The Billionaires Little Gold Digger

SIA'S POV:

I kept staring at the fixed phone. It had been more than thirty minutes since my husband's driver had called, informing me that he was on his way to pick him up from the airport.

It had been one year and six days since I had last heard from Ashton-no calls, no texts, nothing. He had abandoned me in this mansion, all alone.

Though he had started mistreating me after his sister's death-an incident he unjustly blamed me for-he had never left for an entire year without a single word.

I wished Ashton would give me a chance to prove my innocence, to show him I had nothing to do with his sister's death. I wished he would give our relationship a chance, to care for me as much as I cared for him.

Ashton loved me-after all, our marriage was built on love. But this sudden hatred was shattering me completely.

The phone finally rang, and I answered it immediately, my heart pounding. The driver's voice echoed through the receiver, "Ma'am, Mr. Wood didn't want to come home. He asked me to take him to the company instead."

My eyes burned as I fought back my tears. He had returned to the country after a year, and yet, he didn't think of seeing me first. The only thing on his mind was his work. He should have just married his job.

I grabbed my purse, rushed out of the house, got into my car, and drove off. He didn't get to treat me this way. He didn't get to hate me based on mere assumptions.

The drive felt unbearably long, the dark clouds mirroring the storm brewing inside me. When I finally arrived at the company, the weather had worsened. I hurried inside, taking the elevator without anyone attempting to stop me.

I used to work here as Ashton's secretary, but one day, he had coldly told me that seeing my face both at work and at home irritated him. He had given me an ultimatum: either continue working at the company and move out of the mansion, or quit and stay home.

But how could I have moved out? Where would I have gone? I had no one else in this world except for him.

The elevator stopped, and I walked down the long corridor, my heart pounding in my chest. Finally, I reached Ashton's office. Without hesitation, I pushed the door open and stepped inside-only for my palms to turn clammy at the scene before me.

Ashton was indeed back after a year. But he wasn't alone.

There she was-his secretary. Not just any woman, but the one whose shoes alone cost more than my entire wardrobe. She always dressed so stylishly, effortlessly elegant-something I could never compete with.

One year ago, Ashton had spent countless late nights at the office with her under the pretense of working. I had been a fool to believe that lie.

Now, they were entwined in each other's arms, his hand resting on her bare thighs as they savored each other's lips.

"Ash..." I called out in disbelief, my throat suddenly dry, my voice barely above a whisper.

They broke their kiss, their gazes shifting toward me.

Ashton scanned me for a moment, and I expected him to at least apologize, to lie and tell me that what I had just witnessed wasn't real.

But the next words that left his lips shattered me completely.

With a raised brow, he asked, "Who are you?"

Tina chuckled mockingly. "Mr. Wood, it's your wife... remember?" she said, her tone light and remorseless.

I knew Ashton had only said that to hurt me. There was no way he had forgotten me. No way he had forgotten that he was married.

Yet, he turned to her and asked, "Sia?" as if confirming whether the name belonged to me.

Tears finally rolled down my cheeks.

"Is this it, Ash?" I asked, my voice breaking. Did he really need to confirm my name?

What had happened to all those times he had canceled important business trips just so he wouldn't be far from me? What had happened to the way he used to shower my face with soft butterfly kisses while I pretended to be asleep?

What about the cheesy way he used to whisper, I love you?

Had all of that been nothing but a stupid, meaningless fragment of my memory?

"How could you be with another woman?" I demanded, my voice trembling. "It's one thing to treat me badly and ignore me for a year, but you have no right to disrespect me like this."

He snorted, utterly unfazed.