Aria's POV
The champagne bottle slips from my hand.
It shatters on the hardwood floor of my apartment—our apartment—but I barely hear it. All I hear is Lily's high-pitched giggle coming from my bedroom. My stepsister's voice, mixed with a man's deeper laugh.
Marcus's laugh.
My fiancé's laugh.
No. No, no, no.
My feet move before my brain catches up. Down the hallway. Past the framed photos of Marcus and me smiling at the beach. Past the wedding magazines stacked on the coffee table. My hand shakes as I push open the bedroom door.
I wish I hadn't.
Marcus is in our bed—the bed where he proposed to me three months ago—with Lily wrapped around him like a snake. They're not even trying to hide it. The sheets are tangled. Her red lipstick is smeared across his chest. My favorite pillows are on the floor.
They see me standing there. They should look guilty. They should scramble apart. They should say something, anything to explain this nightmare.
Instead, they laugh.
"Oh, Aria!" Lily sits up, not even bothering to cover herself. Her perfect blonde hair cascades over her shoulders. "You're home early. Did you bring the champagne to celebrate? How sweet."
My mouth opens. Nothing comes out.
Marcus stretches like a lazy cat, smirking at me. "We weren't expecting you until seven."
"What—" My voice cracks. "What are you doing?"
"I think that's obvious, sweetheart." Marcus swings his legs over the side of the bed. He's not embarrassed. He's not sorry. He looks almost... bored. "We were just discussing how to break this news to you gently. But I guess the cat's out of the bag now."
"Break what news?" My heart pounds so hard it hurts. "Marcus, what's happening?"
Lily slides out of bed, wrapping the sheet around herself—my sheet, from my bed. She walks right up to me, her blue eyes sparkling with something cruel. "The news that Marcus and I are together now. Have been for six months, actually."
Six months.
Six months.
That's when I notice it—the bracelet on her wrist. The diamond bracelet I thought Marcus bought for me. I saw it in his drawer last week and thought it was my birthday present.
"But we're engaged," I whisper. My diamond ring suddenly feels too heavy on my finger. "We're getting married in three months. The invitations went out. My dress is—"
"About that." Marcus stands up, grabbing his pants from the floor. "The wedding's off, Aria. It was fun while it lasted, but let's be honest. You were always just a stepping stone."
The words hit me like a punch to the stomach. "A stepping stone?"
"To the Chen family fortune, obviously." He says it so casually, like he's talking about the weather. "Your father owned one of the biggest tech companies in New York. Dating you opened doors for my law career. I made partner at my firm because of your connections."
"And now he doesn't need you anymore," Lily adds cheerfully. She walks to my closet and starts pulling out clothes—my clothes. "Mom promised Marcus a position as the company's chief legal officer once she takes over completely. Plus, I'm inheriting everything now. Why would he want boring, poor little Aria when he can have me?"
Poor? "What are you talking about? My father left me—"
"Nothing," Marcus interrupts. "Your stepmother had your father's will changed before he died. Everything goes to her and Lily. You got cut out completely. Didn't anyone tell you?"
The room spins. "That's not possible. Dad would never—"
"Your dad was dying of cancer and heavily medicated." Lily examines one of my sweaters, then tosses it on the floor. "Mom made sure he signed the right papers. You're broke, Aria. Zero inheritance. The company board already voted to remove you as project manager. Mom's cleaning house, and you're the trash being taken out."
I grab the doorframe to stay standing. This can't be real. This has to be a nightmare. "You're lying."
"Check your bank account." Marcus is fully dressed now, looking at his phone. "Your stepmother froze your trust fund this morning. Company credit cards too. That champagne you dropped? Hope you can afford to replace it, because that's probably the last expensive thing you'll touch for a while."
My phone. I pull it from my purse with shaking hands. Open my banking app.
Account Balance: $347.52
But this morning it was over $50,000. This morning I had my father's trust fund, my salary, everything. Now...
"How?" My voice sounds small and broken. "How could you do this to me?"
Lily sighs dramatically. "Oh, don't play the victim, Aria. You're so boring. Always working late, always tired, always talking about your dead daddy's precious company legacy. Marcus needed someone fun. Someone who knows how to actually please a man."
She kisses Marcus right in front of me. His hands slide down her back. They're putting on a show, and I'm the audience to my own humiliation.
"You should leave now," Marcus says when they finally break apart. "This is awkward for everyone. Pack your things and go. Lily's moving in tonight."
"This is my apartment!" The words burst out of me. "My name is on the lease!"
"Was on the lease." Marcus grins. "I had you removed this morning. Landlord's a buddy from law school. Your stuff will be on the curb by eight if you don't collect it yourself."
The walls are closing in. I can't breathe. My fiancé and my stepsister. My money gone. My job gone. My home gone. Everything I built, everything I am, crumbling in the span of ten minutes.
"Please," I hear myself beg, and I hate how weak I sound. "Marcus, we loved each other. We were going to get married. Build a life together. How can you—"
"Love?" He laughs—actually laughs. "Aria, I never loved you. You were always just a means to an end. A boring, naive little girl who believed in fairy tales. Grow up."
Something inside me breaks. Not my heart—that's already shattered. Something deeper. Something that believed people were fundamentally good.
I turn and run. Down the hallway, past our photos, past the life I thought was real. Lily's laughter chases me out the door.
I make it to the elevator before the tears come.
I make it to the lobby before my phone buzzes with a news alert.
The headline makes my blood turn to ice:
"ARIA CHEN ARRESTED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT: Tech Heiress Accused of Stealing $10 Million from Father's Company"
Below it, my photo—my professional headshot—with the word CRIMINAL stamped across it in red.
My phone rings. Unknown number. I answer without thinking.
"Miss Chen?" A man's cold voice. "This is Detective Morrison with the NYPD Financial Crimes Unit. We have a warrant for your arrest. Please turn yourself in immediately, or we will come get you."
The phone slips from my numb fingers.
This isn't just betrayal.
This is complete destruction.
And somewhere in my apartment upstairs, I can still hear Lily laughing.