Chapter 2
The scandal was suppressed, and Blake sent me a SnapChat message. “Aria Hayes, you never cease to amaze me. You can put up with anything, can’t you? You’d do anything for money.” “How much do you want this time? What expensive meds does your father’s pathetic life need this time?” I replied flatly, “Nothing.” Silence stretched on his end for a long time before I put down my phone. Blake didn’t know that my father had passed away yesterday. While he and Skylar were enjoying a lavish spa day, my father had succumbed to acute kidney failure. I’d called him countless times, only to hear the answering machine. After crying for ten hours in the hospital room, Skylar’s message popped up. I got up, wiped my tears, and began to arrange my father’s funeral. Once everything was settled, I returned to the mansion Blake and I shared. It was only when those photos went viral that Blake finally called me. His first words were cutting accusations. But, it didn’t matter anymore. My most important task now was to divorce Blake. Our marriage had been nothing more than a business arrangement between the Hayes and Sterling families. A financial blunder by my father led to our company’s bankruptcy, and he’d collapsed from the shock. When Mr. Sterling Sr. was still alive, Blake treated me reasonably well. We weren’t madly in love, but we were respectful, almost like polite strangers. In those quiet days, my feelings for Blake grew. His transformation began after his grandfather’s death. That night, the rain poured down. Blake was in our master bedroom, getting intimate with a strange woman. I went wild, tearing at the woman, but Blake shielded her. It was also the first time he’d ever threatened me. “Aria Hayes, your father’s medical bills still depend on me.” Helplessness washed over me. That night, the strange woman stayed. After that, Blake began to indulge himself without restraint. I started cleaning up all sorts of scandals for him. In Blake’s eyes, I was just a woman pretending to be a virtuous wife for money. “Aria Hayes, you have no idea what my life was like before. Now, with no one to control me, it’s just so… comfortable.” Blake’s eyes were hazy as he said it. I just stared at him blankly.