I had signed the marriage contract a few days ago and now I have to attend the first party with my contract husband and that's was mind blowing but I have no choice,I have to do what I can to get my revenge on my ex- fiance and ex-best friend.

The car stopped, door opened and a wave of light and sound hit me at once interrupting my thoughts. The world of the party was a blinding, glittering spectacle. I was a person who had always lived in the shadows, and now I was standing in the brightest light. I felt like a very small insect under a big lamp.

Lucien's hand was on my back. It felt heavy and strong, not kind. It was a sign of his power. “Keep smiling,” he said. His voice was cold, with no feeling. He did not even look at me. “The cameras are on us.” It was an order. My stomach hurt from being so scared. I forced a smile that felt hard and not real.

My eyes moved quickly around the room. I was trying to understand this new world. The men in their sharp suits and the women in their very expensive dresses moved with a quiet, easy grace. They were a different kind of people. They looked like kings and queens while I felt like a fake, a common person in a room of masterpieces. Every look, every quiet word, every camera flash felt like they were judging me. I needed to escape, I needed air and I needed to be alone for just one second.

“Excuse me,” I said. My voice was a whisper. “I need to use the restroom.”

He gave a small nod. He was already looking at the crowd, looking for someone else. He did not ask if I was okay,He did not offer to wait. He just let go of me, and soon I was just another ghost in a sea of strangers. I walked away from him, feeling more alone than I had ever felt in my life. The distance between us grew with every step I took but he did not watch me go.

The restroom was a beautiful, quiet room. It was all marble and gold. I stood at a sink and stared at my face in the mirror. The woman in the mirror was pretty and looked calm. But her eyes were full of fear. My hands, holding my small black purse, were shaking so much I thought I would drop it. I tried to splash some cold water on my face, but the tears blurred my vision. A cry was stuck in my throat. I couldn't be here. I had to get out. My heart was beating so hard it felt like a small animal trying to escape my chest.

As I turned to leave, I heard quiet voices from the bathroom stalls.

"Did you see her? His new wife."

"She is nothing. Just a normal person."

"I heard she is a gold-digger so she must be very desperate."

Their voices were like poison. They didn't know I was there, but their words hit me hard. The shame made my face feel hot and red. I stood there for a moment, listening, my head hung low in shame. The words were a bitter taste in my mouth, like ashes. Then I walked out, my head down, trying to disappear into the crowd. I hoped no one would see the tear marks on my cheeks. I just wanted to go home.

I went back into the party. The music was loud, but I felt like I was moving through a silent, cold sea. I pushed my way through the crowd, my eyes searching for Lucien. I finally found him on the other side of the room. He was with a group of businessmen. His face was a mask of cold professionalism. He was in his element, a king on his throne. He was talking and laughing, but his laugh was like a sound without feeling. It was just a tool to do his job. I felt a pang of loneliness, a feeling that I was completely, utterly alone in this war.

Then, a voice cut through the air. “I see you now have a little pet, Lucien.”

It was Celine Valen. She was pretty, but her eyes were full of hate. She moved with the easy moves of a hungry lioness. She had a glass of wine in her hand, and her smile was cruel. She looked at me for a long time, as if I were a strange animal. Then she turned to Lucien, as if I were not even there.

"Hump,you even traded a queen for a simple girl," she said. Her voice was full of poison. “I guess a girl like her would do anything for money.”

Lucien did not answer. He just gave her a cold look. His face did not show anything. I knew then that he would not protect me. This was my fight. I was on my own. I looked at him, hoping he would help me, but his eyes were on his business friends. He did not see me.

My heart was beating fast. I had been made to feel small, insulted, and now I was facing a woman who saw me as an object. I remembered Eleanor's words: "You are not a pawn. You are a queen." A slow, cold fire started to burn inside me. My pain, my loneliness, my fear—it all became a single, strong thought.

I looked at her. My voice shook, but it was strong. “So are you jealous, Celine? Are you jealous that he picked me instead of you?”

The smile on her face disappeared. Her eyes became tiny slits of pure hate. "How dare you," she whispered. She took a step closer, and then, without any warning, she lifted her glass of red wine and threw it at me. The liquid hit my chest, making a big red stain on my nice black dress. It looked like a fresh wound.

I gasped, but no sound came out. The quiet cries and whispers of the crowd were a loud noise in my ears. Everyone in the room turned to look at me. I stood there, humiliated, with a red stain on my chest. I looked across the room and saw Lucien's eyes on me. His face was full of cold anger. But his anger was not for Celine. It was for me. He looked at me as if I had just made the dumbest mistake of my life. I was a disgrace.

He walked to me, his face showing a lot of cold anger. He did not look at Celine. He did not say anything to her. He just took my hand. His grip was very tight. “That’s enough,” he said. His voice was dangerously low, one word that ended the scene. He pulled me out of the room, leaving the whispers behind.

The car ride home was very, very quiet. The sound of the car engine was the only thing I could hear. I sat in the front seat, my dress ruined, my hands shaking. The red stain felt like a hot, burning fire on my skin. I felt like a failure. I was a fool who had just ruined my only chance at a new life.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. My words were a raw, painful cry. “I am so, so sorry. I did not mean to…”

Lucien did not even look at me. He just stared out the window. His jaw was tight. “Do not,” he said. His voice was as cold as ice. “Do not apologize.”

My heart fell. “I just… I did not know what to do.”

He finally turned to me. His eyes were cold and empty. “That is your problem, is it not?” he said. His voice was flat. “You never know what to do. You let people use you. You are a fool, Selena. That is why you get betrayed so easily. You are a fool, and you just showed that to everyone in that room.”

He then told the driver to stop the car. The shiny, black Meserati stopped on the quiet street. “Get out,” he said. His voice was sharp and like an order. He did not even look at me as he said the words. He just looked straight ahead, his face a mask of cold anger. "Get out. Get into the other car. The one with my guards. I do not want to sit with someone like you right now."

I sat without moving. My heart was pounding. My head was spinning. I was a fool. I had been humiliated in front of the world. And now I was being pushed out by the one man who was supposed to protect me.

I fell out of the car, my body feeling heavy and weak. The cool night air felt different from the shame that was burning in my chest. I looked at him. My eyes were full of a raw, desperate plea. But he did not look back. The car door closed with a sickening sound. and in a flash his car drove away, leaving me alone on the street. I was a failure. I was alone. And I knew I was in very, very big trouble. I stood there, watching the car get smaller and smaller, until it was just a tiny light in the darkness.