokes, a woman young enough to be his - well, not his daughter, but definitely not his wife. She held a small, glittering clutch bag. My clutch bag. The one he' d given me for our fifth anniversary.

"Aiden, for God's sake," Davina, my mother, hissed beside me. "Does he have no shame?"

He had none. His eyes, when they met mine, were cold, daring me to react. Ember, the little viper, gave him a sweet, innocent smile before deliberately turning the clutch so the diamond-encrusted clasp caught the light. A direct hit.

"Julia," Davina whispered, her voice tight with suppressed rage. "He's provoking you."

I watched Ember's performance, a practiced sway of her hips, a toss of her perfect blonde hair. She was enjoying this far too much. Aiden' s hand tightened around her waist, a public declaration.

"Look at her," Davina growled, her hand clutching her chest. "That little hussy. And him! After everything you' ve done for this family, for him…" Her face was blotchy red.

"Mother, please," I said, my voice flat, holding out a steady hand to her. "Don't make a scene. It' s not worth it."

She stared at me, eyes wide. "Not worth it? Julia, he has brought his paramour to a public event, flaunting her with your gifts! He' s humiliating you, humiliating our family."

I took