Levi didn’t say a word when he entered my hospital room. His face was drawn, pale, eyes trembling with something heavier than grief.
He placed a thick envelope on my lap.
“Read it,” he said.
My fingers trembled as I opened it—photocopies, scanned documents, a passport, old articles, bank statements, photos. Too many. My eyes couldn’t focus on one without the next stabbing me.
Levi exhaled shakily. “Ysobel… Jaxon isn’t who he says he is.”
My throat tightened. “Levi, stop.”
“He’s the son of a wealthy industrialist in Asteria,” Levi continued, voice low but merciless. “He ran away from that life because of gambling debts. Serious ones. Mafia-level. His father sent him here to ‘fix his mistakes’—but he could only return if he paid everything back.”
A ringing filled my ears.
“He needed money,” Levi went on. “Real money. So he found you.”
I froze. “What are you saying… ‘found’ me? When the yacht I was on sank four years ago—are you saying that wasn’t an accident?”
Levi didn’t flinch. “He hired someone to sabotage it. Made sure he was close enough to jump in. He saved you… because he planned it. He approached you on purpose, made you fall for him, and when you married him—”
“No…” My breathing hitched. “No, Levi, that’s insane—”
“—he started embezzling the company funds.” Levi pushed the next set of papers toward me. “And here… Candice’s contract. He told her to apply. You hired his real wife as your secretary.”
The room tilted. My stomach churned violently, bile rising in my throat.
“Ysobel?” Levi stood quickly. “Sit down—”
But I was already sliding off the bed, running to the bathroom, the nausea tearing through me. I threw up until there was nothing left, until my tears blurred everything.
I clutched the sink, shaking.
He planned it. All of it. Even the moment I fell in love with him… it wasn’t real.
But my mind—cruel as it was—dragged me back to the moments I once held like treasures.
“I’ll protect you,” he whispered once, brushing my hair away as we lay on the beach. The moonlight made him look impossibly gentle.
“From what?” I laughed.
“From everything,” he answered, kissing my forehead. “You’re safe with me. Always.”
The mornings he cooked breakfast. The nights he held me because I couldn’t sleep.
The way he looked at me and said, “One day, we’ll have our own little family.”
Lies. All of it.
Because right now, I can finally see what I refused to before. Candice’s perfume lingering on his coat—he said she hugged him because she was emotional.
Her lipstick on his collar—he laughed, said she tripped and he helped her up.
Her late-night calls—he told me work never sleeps.
And I believed him. God, I believed every word.
I thought the breakfasts meant love.
I thought the way he tucked the blanket around me meant care.
I thought the way he whispered, “You’re my future,” meant something real.
Lies. All of it.
When I finally calm, I looked at Levi with hollow eyes.
“There’s no need for divorce, right?” I whispered. “Our marriage… is invalid.”
Levi nodded slowly. “Yes.”
I closed my eyes. My mother's ashes weren’t even cold when I married Jaxon. The company she left me—my last promise to her before she died of an illness—I had handed it over to a stranger wearing the face of a hero, so my father got mad at me and decided to disown me.
“Then I just have to investigate the company,” I said quietly. “See what’s left.”
Levi didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
Two days later. I expected peace. I got devastation.
“Miss Ysobel,” my finance manager stammered the moment I stepped into the office. “I’m so sorry, but… we’re losing money. A lot. Mr. Rivas made several unauthorized transfers. And the investors he brought in—most of them don’t exist.”
My knees buckled.
Levi caught me before I hit the floor. I couldn’t breathe.
The company my mother built with her blood and youth—the company she handed to me—was being hollowed out from the inside.
By the man I loved.
No. By the man I thought I loved.
My voice trembled. “Call the board.”
When they gathered, I stood as straight as I could.
“Effective immediately,” I said, my voice cold, “fire Candice Montenegro. And postpone every contract, investment, and deal Jaxon handled until further notice.”
They exchanged shocked looks.
But they obeyed.
For the first time in years… I felt like I had control again. Until the door crashed open so violently the walls shook.
“What the hell is the meaning of this!?” Jaxon stormed in, eyes blazing, composure gone. “Why did you fire Candice?! Why am I being removed from all meetings?!”
