Krystal hall, uptown Swan city.

Luxury cars pulled into the elegant building, the welcoming party hosted by X groups was in full swing.

"I heard Lorian Axton returned this time to pick a wife from his hometown." Some of the elite young women of swan city, all dressed to the nines were clustered together whispering to each other. Everyone was eagerly awaiting Lorian's arrival to the party.

"Where did you hear that news?"

"Don't worry, it came from a very reliable source. Why do you think most of the guests invited to this welcoming party are women? That too the women from elite high society."

This piece of news began to spread throughout the whole party hall making every woman In attendance alert and eager to catch the eyes of this elusive billionaire.

"On this evening, we celebrate to welcome the CEO of our reputable company. In five years, X groups has grown to the top of the business ranks, please welcome the man behind it all, Lorian Axton."

The tall golden double entrance doors swung open and the long shadow of a man strode through it's entrance.

Unfiltered gasps could be heard. Their awe was because they were seeing the man, the legend right before their eyes. A face most would only see on televisions, social media interviews or magazines, was live in front of them.

"He looks even more handsome in person." A low squeal sounded.

When Lorian stood on the stage, absolute silence was maintained. Who could speak when their eyes were trained on the beautiful specimen of a man.

Thick dark brows, a perfectly tall nose on a sculpted face with sharp jawlines that could cut through glass. His eyes, rich and inky black like a bottomless pool scanned through the crowd as if he were looking for someone he hadn't found yet. His gaze landed on a familiar person in the crowd, the man smiled and waved at Lorian from below the stage.

James Clinton, Lorian's very good friend whom he'd known for some years now.

"Please enjoy the party." Were the only words Lorian said before descending the stage to head towards his friend.

If James was here, then that person would be here too.

"Hey man, you've been gone for so long, I've missed you." James was all wide grins as he greeted Lorian, but his dark eyes kept searching around James yet he didn't see that person.

Lorian politely greeted his friend who introduced him to a woman standing next to him.

"I'd like you to meet Layla Blakewood."

Lorian's brows drew together, "Blakewood? If I remember correctly, the Blakewood family only has one daughter, your wife."

James sighed, "It's a long story. Anyway Layla is the real heiress of the Blakewoods now."

Lorian didn't seem interested in whatever James was explaining to him, he continued to look around the hall and when he didn't find who he was searching for, he excused himself to the balcony to get some air.

Someone heading away from the terrace collided against his chest abruptly.

"I'm so sorry...I wasn't looking at my..." The voice was very familiar, when she raised her head, he saw her face.

Lorian's deeply furrowed brows relaxed like someone who'd found the very thing they were looking for.

Christina had arrived at the party a while back, she had gotten sick of watching Layla standing with James. Even though they were trying to hide their relationship to the world since James was still legally married to Christina, they still couldn't hide their affection for each other.

Christina had controlled her heart ache, she had kept it all in. Her goal here was to meet Lorian, the man who stood as the best man at her wedding whom she hadn't seen again after that time. She didn't expect to suddenly run into him when she'd decided to go back to the party after spending some time on the balcony.

"You're... here!" Christina exclaimed.

"Were you waiting for me?" She was shocked to hear his voice this close to her. It was a grating rumble of masculinity. Like the low rumble out of a predatory animal's throat.

She quickly came back to her senses and pulled away from him. "No..no I wasn't."

Christina didn't know why she had suddenly come up with a silly revenge plan to use Lorian against James, they were good friends. Perhaps he was the type of person who would never betray friendship.

She shook that plan out of her head and made to leave but suddenly stopped when she heard a familiar voice gasp and moan.

"Oh James, you know how to make me wet for you."

Layla.

The voice was coming from a dark secluded corner nearby, with a few steps Christina could see them standing close to the walls concealed by darkness, Layla's legs wrapped around James' body tightly.

What felt like an arrow wrapped in burning coal shot right through her heart, the feeling was tight and it made her forget to breathe for a few seconds, it hurt so much her face reddened in mixed rage and pain as tears welled in her eyes.

That corner might be a bit secluded, but it was still an open space, anyone could walk in on them but they didn't seem to be able to control themselves, both James and Layla were like feral beasts in heat, they devoured each other unabashedly even at a public event yet James claimed he would keep his relationship with Layla a secret till their divorce.

The pain and humiliation gathered inside Christina's chest she could only clench her fist.

"You don't look surprised, did you know?" She had almost forgotten about the man standing behind her. She jolted when he spoke.

"At our wedding, he swore to me that he'll only love me till we grow old together, he swore his heart would always be mine."

Lorian watched her tears fall and a complicated expression appeared on his face momentarily, he seemed to be holding himself back from something, like an internal struggle with himself, in the end he seemed to relent, without another word he turned to leave but suddenly stopped when a hand grabbed his arm.

Christina didn't even realize she had grabbed his arm when he was about to leave, it was a subconscious action to prevent herself from standing here in the darkness alone watching the two people who shattered her heart and ruined her life.

Deep in her heart she was still a child, that young child that had begged for her adopted parent's love, that child that would cling so tightly onto anyone who showed her the smallest affection, just like how she'd clung to James even with how badly he abused her, how much he used to beat her, she had held on telling herself she wouldn't let go as long as he still loved her, because all her life, whether from her family or outsiders, she had never had a taste of what love felt like, but here she was watching him give that love to another woman.

The ache grew rapidly till it became something bitter in her heart, something vengeful.

"I'll let him feel it, this very pain... I'll make sure he feels it a thousand times more." Her tears merged with the determination that shone in her light grey eyes.

She turned to look at the man next to her, he was quiet. He didn't try to comfort her nor say anything soothing, his black eyes were cold unfeeling as if he was incapable of feeling or understanding any emotions.

"I will get my revenge on him."

Lorian cocked his head to the side.

"You plan to cheat on my best friend like he did to you. Are you asking me for help right now Mrs Clinton?" Lorian had read the look in her eyes.

It was feminine fury, unbridled and purely determined.

This kind of look was something he'd never seen on the face of his best friend's wife. It fascinated him.

"If going down low and dirty is what it takes to get back at James then yes, that Is what I plan to do."

Lorian's obsidian eyes glinted with amusement, as if what she was proposing was something potentially fun to him. He leaned towards her slightly, "And what role do I play in this little plan of yours?"

Christina had rarely interacted with Lorian in the past, for no other reason except for the fact that she was afraid of him. There had been rumors about him going around that he was involved in the dark underworld, that he had blood on his hands and that he was a very dangerous man.

He never proved those rumors wrong, instead he seemed to prove them right as he usually carried around a dark aura, one that frightened anyone he looks at.

And with the swirls of dark ink that always peeked out of his neck through whatever clothes he wears, and more wrapped around his arms as well, along with his love for wearing black clothes that further added to the dangerous allure he carried, it was almost impossible for one not to be afraid and wary around him.

But right now Christina was no longer afraid of him, she had been bathed in the pain of heartbreak, the pain of being tossed out by a family who raised her for over twenty years and the physical pain of assault from a man she loved, the darkness of a man who potentially had killed people before no longer scared her.

"You'll be the other man."

Instead of being offended by being asked to play the role of the other man to his best friend's wife, Lorian's face seemed to light up and his lips raised in a smirk.

"I warn you Mrs Clinton, there's a heavy price to pay for using me."

"Then consider me indebted to you, whenever you want, I'll be willing to pay you back."

His eyes flashed with something evil, it was supposed to scare Christina into backing out, but when she didn't he put his hand forward for a hand shake.

"We have a deal."

When the party began in full swing, no one was surprised to see James Clinton and Layla Blakewood re-enter the party together, after all everyone knew Layla was the new heiress to the Blakewood family and them leaving together might have been just to talk business in private since the Blakewoods have long since been investing in the Clinton stocks, however the re-entrance that made people's heads turn was Lorian's, particularly because of the woman by his side.

Gasps and murmurs of gossip began to swing in the air.

"That's Christina-no last name attached. Wasn't she thrown out and blacklisted from high society by the Blakewood family? How did she even get into this event?" A woman with high arrogance in her blood, known for her popularity in the high society was the first to speak.

"If it weren't for her friend, Veronica Scott who got an invitation, a blacklisted woman would have no way of entering this event." Another replied, all eyes trained on how she walked with a soft grace to her steps, her arm linked with Lorian's.

"Che! Who would still make friends with a blacklisted woman? Isn't that model afraid her choice of friends will lead her to becoming blacklisted too?"

"Didn't you notice earlier, James Clinton seems to be getting along really well with the new heiress, what if...he plans to take her as a second wife?" The woman who said this spoke in a whisper but it was audible enough to the people around her.

"It's nothing new for our high society influential men to take two wives, but the scandal that would cause. I'm sure an heiress like Layla would never settle for being second wife."

"All that doesn't matter, the main point is, Christina-no last name attached is ruined. She used to go around acting like a princess, now she's just a nameless orphan trying to make connections, look at how friendly she's being with her husband's friend. If I didn't know any better about how strictly Lorian Axton picks his women, I would think she's trying to charm him."

"Well all she can do is try, it's not as if she can succeed anymore. A great man like Lorian will pick an equally worthy woman, not some no name trash abandoned by a wealthy family."

This elicited mockery filled giggles from the women.

A cold smile made it's way to Christina's fair face, she'd overheard every word. The women made no effort to keep their words silent.

Christina wanted to laugh at the irony, these same women in the past would flock around her. Complimenting every word, and every action she takes. They emulated her, every piece of clothing she wears becomes a trend they all follow, every new gesture she makes becomes something they all pick up too.

They looked up to her like a queen, all that fame, all that adoration was now gone along with the name Blakewood that had gotten her that position from people.

A few days ago she wanted to pay for something but her card declined, George Blakewood had deactivated all her cards, every penny she got from the Blakewoods gone along with the name they gave her at birth.

Yes, those people were right. She had become abandoned, a no name woman blacklisted from high society.

The whole world considered her ruined but they didn't know any better. If it hadn't been for that mysterious person a year ago who led her to start her hidden business Bloom, she truly would have been ruined without a penny to her name.

James always used to tell her that her jewelry designs were too amateur to be sold as a brand, he told her she had a lot of improvements to make before he would help her start her line when she was ready.

"Listen honey, designing jewelry is a lot more than just sketching cute things, once you're fully ready, I'll be the first to invest okay? For now you can keep playing with your little pencil and water color sketches, those designs will never be manufactured as it is."

Thinking back she realized she'd been stupid to have felt gratitude towards him for those words, gratitude because she thought he was being honest with her and business required honesty.

Two days later someone mysterious had sent her a letter, that letter had pushed her to have belief in her work but she wasn't confident to share it with James. That mysterious person became her secret investor and the first batch of Bloom jewelries were created.

Christina hadn't expected anything when she put out the pieces to the market on an alias name of Fairy, if they failed to sell she would find a way to refund her secret investor. However every batch had sold out and those pieces blew up in the market, their worth rising sky high.

She hadn't used a penny out of the Blakewood family's money, she'd wanted to do something from scratch and prove to herself that her business was worthy of success on its own. To be honest she never cared about the Blakewoods money, all she'd wanted was their love but they never gave that to her. The three years she'd spent securing deals for the Blakewood Enterprise was enough to pay for all they'd done for her all these years.

After her launch, big jewelry companies began to search tirelessly for this designer called Fairy but no one knew who she was. Perhaps James never really paid any attention to her designs in the first place because even after the brand blew up he had no idea it was his wife, in fact he was among the companies searching for the designer.

Christina had thought about telling him it was her but she decided to wait, she wanted him to be proud of her, she wanted her business to grow so much it would be a surprise for him when she revealed her true identity as Fairy, hence she'd kept it a secret from him.

That secret was the only thing keeping Christina afloat. If that mysterious investor hadn't come to her at the time, Christina would have been totally ruined to the bottom now when the Blakewoods have abandoned her. No one knew that beyond being the fake heiress of the family she had wealth of her own amassed from her business.

If these women calling her trash knew that she was Fairy, the designer sought after by multi-billion dollar companies, would they eat their words and swallow their tongues?

"James, it's not polite to leave your beautiful wife all alone at an event like this." Lorian remarked when they approached James and Layla. His carefree yet seductive voice drawling with an edge.

James' expression turned dark. He glanced at Christina momentarily, a small frown pulled his brows together.

Something about this wife of his felt different but he couldn't decipher exactly what.

"Tina is an adult now, despite being my wife she can go wherever she wants. Isn't that right honey?" James hated the fact that he still had to pretend in public that they were still husband and wife. He was so eager to divorce her already so he could fully be with Layla, but the scandal could ruin the launch of their company's new collection so he had to wait until after the launch before their divorce could be handled.

Christina merely showed a fake smile and said, "Of course."

"Well, since you're evidently preoccupied, you wouldn't mind if I asked your wife for a dance would you?" Lorian's eyes twinkled with something mischievous as he raised Christina's knuckles to his mouth and kissed them.

James suddenly felt like he didn't like the sight of what was happening in front of him. It irritated him for no reason he could pin point.

To him, comparing Christina and Layla side by side, Layla totally out weighed Christina in beauty, elegance and grace, even though Layla was raised in a poor family. What he failed to acknowledge was the fact that Christina was once named the most beautiful woman in swan city before their marriage but his years of abuse had worn her beauty leading his eyes to stray to other women, specifically his secretary.

Countless sleepless nights, worrying and fretting over her own husband's love had done a lot to dampen her natural beauty.

James cleared his throat and replied, "Of course, my wife is a lovely dancer."

James swallowed the rising irritation, an unattractive woman like her couldn't possibly catch Lorian's eyes. As his best friend he clearly knew what type of women Lorian would go for, so he wasn't worried that there could be anything between them.

The same thoughts went through everyone's minds as Lorian began to dance with Christina.

Lorian had been the best man at their wedding, perhaps he was just being polite asking his friend's wife to dance with him.

"Your husband was right, you're a lovely dancer." He whispered to Christina over the music.

"He was just taunting me. I'm sure he doesn't believe that you could ever find me attractive when he himself doesn't."

Lorian merely smirked, a devious tilt to his lips that made him look like a fearsome beast, a roguishly handsome fearsome beast.

"Then he is the biggest fool earth has ever seen yet." He whispered.

Christina raised her eyes to meet his, surprise swirling in her light grey eyes.

"Why do you say that?"

A reply was already on the tip of Lorian's tongue but the screeching sound of the mic interrupted and the music suddenly came to a halt.

Both Lorian and Christina looked to the stage at the same time.

Layla, her beautiful dress glimmering with a thousand sequins, looking like the perfectly dainty heiress carrying the adoration of many stood on the stage next to the mic.

"Please forgive me for interrupting but I'd like to make an announcement."

As she said this, her gaze flitted towards Christina who had stopped dancing and a hint of mockery hid behind her eyes before she focused on what she was about to say again.

"I know this doesn't seem to be the right event but I've kept myself hidden for long enough. Tonight I've decided to come out and announce my identity. It has been a great pleasure for me seeing my designs soar and being sought after by so many that I was scared of revealing my identity, however I believe that collaborating with a company that can bring more exposure to my work will be the best decision. I'm here to tell everyone that I am Fairy, the main designer of Bloom jewelry brand."

This announcement made awed gasp seep through the hall, everyone's eyes went wide and jaws dramatically dropped open.

Last night's event took the whole swan city by storm not just because of Lorian Axton's return and the gossip surrounding his desire to find a wife but because of the announcements that sent every news company and everyone else in awe.

The genius jewelry designer who made the timeless piece bought by the queen of England, the very woman behind the mysterious jewelry brand Bloom had finally revealed herself and it was none other than the Blakewood family's recently found heiress.

When Layla was about to leave the event last night, the media had questioned her about why she'd kept her identity hidden all this time, to which she replied by saying,

"Back then I was just a secretary with a humble background, I was scared by the amount of people after my brand, I know the business industry can get dirty so the best way to protect myself was to stay hidden. Now I have my wonderful family who would support and protect me no matter what."

As Christina rewatched this interview on tv, she couldn't help but scoff incredulously.

This Layla sure had huge guts.

Last night Christina had frozen cold upon hearing Layla's announcement. She hadn't been able to believe her ears.

Was this real or was she just dreaming? This woman who'd taken her husband had actually publicly taken her identity too?

What Christina had first felt was anger, she wanted to stomp up the stage and slap Layla then reveal the truth to everyone, proving she was Fairy would definitely be easy, however she'd held back when a cunning thought had slipped into her mind.

Christina hadn't reacted rashly, instead a pleasant smile made it's way on her face as she quietly watched Layla claim her identity shamelessly in front of the whole world.

No sheep would willingly place it's head into a lion's open mouth, if it did, wouldn't the lion happily take a bite and eat it's fill.

That was the exact situation Layla had created. Christina was the resting lion, plotting her revenge, but if her prey was to offer itself up to her, she would use it to her advantage to bring them down.

'Do not blame me for being too heartless Layla.'

As she watched the news go crazy for Layla, her phone went off on the coffee table.

When she picked the call, the warm familiar voice of the Blakewood family butler entered her ear.

"Miss, I hope you've been well."

"I'm doing just fine butler Sam."

The older man sighed, "That is good to hear." He hesitated before adding, "I know you might not like to come, especially after everything that happened recently but Madam Beatrice has asked me to go burn your old things still left here, I didn't want to just burn your things without letting you know if there's something valuable so I decided to call and let you know that I've kept them for now, you can come pick them up when you have time."

Christina felt a lump of bitterness in her throat at the thought of her old home, her old family.

'So family can be this fickle, family can easily let you go because you don't share their blood.'

She felt the tears sting her eyes but she raised her gaze to push them back.

No, she wouldn't cry.

Somewhere in her heart she had always known this day might come, the day when her family would fully turn their back on her. A family that never showed her love and instead allowed her to grow so desperate for affection she was willing to stay with a man who beat her mercilessly shouldn't be called family at all.

But the most painful part for her was not having a place to call home, a home where people who cared about her were waiting with open arms. Though they never loved her, she appreciated the fact that she had a home with them, however now the world felt like a huge space for her filled with so many people but no one to call her own... loneliness was creating a gaping hole in her heart.

Vera was the only person in the whole world who'd ever treated her genuinely, and she was beyond grateful for having her but that still didn't fill her lonely heart.

When Christina fully swallowed her tears, she opened her mouth to tell the butler to burn everything. She didn't want anything to take her back to the very place where she was kicked out but stopped short when she suddenly thought of something and changed her mind.

"Alright, thank you for keeping them. I'll be there in a while."

Christina wouldn't have returned to the Blakewood mansion ever again if it weren't for that important thing she'd kept there.

When she arrived the butler led her to the attic instead of her room, he revealed an awkward expression as he said.

"I'm sorry, Miss Layla is occupying your old room. Master and madam have been pampering her and getting her so many new things and there was no longer space in the room so your things..."

"It's okay butler Sam, I'll just get what I'm here for and leave."

Christina rummaged through the box filled with her things, mainly old clothes and shoes but she didn't find the specific item she was looking for. She remembered keeping it under her bed back then and if her things were the only stuff moved out of the room, maybe her item was still in her old room.

"Butler Sam, what I'm looking for isn't here, can I get the key to my old room? I'll just take what I'm looking for and leave."

The butler seemed to ponder for a while then nodded.

"Please make it fast Miss, before Miss Layla gets back."

"Thank you."

When Christina entered her old room, it was completely different from how she remembered it. It looked a bit girlier and bit more extravagant, like the room of a princess from modern day royalty.

The only attachments Christina had to this room was of old childhood memories but nothing too deep hence she didn't even reminisce or feel pain at seeing it become someone else's.

She went straight to the bed and sure enough, she found the little brown box underneath it.

Feeling relieved she took and it and made to leave when she spotted something that made her stop in her tracks.

It was a small pack of medicine sticking out from the purse kept on the bed.

Christina had seen that before, once in high school a girl had gotten pregnant, this same pack had been found in her bag after she was discovered bleeding in the bathroom.

Christina pulled out the pack from the purse and felt her heart stop.

Triquinole, a very strong drug used for abortion!