Echoes of Love in Ruins

For the sake of Adrian’s business empire, I played his perfect wife for five years.

Then he locked me in the basement for his new lover. I used a micro transmitter to erase all records of our son.

But at his celebration banquet, he saw the child he had ordered “burned to ashes”, a perfect copy of himself.

Adrian broke.

Clutching a charred child’s backpack, eyes wild, he roared, “Find my wife and son! Now!”

Later, I graduated, my new husband beside me.

A thousand miles away in a garage, oil stained fingers traced a child’s smiling face on a phone screen.

Aria’s POV

Adrian locked me up for five days.

The first thing he did upon returning was to deny my request for a divorce.

He reached out to touch my face. “I locked you up to protect you.”

An hour before he locked me away, I had seen him at the hospital with my own eyes, supporting Rosalie through her prenatal appointment.

The usually icy Mr. Hale was attentively holding a pink handbag for her.

In that moment, I finally understood how utterly convincing his “performance” could be.

“You followed me?”

Adrian narrowed his eyes, his tone dangerous.

“Adrian, let’s get divorced.”

Adrian kicked the door with his foot and locked it with his other hand.

He strode over in a few steps and gripped my wrist tightly.

I didn’t struggle.

“Adrian, have you lost your mind?”

Adrian’s sinister face pressed down close, forcing me to meet his gaze.

“Divorce? Impossible. Unless I’m dead.”

“Rosalie Sterling is a representative sent by the Commerce Association. If I want to swallow up the South District land, she’s a key piece.”

“If I don’t play along with her, how can I get the shares she’s holding?”

He irritably unbuttoned his cuffs, speaking with dissatisfaction.

“I work so hard out there, and you still make trouble for me at home?”

I smiled bitterly. “Hard enough to go to obstetrics?”

“That was for show!”

Adrian impatiently cut me off.

“Once I secure the South District land, Rosalie will be useless. Then you can do whatever you want with her. Isn’t that enough?”

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and switched to a gentler tone.

“Aria, you’re the lady of the Hale family. No one can replace your position, as long as you don’t make a scene.”

He pinned me against the wall, his eyes filled with twisted possessiveness.

“Don’t let me hear the word ‘divorce’ again. You’re mine for life.”

To compensate me, Adrian brought me to the family banquet.

In the banquet hall’s lounge, Rosalie clutched her stomach and collapsed on the sofa, her face pale.

“Mr. Hale, I fell on my own. It has nothing to do with Aria pushing me. But this child…”

All around us were the Hale family’s branch members and business partners, and everyone’s eyes fell on me.

The Commerce Association representative behind Rosalie was even more sarcastic.

“Mr. Hale, is this the Hale family’s attitude? How can we feel confident entrusting our project to you?”

I stood there. No one listened to my explanation. I hadn’t even touched the hem of her dress.

Adrian never looked at me once throughout the entire ordeal.

He strode to the sofa, pulled Rosalie into his arms, comforted her in a low voice, then turned to look at me coldly.

“Someone.”

Two bodyguards immediately stepped forward.

“Take Mrs. Hale to the dungeon to sober up.”

Adrian said indifferently.

“When she realizes her mistake, she can come out.”

The iron door of the dungeon was pulled open, and a damp, cold air mixed with mold and rust hit my face.

I was roughly shoved inside, stumbling and falling onto the slippery floor.

Complete silence surrounded me.

I leaned against the wall and sat down, pulling out a micro-communicator from my clothing.

This was my backup device. Adrian didn’t know it existed.

The screen lit up with a faint blue glow.

I entered a string of code to contact an overseas dark web organization.

“Destroy all birth and medical records for Wesley.”

“Initiate evacuation protocol.”

Message sent.

Watching the “Executed” notification flash on screen, I finally exhaled.

Adrian never knew that I never cared about being Mrs. Hale. All I cared about was the child I had hidden in the shadows.

With Wesley’s traces erased, I had no more weaknesses.

I don’t know how long passed before the iron door opened again.

The light made me squint.

Adrian walked in against the light, holding a coat.

The hostility on his face had dissipated.

“Aria, you’ve suffered.”

He came over and gently draped the coat over me, as if he wasn’t the one who’d imprisoned me.

“In that kind of situation just now, if I didn’t do that, I couldn’t explain to the board.”

He picked me up, his tone full of helplessness.

“You have to understand my difficulties.”

“Rosalie’s side is making a big fuss. The forces behind her won’t let go.”

As Adrian walked out, he whispered in my ear,

“To completely stabilize them, I have to make a commitment.”

“What commitment?”

I asked.

“Let her carry the Hale family’s child.”

Adrian said it as if it were perfectly justified.

“After the child is born, we’ll keep the child and get rid of the mother, or handle it however we want. Don’t worry, the position of Mrs. Hale will always be yours.”

Lying in his arms, I just felt sick.

For profit, he could let his mistress bear a child.

To appease me, he promised to keep only the child and discard the mother.

I closed my eyes, hiding the mockery in them.

“Alright, I understand your difficulties.”

Adrian’s steps faltered, as if he hadn’t expected me to be so compliant. Then his arms tightened, and he kissed my forehead.

“I knew it. You’re the most understanding one.”