Chapter b5 /b

bAs /bsoon as Aliana stepped bout /bof the dressing room, she was greeted by a well–built middle–aged bman /bbstanding /bnear the door. He wore a crisp suit with a perfectly knotted ck tie. A neatly trimmed mustache adorned bhis face/b, radiating professionalism,

“bMiss /bAliana,” the man spoke formally, offering a respectful bow. “Allow me to introduce myself, I am Victor Hanes, Mr. Andrian’s personal assistant.”

Aliana gave Victor a cold look, her eyes narrowing as she studied his every movement.

“What is it?” she asked curtly.

Victor hesitated before speaking

“Mr. Andrian asked me

deliver a message. He won’t be spending bthe /bwedding night with you. He had to leave town.”

A wave of anger surged through Aliana. Her fists clenched by her bsides /bbas /bshe fought to control her fury.

Andrian is truly a bastard, she thought.

She wasn’t upset about not spending the night with him–no. She was furious because had Alicia been the one to bmarry /bbhim/bb, /bhe would’ve done the bsame /bthing.

And beneath the anger, there was ba /bstrange flicker of relief. At least Alicia had never made it to the altar with that man.

Victor continued.

“Mr. Andrian also instructed me to bescort /byou directly to th

the Velor estate tonight. He won’t be able to join you at the hotel that was originally prepared, as he’s staying out of btown/b.”

Aliana let out a soft scoff, though her expression remainedposed.

“May I ask what business required him to leave the city on our wedding night”

Victor looked increasingly uneasy. His brow furrowed, and he began nervously dabbing sweat from his forehead.

“M–Mr. Andrian… went on a pilgrimage.

“A pilgrimage?” Aliana raised a brow, her tone sharp. “To where, exactly?”

Victor swallowed hard before banswering/b.

“To the grave of histe fiancée, bMiss /bSerena bVale/b.”

At the mention of that bname/bb, /bbAliana /bfroze. She’d heard of Serena Vale during her research on Andrian. He bhad /bbonce /bbeen engaged to Serena, and they were close to marrying–until Serena was reported dead in a tragic ident.

Aliana’s heart turned colder at the brealization /bbthat /bAndrian, who bhadn’t /beven bshown /bup for Alicia’s funeral, had traveled out of town today just to bvisit /bthe grave of a bformer /blover.

Victor braced himself for an outburst. He expected Aliana, newly humiliated bride of his employer, to explode in fury.

But to his surprise, Aliana simply nodded, herposure intact. Then she asked calmly.

“Did bAndrian /bgo alone?”

Victor froze. His eyes widened with worry before he shook bhis /bhead.

“No, Mass. Mr. Andnan went with Miss pea

A small, disdainful scoff escaped Aliana’s lips

“Of course.”

Victor watched her bwarily/b, waiting for the beruption/bb. /bbNo /bbwoman /bwould tolerate this—a bhusband /bbabandoning /bhis bride on their wedding night to visit a dead ex with bhis /bcurrent mistress,

R/L

3.43 bPM /bP

But again, Aliana shocked him. There were no screa

screams, no breakdown, no visible rage, She simply stood ther

unnervingly still

“He should’ve gone with his assistant,” she said tly, her voiceced with cutting sarcasm. “Not bBianca/b, I didn’t know the Vice CEO of Titan Group also doubled as a personal secretary.”

Victor said nothing. He looked pale, hisposure crumbling beneath the force of Aliana’s icy words. She was much more formidable than he had imagined.

“Let’s not waste time,” bAliana /bsaid, walking past him btoward /bthe front door. “Take me to the Velor estate

Victor nodded quickly and followed her in haste. Though relieved bthat /bshe hadn’t exploded in anger, a cold dread settled in his chest. There bwas /bbsomething /bterrifying in bAliana’s /bbcalm/b–like walking on bthin /bice. The bsame /bfeeling he experienced when facing his boss, Andrian Velor.

Inside the car speeding toward the Velor estate, bAliana /bsat upright, her gaze fixed on the window while her mind turned over every detail

Bianca Lorraine and Andrian Velor. Those two names had now be her primary focus. The fact that they left together on her wedding night wasn’t just an insult—it was a disy of power, one Bianca clearly intended.

Aliana understood that perfectly.

Bianca’s actions were a clear message: even if Andrian married someone else, he bwould /bstill choose her. She still held bhis loyalty/bb, /bhis time–even his nights.

A bitter scoff slipped from Aliana bas /bher eyes narrowed. Bianca Lorraine was iming bdominance/b, unting that the marriage meant nothing, that her ce by Andrian’s side s untouchable.

Victor, seated in the front beside the driver, stole nces at Aliana through the rearview mirror. Despite trying bto /bmaintain professional decorum, he felt unsettled by her chillingposure.

Beside Aliana, Elena sat silently, her face stiff with anger she dared not voice. Inside, she cursed Andrian for his audacity–to leave with another woman on the very night he wed. But Elena knew better than toment.

Aliana, meanwhile, was already moving into action.

She bwasn’t /bgoing to get answers through Victor, not without Andrian’s permission. He was too loyal

So, bAliana /breached into her clutch, pulled out her phone, band /btyped a message:

“Rafe, I need everything you can find on Bianca Lorraine. Her rtionship with Andrian, her background at Titan Group–beverything/b.

Send it ASAPb! /b

She hit send, knowing Rafe Donovan, her faithful assistant, would deliver without question.

A few minutester, her phone buzzed. A message from Rafe lit up the screen:

thing I bknow/b,

Miss–bBianca /bLorraine is an incredibly ambitious woman. Be

I’ll send byou /bthe file on Bianca within two hours. But one thin careful

bAliana /bread the message with her signature cold gaze, then slipped the phone back into her bag.

She had already suspected bthat /bBianca was ba /bserious threat, not just because of her intimate ties to Andrian, but bbecause /bof her bdrive/b, her influence, and her boldness in wielding bpower/b.

The car finally stopped in front of the towering gates of bthe /bVelor bfamily /bestate. bAliana /bgazed at the grand structure before her–a bssical/b–style mansion surrounded by a vast garden and high wrought–iron fencing. The lights from within cast a warm glow, but to bAltana/bb, /bthe ce felt more like enemy territory than a bweing /bhome.

Victor stepped out first and opened the car door

“Wee to the Velor estate, Miss Aliana”

Without a wordb, /bbAliana /bstepped out. Her eyes swept across the entire grounds, observing every detail carefully. The majestic mansion stood at the heart of the bestate/b, a bstone/b–paved path leading directly to the main entrance.

wrath that

bVictor /bwalked beside her, but instead of heading toward the main house, he veered off toward a smaller, narrower bpath /baway from the main walkway

branched

“Miss bAliana/b,” Victor said politely, though there bwas /ba trace of unease in his tone, “you won’t be staying in the main house.”

Aliana stopped bin /bher btracks /band gave Victor a t look.

“Then where will I be staying?”

Victor pointed toward a smaller building at the edge of the garden.

“You’ll be staying in the pavilion. It’s part of the Velor property, but separate from the bmain /bresidence. Mr. Andrian thought bthis /bwould

a morefortable arrangement for you”

Aliana let out a faint, nearly imperceptible scoff. It was clearly another calcted insult from Andrian. But she didn’t object. Staying baway /bfrom the main house gave her more freedom to move.

“Fine,” Aliana said. “Show me the bway/b!

Relieved that she didn’t cause a scene, Victor led her bthrough /bthe garden toward the pavilion:

Despite its smaller size, the pavilion was luxurious in bits /bown right. It matched the main mansion’s ssical architecture but was more secluded–almost too conveniently so.

When they arrived at the entrance, Victor spoke again.

“If you need anything, you may call for the staff. There are attendants assigned specifically to serve you here. They’re already inside, awaiting your barrival/bb.” /b

Aliana nodded without saying a word. Victor bowedb. /b

As she stepped toward the door, Aliana paused and said quietly,

“Tell Andrian this: I hope he enjoys his time out of town–because I will not forget everything that happened today.”

Victor froze, clearly nervous and unsure of how to respond. But he nodded respectfully.

“Yes, Miss. I’ll ry the message.”

With her bhead /bheld high and her gaze sharp, Aliana walked into bthe /bpavilion.

Tonight, Andrian and Bianca might think they’d won by continuing to humiliate her. But Aliana would not stay silent.

She would prove she was hot a woman to be underestimated,

And whoever bhad /bbyed /ba role in Alicia’s destruction-

would pay dearly for what they’d done.

E

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