The Heiress's choice

Elena's pov

The anniversary cake sat untouched on the dining table, three candles melting into the frosting. I watched the wax drip down like my pathetic hopes for this marriage.

Three years, three whole years of being invisible.

I checked my phone again. No missed calls, no texts, nothing from Damien.

Of course there wasn't.

"Still waiting for him?" Margaret's sharp voice cut through the silence. My mother-in-law stood in the doorway of what was supposed to be my home, looking at me like I was dirt on her expensive shoes.

"He'll be here," I said quietly, even though we both knew I was lying.

Margaret laughed, the sound was cold and cruel. "My son is working late with Victoria. You know, someone actually important? Someone who understands business? Not some nobody he picked up from God knows where."

My fingers tightened around my phone. I wanted to scream that I understood business better than Victoria ever could, that I could buy and sell the Blackwell family fortune ten times over, that I was Elena Sterling, hidden heiress to Sterling Global, one of the largest corporations in the country.

But I stayed quiet. Like always.

"You should be grateful Damien even married you," Margaret continued, warming up to her favorite topic, reminding me how worthless I was. "A girl with no family, no background, and no prospects. You trapped him, didn't you? Got yourself pregnant or something?"

"I never trapped anyone," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

"Then why won't you just leave? Sign divorce papers and stop embarrassing this family."

"We're not getting divorced."

"Because you're after his money." Jessica, Damien's sister, appeared behind Margaret. At twenty five, she'd perfected the art of being cruel. "Everyone knows you're a gold digger. You probably calculated exactly how much you'd get in a divorce."

If only they knew. If only they knew that I'd given up my real name, my wealth, my entire identity just to marry Damien. Because three years ago, I'd been stupid enough to believe in love.

I'd met Damien at a coffee shop, both of us in line, both reaching for the last blueberry muffin. He smiled at me with that beautiful, charming smile and insisted I take it. We'd talked for hours. He never asked about my family or my money, he just wanted to know about me.

For the first time in my life, someone saw me as just Elena. Not Elena Sterling, the heiress and not the girl worth billions. Just me.

So when he proposed six months later, I'd hidden who I really was. I told my brother Adrian I was taking a break from the company. I used my mother's maiden name. I became a nobody.

All because I wanted to be loved for myself.

What a joke.

"At least I'm not the one who got fired from my third job this year," I said to Jessica, surprising myself.

Jessica's face went red. "You little..."

My phone buzzed. My heart