A Crown For The Wrong Queen

For five years, I was the best-kept secret of high-profile CEO Caleb Pierce.

On the surface, I was his most trusted Chief Operating Officer.

In private, I was his lover—the woman he'd sworn he'd marry. He was obsessed with me, claiming I was his everything, the only one he wanted in his arms every night.

Then, I got pregnant. I was so excited to tell him we were going to start a family.

But when I turned on the TV, he was on one knee, proposing to another woman, the socialite Sabrina Clark. The whole world was witnessing his romantic gesture.

"It's taken me so long to find my perfect wife," he said to the camera, his voice thick with emotion. "Sabrina, you are my partner, my one and only."

Her joyful "yes" shattered my soul, and my world collapsed.

The pain of his betrayal was so sharp that I felt a terrifying, wrenching cramp.

Then, there was blood.

I lost our baby.

When I woke up in the hospital, I dialed a number I hadn't called in five years.

"Brother," I sobbed, the words barely escaping. "The strategic marriage... with Sebastian Thorne? I'll do it."

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1

"Juliet, you're extremely weak right now."

The doctor sighed, his eyes on the report in his hands.

The words on it blurred into an angry red haze.

My baby was gone.

Just like that. A ghost in my womb.

"You'll need at least three months to recover."

I nodded, my voice hoarse. "I know."

A horrifying emptiness hollowed me out. My soul felt like it had been ripped in two. I wanted to scream, but I was just too tired. All I wanted was to crawl back to the golden cage Caleb had built for me.

I had just pushed open the door to the penthouse when I heard his familiar footsteps. He was back, and the cloying scent of another woman’s perfume clung to him.

My stomach churned.

"Baby, did you miss me?" Caleb leaned in to kiss me, but my body instinctively flinched away.

"I did," I forced a smile, the words feeling like acid on my tongue.

"What's wrong? You look so pale." He frowned, but the smile quickly returned to his face. "I booked a table at 'Crown of Stars.' I'm taking you to try their chef's special tonight."

Crown of Stars?

Confusion cut through my exhaustion. I despised that restaurant's gaudy style. He'd invited me there last year to celebrate the company going public, and I'd refused. I clearly remembered Caleb hating it too, claiming its pretentious dishes turned his stomach.

So... who was it that liked it?

The cloying sweetness of her perfume mingled with the post-miscarriage nausea until I thought I would be sick.

I gently pushed him away. "I'm a little tired..."

"Tired from work?" He immediately moved closer, his hands already starting to unbutton my coat. "Let your future husband spoil you."

Future husband.

The words were a dagger twisting in my heart.

I grabbed his hand, my grip surprisingly firm. "Caleb, when are we having our engagement ceremony? When are you going to make me Mrs. Pierce?"

He froze, the smile on his face instantly hardening.

He pushed me away and took two steps back. "The timing isn't right, Juliet. The company needs stability."

The same damn excuse.

"A ceremony won't change anything between us," he said, his tone turning flippant and sharp as he noticed my distant expression. "Besides, you run everything that matters. You're the queen of this empire in all but name."

A bitter smile stretched my lips, more painful than a sob.

The queen in all but name? A shadow partner. High society doesn't care about secrets. They only care about the woman on a man's arm, the one standing in the spotlight.

"I'm going to take a shower," Caleb said, his mask of false tenderness back in place. "I'll make it up to you later."

I watched him disappear behind the bathroom door as the sound of running water started. A dark impulse pulled me toward his study, toward the encrypted folder he had always forbidden me from touching.

Today, I was going to see what he was really hiding.

Inside was a background check report and a dusty business plan. I opened it with trembling hands, and photos of Sabrina Clark spilled across the desk. Blonde hair, green eyes, and that familiar brand of perfume he was wearing.

Her style... it looked so much like mine.

I picked up a plan written in Caleb's familiar handwriting: "Sabrina, my love. Juliet is just a placeholder. When you are ready, you will be my one and only wife."

The floor fell out from beneath me.

I remembered the "surprised" look in his eyes when we first met; the "rewards" he gave me after every successful project; his "gentle" caresses that had lasted for five years.

It was all because I was a perfect fit for his mold of the "perfect wife." I was just a stand-in.

My fingers trembled so much I could barely hold the documents. I forced myself to put everything back in its place, erasing any trace I had been there.

I had just returned to the bedroom when the bathroom door opened. Caleb emerged, fresh from his shower, a towel slung low around his waist.

"Come here, baby." He held out his hand, his smile filled with desire. "I can't relax without you."

I watched him perform, my own heart a knot of agony. I wanted to scream, to tear his lies apart, but the exhaustion was a physical weight, and the ache in my chest was unbearable.

He pulled me onto the bed and only then noticed my numb expression.

"Your eyes look so empty," he frowned, feigning concern. "Are you really not feeling well? Should I call my private doctor?"

I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, his expression suddenly sharpened into the focused mask he wore for important video calls.

A woman's voice, sickly sweet and seductive, purred through the phone. "Caleb... I miss you, darling."

It was the same voice from the news today, the one that had accepted his proposal. It was her. Sabrina.