Chapter 1

She wanted him back. She wanted him the way he was before.

One month ago.

He had started to completely ignored her. She remembered it like it was just yesterday. It had became a routine of their lives. There was barely any conversation and he would only say a simple goodbye before he left the house. He wouldn't come home for dinner and would usually finish late at work till 11:00 p.m. He would come home at 12:00 a.m., take a shower, crawl into bed, and sleep. He didn't even bother to let her know he was coming home late and she missed the times he would kiss her goodnight no matter how late he got into bed.

It had been exactly the same for weeks end, but then...it just happened. He didn't say goodbye to her anymore. He gave her nothing more; not even a cold harsh gesture. He just...left. Fortunate for him, he wouldn't have to deal with her pain every time he turned his back on her.

Two months ago.

They had their first fight. What they fought about wasn't important, but it had hurt. His words had stung her like slaps to the face and it was the first time since she had cried since their wedding; for different reasons too. When he realised what he had done, he held her like he meant it while apologising profusely. She had reveled in the comfort of his arms around her because it felt like she finally mattered to him again. But with the fights that happened constantly, the comforting became less and less until there was nothing left at all.

Three months ago.

They had been intimate for the last time. Funny thing was, it wasn't even intentional. After a series of long text messages around 9:00pm with her confronting him about his changing behaviour, he had went out for drinks with the guys after work while she was home angry and taking tequila shots. She never cared for alcohol, but it seemed like the only thing that could take her off the edge...numbing the thoughts of her love who used to be the joy of her life. She had been beyond tipsy and borderline drunk when he had finally came home around 11:00 p.m. and it just happened. It was hard, rough, and quick. When the next day came around, they pretended nothing had happened. No kisses, no endearments, no sweet goodbyes, no cuddles, and no morning hugs.

Why wouldn't he just keep caring?

Four months ago.

She had ruined his mother's birthday present.

It technically wasn't her fault but there was no way for her to explain herself then. He had imported a silk scarf from India and had taken it out of the package the day before his mother's birthday to re-package the item. He left it on the counter when he had to answer a call and it somehow fell into the laundry basket that was placed just under. What a coincidence that he would place the item there and have it fall into the basket right? It seemed laughable then as well, but he was disappointed in her for ruining the gift and himself for looking less than worthy of preparing a gift for his mother.

Five months ago.

He had forgotten their anniversary. They had been married for just a little over two years and dating for three. He never missed a date except this time around...Was it unintentional like he said it was? Or was he punishing her...? Despite their problems, she was truly excited on that day. She even chalked up his ignorance as a surprise and that maybe...just maybe... he pretended to have forgotten their anniversary. However, it all ended in heartache when she realised he had truly not taken the time to do anything with her that day. She had waited, waited, and waited until he got off work. She had perked herself up and waited patiently as he stepped through their front door.

He looked so confused when their eyes met. He didn't even know why she decided to dress up that day. When she finally brought it up and that their anniversary was today, he said he was too tired and that he would make it up to her instead.

Honestly, she never cared for counting dates. She appreciated their time spent together and the smiles that were present whenever they were around each other. She had hoped that this would've brought them closer again...but it seemed futile to think otherwise. He was truly slipping away from her and she didn't understand why.

Six months ago.

She ran into his ex-girlfriend. It seemed like the woman had something against her. Never once did she try to provoke the ex, but time and time again...when their paths would meet, the ex-girlfriend would try to make things difficult for her. Maybe it was obvious to the brunette that she wasn't as cheerful or happy as she once was, and the ex took it as a sign that their relationship crumbling.

It didn't make things any better when an outsider took her time to bring out all the reasons to why her husband might be pushing her away.

Seven months ago.

The first thing that had started a even bigger mess. He had wanted her to bring a file which he had forgotten at home on his desk. It had been urgent and he had been so desperate to get it. So, as helpful as she wanted to be, she tried her best to make it too his office as soon as possible. She had tried to hail a taxi, but the result to that was mud being splattered all over her blonde hair. Hooray for such an important thing to happen on a rainy day.

So, she had ran; ran 16 blocks while hailing down a taxi until one finally pulled up for her. Finally arriving and just steps away from the door, she was knocked down by a man who only apologised quickly and left her there with scrapped knees and elbows. So...what did her wonderful husband do? Apparently her efforts hadn't been enough. Despite her "story". Did he care? No. His client had left, making him lose 20 million dollars. Yes, he had lost all that money...but was it really her fault? She had felt herself at her lowest at that time.

She was physically in pain because of the fall she had taken, humiliated by the way her husband had scolded her, and embarrassed that she couldn't do anything about it.

He had told her it was all her fault...that she couldn't come as soon as she could. She couldn't say anything...not one damn thing. All she did was cry, cry tears that he didn't even acknowledge. It was hard to change a habit like that when all she had received recently was pain. How does one stop themselves from the tears when it was the only thing brought out? There were no more smiles and no more laughter. It wasn't worth it in her opinion to get angry...but maybe it was better than being a cry baby.

Having a source of anger was better than being labelled as a crying klutz.

Serena Sinclaire. Darien Shields.

Their names had looked so perfect together, she had thought the marriage would only bring them closer. She loved him so much that she had agreed to marry him at the tender age of 18. He was 22 back then. Everyone had thought they made a perfect couple...their friends, their family. It seemed like the people that had gave them their blessings at her wedding were overlooking the fact that both Darien and Serena were on different ends of the spectrum in terms of wealth. Not like any of that stuff should matter right?

She thought wrong. It only made her bitter whenever it crossed her mind. She could never be strong enough to put up for herself.

Behind her back, Serena had found out through a few close friends that a few of Darien's co-workers had planted the idea to everyone in the office that she was a gold digger, living off of Darien's wealth and spent whatever she could on expensive clothing and jewellery. It was funny to see how two-faced those people could be when they would smile so brightly when she would walk through their doors and then in turn, snicker while they didn't think she would notice. It was pointless to refute those claims when they so readily believe a lie that not even the truth could turn it around. They would only believe what they want to believe.

It wasn't like she had proven herself to back up the truth either. What was she doing with her life?

Serena could only lay on her bed and close her eyes as she felt the burning tears that were threatening to fall. Everything couldn't have gotten worse...but they did. She had started feeling dizzy lately, and she would vomit a lot. Serena thought it was nothing, but when she had gotten to the doctors, they revealed to her that she was just about four months along. She knew the symptoms usually came around either in the beginning or the two months mark...but four months? Wasn't that stretching it?

She knew she was a little bloated, but she was hardly showing enough to reveal a baby there. When she had expressed her concerns to the doctor, he had explained to her that it was perfectly normal and that it really varied between women in terms of weight gain and showing. Her baby was healthy and they told her to come back in for regular check ups.

She made a bitter laugh, opening her eyes as a tear escaped.

Pregnant...what a great time to have a baby. It probably wouldn't even make a difference if they had a child in their lives right now, he was so absorbed in work, trying to impress his father and all his business associates. And with him ignoring her, she doubt she would even have a chance to tell him. 'Oh Darien, before you leave, I want to tell you something. Something happened from our unintentional act of intimacy all those months ago, I hope you won't be mad!' Yeah right.

Maybe it was time to go out and have some fresh air...she wanted to be with her friends. They were the only ones she could count on right now.

Serena got up carefully from her bed and examined herself in the mirror. She had on a white sweater and black skinny jeans. Her hair was hanging freely down her back. The last time she she had remembered cutting it was months ago when Darien had told her she looked the best with long hair...

Her hand slowly went around the chain that hung around her neck as she grasped it in her palm. It was the first gift Darien had ever gave her. A gold heart locket with a thin silver chain. It was simple and elegant. She had had the scare of losing it a while back and since then, she always wore it around...never taking it off unless she was in the shower.

The locket calmed her whenever she felt like giving up.

She wanted Darien to be proud of her...but even when she tried...it didn't make a difference because he never noticed.

Darien had been thinking about opening a new type of business that would expand his company's name. The company was currently a high contender in the manufacturing and distribution sector in the world, but Darien was interested in doing something else that was outside of their line of work. He had been interested in real estate, resorts, and high rises, and was eager to get his ideas going; but work was too time consuming for him to draft up any plans.

So, Serena had decided to do some research and draft something she found interest in and hoped that Darien would also share her idea. She didn't want to be a burden and hoped to make something of herself. Before she and Darien had gotten married, she had been going to school for hospitality management. It wouldn't have helped her to get a prestigious job like the role of being a lawyer or doctor, but it was something that made her happy.

She took in the factors of how much Darien was willing to spend financially and the success rate of the company name carrying out the new project. In the end, she made a draft proposal on the idea of building a hotel called 'Aerius'. It would be the place you would go to with the comfort that you would always be safe. The way it had to be built played a big part in the project and the interior designs of how it would look would definitely impact how well they would be able to attract customers. The pricing would also have be affordable enough so that even the poor could come to this so called, 'heaven', but leaving the top suites for people that were willing to spend the money. It was something more than just being luxurious. She wanted people to step into a dream world.

Each floor would have its own theme with the rooms decorated to reflect that theme. Serena was only comfortable in thinking about a project this grand because of how much Darien was willing to spend. She had put together the draft with the estimated amount of how much the construction and designs would have to be with the architectural work and legal details. She made sure no details were left out.

Everything was held in a manilla folder and placed on his desk, hoping he would see it whenever he got back. She also made sure to label the folder so that he had an idea of what it was about. He should've noticed or not ignored it right? But...the truth was...he did. After he left for work, she had went into his office to see if he had picked it up.

To Serena's utter dismay, she had found it in the trash can right next to his table.

She now had that folder in her hand. She had worked so hard on it. The least she could do was find a way to make it happen.

.

Serena walked briskly up to the door step of Ami Mizuno's house with her folder in hand. She hadn't had the chance to speak with her friend in awhile now but this was how she always was, dropped by when they least expect it. It wouldn't be bad to run her idea through her intellectual friend. Ringing the doorbell, she waited patiently as a slight breeze blew through the wind chimes that were placed above Ami's door. Hearing the the rumble of footsteps from the stairs, Serena straightened her back as she let a slight smile fall onto her face.

The door opened and her friend appeared, looking a bit disheveled and flushed, "Hi Serena!"

"Hey Ami...mind if I come in?"

"Sure! I was just about to give you a call actually. I didn't expect you to come by. I guess we were both thinking about each other, huh?" Ami said timidly as she let Serena in and shut the door. The warmth of the house spread through her body and she couldn't help but let out a sigh of contentment. It had been a bit chilly out.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing...but you had something to tell me? Or ask me?" Serena asked as she sat down on one of Ami's plush couches while her friend passed her a cup of hot tea.

"Well...what I wanted ask you was, well...what are you going to wear to the Lunarian ball next week?" Ami asked as she took a sip from her own cup, watching Serena with unwavering blue eyes. Lunarian ball? Of course...there were no such thing as Lunarians...but it was just a little name that fitted a ball where all business associates from high-standing companies meet, talk and have fun.

It was also a time for companies to broadcast an update of any new plans or ideas that were going to take place in the near future.

"Lunarian ball?"

"Yeah...the one that's in a week or so...well...Darien asked me to go...but I'm not sur-"

"Darien asked you to go?" Serena questioned, suddenly alarmed. He didn't even mention it to her... She felt her stomach become a bit uneasy as she looked back at her dark-haired friend. "Why would he ask you to go?"

Ami and Darien had only met once before...so she didn't expect them to be that friendly. Why did he ask her friend...and not ask her, his wife to go to the ball? She didn't understand...didn't understand it at all. It suddenly felt so frustrating that she didn't even know how to describe it. Why did these things have to blow up around her all at once?

"Well...I-I...it's not what you think Serena! Honestly! I...I started working for Shields Enterprise three weeks ago. I thought Darien would've told you...but I guess he didn't? He just asked me because he felt like I deserved a break or something like that because I brought in a 30 million deal for his company...Serena-?"

She stood up and turned her face away from her friend as she gripped her folder tightly. She didn't want to face this...not now.

"I-I have to go Ami...call you later or something." Serena muttered as she moved her way to her friend's front door and opened it. She had to leave...leave now. "I'm so sorry Ami, I'm not feeling well at the moment."

"Serena!" She heard Ami calling her, but she didn't turn back. She kept walking, walking until she was three blocks away. Just her luck, she had left her car in front of Ami's house. However, she didn't feel like heading back and feeling the disappointment in herself that had stricken her like a ton of bricks.

"Serena?" A deep voice called out as she turned her head towards the street to see a dark Mercedes Benz. In the car, wearing all black including shades, was her best friend from high school and a 'rival' with Darien's company. Yes, 'rival'. They were still childish enough to have this on-going war between them unfortunately.

"Seiya." She murmured as he came out of the car and wrapped his jacket around her, steering her towards his car.

"Serena...you're freezing!" She heard him mutter as he made her sit in the passenger seat before making his way back to the driver's seat.

She had been spacing out the whole time and she didn't even notice him driving away or when he had stopped at a red light until he started to tug at the folder she had clenched in her hands.

"Serena..." He whispered as he carefully made her release the crumpled manilla folder and putting it onto his lap just as the light turned green. He made a left turn before parking to the right of a side street in front of a small cafe. "Come on."

She watched him as he climbed out of his seat and walked over to her side, opening her door and gently pulling her out. She saw that her folder was was now in his hands. "Let's get something to drink."

As he pulled her by the hand into the cafe, she noticed how the waitress flirted with him, but he paid her no attention. He only gave Serena a quick glance from time to time until they were finally shown to a booth seat at the corner of the cafe. The small establishment was quiet and warm. Her heart felt a little better to see that at least one person still cared for her.

"Serena...what's going on?" He whispered as he nudged his hands with hers.

She looked down at her hands momentarily before looking back up at him.

"Nothing."

"You can tell me." Seiya tried again as her eyes began to water. It felt like something was stuck in her throat.

She gasped a bit when she felt the bitter vomit trying to make its way out of her mouth. She struggled a bit as she put her hand over her mouth, calming the nausea. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Seiya who gave her an alarmed look.

"Don't tell me...you're...?" He trailed off incredulously, the heat from his body, or rather, his emotions, radiating off of him in folds.

Unable to answer him, Serena just nodded.

She suddenly felt alone. It didn't seem like the news of the pregnancy was making anybody happy. Who would want to care for a pregnant woman anyways? Her thoughts were stopped short though when she noticed Seiya had stood up from the table and made his way over to her side. What was he doing?

"Seiya?" She murmured as he sat down next to her, pulling her close to him as his whole body began to shake.

"Oh Serena." She heard him gasp out as his breath tickled her ear, "Does he know?"

"No." She confessed as she felt Seiya start to calm down. "You're not mad are you?"

"Mad?" He asked, shocked as he pulled away from her, his face going from red and back to his normal colour.

"Mad that I'm going to be a nuisance of a friend with my new found cravings. I probably wouldn't be able to eat half of the stuff I eat now. You'll have to listen to me cry for no reason, just like now." She whispered as she felt some tears escaping from her eyes.

"Serena." He murmured as he used a hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks, "Don't cry, I'm not mad. It just shocked me that's all. Knowing that you have to go through this by yourself..."

"Going through this by myself? How did-"

"I have my ways." He said intently as his blue eyes bored into hers.

So he knew, knew what she had been going through all along. The conflict, the mess...the fights. The way she had been going through with her life.

"But you didn't know about my pregnancy..." She murmured as she watched the look on his face that betrayed no more emotions.

"I wasn't...I wasn't informed of it." He admitted, taking her hands in his, "I'll help you get through this Serena."

Serena felt like a part of a rock that had been holding down her heart being chipped slightly, "Thank you..."

"What were you doing Serena? Wandering the streets..." He asked suddenly, using a hand of his to brush his dark hair out of his face.

"I...I was at Ami's house...everything was going okay until she told me that Darien-" She trailed.

"He invited her to the Lunarian ball instead of you?" Seiya guessed as she felt her face shift into amazement.

"How did..."

"It's obvious" Seiya murmured as he continued to watch her. "The Lunarian ball's coming up and since I'm half physic..."

She watched as his face broke into a smile, and she couldn't help but giggle, "Seiya..."

"By the way...I saw you...gripping this so tightly. May I see what it is?" Seiya asked as he brought his folder out from behind his back. Seeing that thing made her heart jump.

"I guess so." She murmured as he opened the folder, his eyes intently gazing at every detail. She saw that his eyes would widen from time to time, and his look changing often.

"Serena..." He said in wonderment as he finished reading, "Is this the Shield's future plan? Are you sure it's safe for me...to be reading this?"

"No...it isn't. It's just a little something that I made up for Darien...but he didn't even look at it..." Serena replied, "Besides, why wouldn't it be safe for you to read it?"

"This...this is brilliant Serena! If it was part of Shield's Enterprise, this information would be a real snag for me...but since it isn't your husbands...it won't only be a snag, but a bigger catch yet." He smiled as his eyes shimmered in delight.

"What are...you talking about?" She asked uncertainly, feeling a bit uncomfortable with Seiya's changing face.

"Serena...this...your idea, it's going to be fantastic!" He started to explain, "You're going to be...hmmm, I don't even know how to describe it-"

He was about to continue, but Serena's stomach, from out of no where started to grumble from not being fed for so long. She blushed in embarrassment as she clutched her abdomen, "Sorry...me and the baby's a bit hungry..."

"Let's order...and we'll talk about this while eating, okay?" He grinned as he waved his hand for the waitress.

Before Seiya's eyes could wander back towards her, Serena took a chance to look at him carefully. Seiya, he was always the one to make her laugh...to make her feel in place. But still, her heart was still nagging for Darien, and she knew that no matter how much she tried, her happiness wouldn't be at her best without him...

However though...

Seiya, thank you for being my best friend.

2015