The Billionaire's Punished Hidden Wife

The bathroom was steeped in mist, the hiss of the shower masking the quiet tension in the air. Joseph Larkins stood under the spray, his figure blurred but imposing through the translucent glass.

In the bedroom, Sabrina pushed aside the covers and sat up, her cheeks pink with the memory of last night. Even after two years of marriage, the intimacy still left her flustered, a pleasant heat blooming in her chest that she had yet to grow accustomed to.

The water stopped. A moment later, Joseph emerged, a towel slung low around his hips, droplets trailing down his chiseled frame. He moved with that same effortless grace she'd fallen forno, not fallen for, she corrected herself. This arrangement wasnt supposed to be about love.

She handed him his clothes with a soft smile. Breakfast is ready. I'll wait downstairs for you.

Mm, he said, his voice low.

Downstairs, Sabrina carefully retrieved the cake she'd hidden in the fridge, placing it at the center of the table. Her hands trembled slightly as she clutched a folded piece of paperthe pregnancy test results. Her pulse pounded in her ears. Today was their second wedding anniversary, and shed planned everything perfectly. Hed sit down to breakfast and shed tell him the news: they were going to be parents. Nervous as she was, she couldnt stop the small swell of expectancy blooming inside her, fragile but hopeful.

Joseph descended the stairs, dressed impeccably in a custom-tailored black suit that hugged his tall frame with precision. His every movement radiated the kind of composure people were drawn to and intimidated by in equal measure. Sabrinas breath caught. How could anyone look so perfect?

They ate in a kind of companionable quiet. Her gaze flicked to him, then down to her lap where the paper crumpled slightly in her hand. Just say it. Sabrina inhaled deeply to steady her nerves before speaking.

Joseph, theres something Id like to

I have something to say, too, he interrupted, his tone clipped but polite. Ever the gentleman.

She hesitated. You first, then.

Joseph rose from the table and crossed to the desk. From a drawer, he retrieved a slim file. He turned back, approached her slowly, and extended it in her direction. His long fingers rested on its edge for a beat, then fell away.

It took Sabrina a moment too long to comprehend what she was looking at. Then the words on the front of the document hit her like a blow to the chest. Divorce Agreement.

Her world tilted. She gripped the edge of the table, her legs threatening to buckle beneath her. It felt as though someone had driven a blade straight through her, twisted it, then left it buried deep.

The word escaped her lips in a breathless whisper, more to herself than to him. You want a divorce?

Mm, he said, the sound barely more than a murmur.

Her knuckles turned white around the paper in her handthe pregnancy test results shed planned to show him. The words were there, on the tip of her tongue, ready to plead. If I told you we were having a child, would it change anything? Would you stay for our family?

But before she could speak, his voice broke through the storm in her head, cold and certain. Laylas back. I want to end this now. We initially agreed to three years, but circumstances have changed.

Layla. Of course. His Layla, the woman from his past, the one who still held the only key to his heart.

He continued, his gaze even and businesslike. This draft is preliminary. Take your time looking over it. If theres anything you want amendedwithin reasonIll accommodate your requests.

Sabrina forced herself to nod. Her voice sounded alien to her own ears when she finally responded. Ill look it over later.

Her fingers tightened reflexively around the test results. Sweat slicked her palm, wrinkling the paper further. There was no point in showing it to him now. She could already see the answer in his eyes.

Joseph leaned back slightly, crossing his arms. One more favor.

Something in her chest cracked, but she smiled, her expression as bright and composed as always. Of course. What do you need?

Tell my grandfather. He wont agree if it comes from me.

I understand.

She had grown used to understanding. It was what had forged the silent contract between them all those years ago. Sabrina wasnt from a family that could hold a candle to the Larkins dynasty. Her mother had been a nurse with a kind heart but nothing else, and her father, a gambler whod dragged them both through years of debt. Only fateand her mothers act of saving the senior Larkins during an accidenthad brought her into their orbit.

When her mother died of cancer, leaving an orphan behind, the Larkins family had repaid their debt of gratitude in the most definitive way: by arranging for Sabrina to marry Joseph.

When this is over, Joseph had told her on their wedding day, youll walk away. Three years, we agreed. And youll be the one to ask for the divorce, to keep my grandfather out of it. Dont worryIll make sure your life is comfortable afterward. Youll want for nothing.

She had tasted the bitterness of those words but swallowed it down, forcing a breezy smile. I know. Ive got someone I care about, too. Three years sounds perfect.

But three years stretched into two, and two became tonight, where the child growing inside her shouldve changed everythingbut didnt. The Joseph everyone saw was the model husband, attentive and protective in every way. His friends envied him, his family adored her. To the world, she was his treasure, the one who could make him smile with the crook of her finger.

But Sabrina knew better. Everything he gave herhis care, his meticulous attentionhad never come from the place she wished it did. He loved her body, yes, but never her heart. And now the woman he had once whispered of in his sleep was back to claim him.

Sabrina bent to pick up the divorce agreement from the table. Her fingers barely trembled as she held it.

She had lost her appetite. Just as she was about to retreat to her room, Joseph suddenly tugged at his tie with a faintly troubled expression and called out to her.

When you bring up the divorce, Grandfather will surely ask for a reason. Didnt you say, when we married, that you already had someone youd loved for years? Now Im setting you freeyou can go find him, pursue the happiness you deserve. Even if Grandfather doesnt approve, he wont have much ground to argue with that.

Sabrina nodded lightly. Alright, thats what Ill tell him.

Without another word, she turned, desperate to leave. If she stayed any longer, she feared the words would tumble out against her will: Joseph, I dont want a divorce.

But then Joseph reached for her suddenly, and in her panic, she recoiled, terrified he might notice what she was clutching in her hand.

Joseph frowned, concern deepening. He firmly caught her retreating hand. Youre pale as a ghost. Are you feeling sick?

No, Sabrina replied hastily, yanking her hand back.

Weve been married two years, Joseph said with an unsettling calm. Do you really think I cant tell when youre lying?

Sabrina faltered. She could never hold out against that look in his eyes. Its nothing serious. My period just started.

Get some rest later.

He spoke with casual care, but his gaze drifted to her tightly clenched right hand. His voice lowered. What are you holding there? Why so tight?

Before he could press further, Sabrina threw the object into the trash like it was burning her fingers. Forcing a weak smile, she said, Its nothing, just some garbage I forgot to toss earlier.

He would never understand how deeply her heart ached.

It felt as though an axe had split her chest open. Two halves, torn apart. The wound bled freely, and the ragged edges of her heart throbbed, slick with pain.

Each shattered fragment pulsed with raw vulnerability, and she found herself cradling what was left of it, helplessly consumed by suffering.

Joseph, Joseph... In her mind, his name echoed, soft and mournful. How can a marriage that began with such promise unravel like this?

When shed married him, she had staked everything she had, trembling with both hope and fear.

Now, leaving himit felt unbearably abrupt, cruelly unceremonious.

Silly girl, she berated herself silently. In the end, you lost the gamble. He doesnt love you. Not one bitnot now, not ever.

Seeing how frail she seemed, Joseph didnt stop to think. He simply scooped her up.

Caught entirely off guard, Sabrina gasped. Let me go! I can walk by myself.

Youre barely standing. Dont be stubborn.

His voice was low and velvet smooth, warm against her ears. That voicehow she had clung to its sound over the past two years, how it had wrapped itself around her heart, drawing her in deeper, anchoring her to him. And now, it was slipping away. Just like him.

Sabrina blinked fast, but the tears broke through anyway.

Joseph chuckled. Come on, youre not a little girl. Crying over a bad period? Lets get you checked out. Ill call a doctor in a bit.

Im not crying, Sabrina shot back, defiant.

What an idiot. What a blind, clueless man.

He had absolutely no idea why she was crying.

Alright, alright. If you say youre not crying, then youre not. Joseph held his hands up in mock surrender, letting it drop.

And then out of nowhere, he asked, Can you tell me who he is?

Sabrina froze, stunned. He?

You know, Joseph prompted, tilting his head. The man you claimed to have loved for all these years. I admit, Im curiouswhos so lucky that youve stayed infatuated with him for so long?