CHAPTER 2 — “THE WIFE THAT NO ONE KNEW EXISTED”
The restaurant did not recover from silence.
It fractured under it.
Guests slowly began to stand, some backing away, others whispering names they were too afraid to say out loud.
Roman Volkov…
A man who did not make statements.
He made reality change.
Savannah still stood frozen in front of him, hand trembling around the blood on her lip, unable to process the words he had spoken.
She is my wife.
That sentence refused to make sense inside her mind.
She shook her head slightly.
“No… you’re mistaken.”
Roman didn’t react. Not immediately.
Instead, he studied her face like a missing piece of something long buried.
Bianca’s voice cracked through the tension.
“You’re humiliating me for her?! She’s a waitress!”
Roman finally turned his head.
And for the first time, his voice sharpened.
“Stop talking.”
It was not loud.
But it ended everything.
Bianca froze mid-breath.
Even her pain disappeared under shock.
Roman reached into his inner coat pocket.
Not a weapon.
Not a phone.
A black velvet box.
He placed it on the table between them.
Slowly opened it.
Inside: a platinum ring with a deep onyx stone.
Savannah’s breath caught.
Her vision blurred slightly.
“I’ve never seen that before…” she whispered.
Roman’s gaze did not leave her.
“You were never supposed to.”
The words landed heavier than any gun.
A quiet shift moved through the room.
Like everyone was beginning to realize—
this wasn’t a lie being told.
This was a truth returning.
Bianca suddenly laughed.
A broken, hysterical sound.
“You’re insane.”
Roman didn’t look at her.
“Take her out.”
This time, the order wasn’t for Savannah.
It was for Bianca.
Two bodyguards stepped forward immediately.
Bianca snapped.
“You can’t do this to me! My father—!”
Roman finally looked at her again.
And this time, his eyes were empty of patience.
“Your father works for me.”
That was the moment Bianca stopped fighting.
Not because she accepted it.
But because she understood it was real.
As she was dragged away, her scream echoed down the marble hallway.
Savannah didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe properly.
Only one question escaped her lips.
“Why me?”
Roman stepped closer.
May you like
For the first time, something almost fragile crossed his face.
“You were never supposed to survive that night.”
