**Aspen**

My mind couldn't process any of it.

There I was, after ten years of marriage to the man I thought was the love of my life.

After having a child together.

There I was, signing the divorce papers.

I shouldn't have been so surprised.

From the very beginning, there was never any love on my now ex-husband's part.

I remember meeting him on April fifteenth, the day of my older sister Dakota's sixteenth birthday.

He was there for her.

Which made sense, since they were best friends.

Well, "friends" -- he'd always been in love with my sister.

I fell in love at first sight.

I simply saw him and knew he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

But that wish was one-sided.

Because to him, I was nothing more than a nuisance.

And now, here I am, divorced from the man I loved.

While he runs into the arms of the woman he's always loved.

He ran to Dakota.

And me? I was left alone, with my little boy, Calen.

* * *

**Aspen**

Even after the divorce, I'm still in love with him.

Aziel Bradford has been everything to me.

As I drove toward what was once my home, I couldn't help but think back on our marriage.

He was never kind, never affectionate -- he wasn't even civil.

He only kept up appearances in front of friends, family, and our son.

He always hated me.

And that's because my older sister hates me too.

I walked into my old house and headed for the living room.

There I found Aziel, playing with our son.

My heart clenched.

Knowing the family I'd dreamed of was now shattered -- that wasn't easy to accept.

Even if Aziel never loved me, we'd found a way to coexist. Or maybe that was all in my head.

I watched the man I loved, the one I'd shared ten years of my life with. The one I still longed for.

His hair, black as a moonless night. His eyes, blue as the deep ocean. The tattoos peeking out across his chest beneath his shirt.

Everything about him was perfect -- that was an undeniable fact.

But none of him ever belonged to me. This house, this marriage, even this family -- it all should have been Dakota's.

That's what my parents and siblings say. It's even what my own husband told me on our wedding day.

I remember it crystal clear.

*I'm marrying you because I got you pregnant\, but I will never love you. Don't expect any kindness from me\, because you're nothing but a nuisance who ruined my chance to be with Dakota.*

"Calen, time to go," I said softly.

My son, the moment he heard me, came running into my arms with a beautiful smile that was reserved only for me.

No matter what anyone else says, Calen is my son. Regardless of who his father loves, I'm still Calen's mother.

"Mommy! You're late!" my little one complained.

I gently stroked his face, and he leaned into my touch.

"I'm sorry I took so long, sweetheart. Mommy had things to take care of," I explained.

I looked up and met a pair of cold eyes watching me with indifference. Those cruel eyes that still cause me so much pain.

Of course. It was always like that.

Honestly, I can't remember Aziel ever giving me so much as a kind look.

But none of that matters anymore.

"Sweetheart," I turned my attention to my son, "say goodbye to your dad. We need to go."

My little one grumbled but obeyed.

"Bye, Daddy," he said, hugging his father.

"I'll see you this weekend, champ." Aziel ruffled his hair.

I took my boy's hand and we walked out of what was once our home.

I got him into the car and fastened his seatbelt to make sure he was safe.

And just as I headed for the driver's seat, Aziel called out to me.

"Aspen." His cold, rough voice made me tremble. My eyes sought his, full of hope.

Hoping he'd change his mind. That he'd ask us to stay, even if just for one night.

I kept my composure.

"Yes?"

He was as cold and unreachable as ever.

Even after all these years, he never changed.

"I hope you understand that this is for the best," he began. "I don't love you. I never loved you, and I never will." My heart began to crack with every one of his brutal words. "As you well know, I love Dakota. Getting you pregnant and making you my wife was a mistake, because the place you occupied always belonged to your sister."

I wanted to cry.

Why was it always like this?

And it wasn't just him.

All my friends, my family -- everyone always adored Dakota. While I was a worthless shadow.

I grew up in that kind of environment.

Watching my parents and siblings shower Dakota with love.

She was the second oldest, after our older brother Luke.

My parents had always wanted a daughter, and when Dakota was born, they went crazy.

She wasn't just beautiful -- she was perfect.

A blonde baby with deep blue eyes. She was the family princess, and she quickly grew into a true beauty.

Then came me.

Mom and Dad didn't want another girl, because they didn't want any child to overshadow their princess.

That's why, when they found out I was a girl, all their excitement went down the drain.

Mom and Dad pushed me aside.

My older brother Luke already had a close bond with Dakota, so he didn't come near me either. He never treated me badly -- he simply acted as if I didn't exist.

Dakota, despite her angelic face, was always cruel to me.

She made sure our parents punished me.

She turned our cousins and aunts and uncles against me.

She accused me of stealing our grandmother's special necklace, which caused even my grandparents to cast me aside.

Then Mom got pregnant again.

This time it was twin boys.

Everyone was ecstatic -- even me.

I'd always wanted younger siblings. So I tried to be the best big sister in the world.

When the twins, Kyle and Ethan, were born, I took care of them, played with them. I read them bedtime stories; we even had sleepovers together.

That lasted until Dakota worked her magic, and soon enough the twins started hating me too.

So I never had anyone on my side.

Not even my husband.

It was never me. It was always Dakota.

My eyes drifted to my son, my sweet boy who loves me.

I managed a faint smile.

At least, within this dark reality, I have my little ray of light.

My gaze returned to Aziel, who was still talking.

"So I'm asking you, from now on, to get it out of your head that we'll ever get back together. Because it won't happen. As soon as Dakota comes home, I'm making her my wife," he informed me. "I'm telling you this because, like it or not, you're Calen's mother. We'll have to keep seeing each other, even if it disgusts me. So from now on, keep your distance from me and my future wife," he declared.

Son of a bitch.

Ten years together and this is how he treats me?

I got in my car without a word.

And just like that, I left with the only thing I had -- my son.

**Aspen**

After the divorce, I had no choice but to buy a new house.

Luckily, Aziel didn't refuse to give me my half of what I was owed after so many years of marriage.

At least with that money I was able to buy a small but nice place.

When we arrived, my boy ran inside. I followed him.

And while he played, I started organizing some boxes that were still unpacked.

As I did, I couldn't stop replaying Aziel's words in my head.

*The place you occupied always belonged to your sister.*

I began to cry in silence -- I didn't want my son to hear me.

When I calmed down, I grabbed my phone and called my mom.

It rang once, twice, three times.

But Mom never answered.

I called Dad. Same result.

I called Luke. Nothing.

I called the twins, and they didn't pick up either.

I shouldn't have been surprised.

Their daughter just got divorced, and they can't even be bothered to answer a single damn call.

I dried my tears, pulled myself together, and went back to my son.

But I kept remembering. I couldn't help it.

*As soon as Dakota comes back\, I'm making her my wife.*

Did these ten years together really mean nothing to him?

Clearly not.

To him, I was nothing but a mistake.

A mistake that ended in an unwanted pregnancy.

I remember that day perfectly -- the first and only time Aziel ever touched me.

It was exactly ten years ago, when I was barely seventeen.

My sister and Aziel had a relationship back then. Nothing official.

Dakota was twenty, while Aziel had just turned twenty-five.

That day, I was watching TV in the living room when I heard my sister come downstairs with her bags packed, followed by Aziel, who was trying with everything he had to stop her from leaving.

That conversation between those former lovers is still etched in my mind.

The way Aziel begged her not to leave him.

The heartless way Dakota told him she didn't love him -- all of it is intact in my memory.

It turned out my sister had only been using Aziel, while he was blindly in love with her.

And when Dakota found her dream man, she decided to leave with him.

That man was Italian -- the only one who ever brought the untouchable Dakota to her knees.

That's how my sister left, shattering everyone's hearts, especially Aziel's.

That same night, Aziel emptied every bottle in the bar in my father's office.

He drank until he couldn't anymore.

I can still hear his cries.

*Come back\, baby\, please.*

*I'll be better. Don't leave me\, Dakota.*

*I love you. I still love you.*

All those words, and more.

Words he never said to me.

That night, I went to him.

He looked like an abandoned dog, his gorgeous face drenched in tears.

His eyes red from all the drinking.

His voice hoarse from all the screaming and pleading.

It hurt so much to see him like that.

I helped him steady himself and tried to take him to the guest room so he could rest, but even then, he kept crying.

*Dakota\, Dakota\, Dakota...*

Over and over again.

He was so drunk that the moment I laid him on the bed, he finally looked at me.

And all he could see were my eyes.

Dark blue eyes, like sapphires.

The same eye color as Dakota's.

He reached his hand toward my face and, with the utmost gentleness, caressed my cheek.

*Dakota... You came back...*

He'd whispered.

I felt my eyes fill with tears. He wasn't seeing me -- he was seeing my sister. And that broke my heart.

*Don't cry\, baby.*

He murmured, and then he pulled me into his arms.

The smell of alcohol overwhelmed me, making me recoil.

But before I could push him away, Aziel pressed his lips to mine in a passionate kiss.

That was my first kiss.

I tried to pull back, but he wouldn't let me.

I knew I should have kept trying to push him away. I knew he wasn't looking at me. But I couldn't do it.

The man I loved was finally paying attention to me, and I didn't want the moment to end.

That's how I gave myself to him.

I gave myself completely.

First kiss. First time. First everything.

When I woke up the next morning, I was happy.

But my happiness didn't last long.

Because when Aziel woke up, he looked at me with confusion and disgust.

*What the hell are you doing here\, Aspen?*

I still remember how ice-cold his voice was when he spoke to me.

The complete opposite of how he talked to Dakota.

When he realized what we'd done, he hated me even more.

*You did this on purpose. You knew I love your sister and you still crawled into my bed!*

His accusation still stings, even after all these years.

Because it was true. I knew he thought I was Dakota. And I took advantage of that.

Because of what I did, Dad threw me out of the house.

*Get out. I don't have a daughter like you. You are no longer a Voinescu.*

Those were my father's words as he kicked me to the curb.

My siblings, my mother, my grandparents -- they all watched as my father disowned me. Not one of them did a thing to stop it.

They all looked at me with disgust, like I was the worst piece of trash walking the earth.

After that, I stayed at my best friend Carolina's place.

She's the only one who knows how awful Dakota really is.

The only one who knows how cruel and indifferent everyone has been to me.

She was the only one who never turned her back on me.

A week passed, and that's when I found out I was pregnant.

I went looking for Aziel. His parents and siblings slammed the door in my face\, calling me a *gold digger*.

How dare they?

I tried going home, but not even the servants would let me through.

So I had no choice but to go to Aziel's university.

When I told him about the baby, he didn't believe me.

*Even if it were mine\, what makes you think I'd want that thing? Get rid of it.*

That's what he said.

Heartbroken, I went back to Carolina's.

I started working, since the following year I'd need to start college.

Eight months later, Aziel showed up at Carolina's house looking for me.

It turned out his grandfather had found out about the pregnancy and forced him to marry me for the baby's sake.

That's why we got married.

There was never any love on his part.

There never was, and there never will be.

**Aspen**

Even after we got married, Aziel never changed.

He was always cold, indifferent, cruel -- you name it.

He drank all the time, and every time he got wasted, he'd cry while whispering Dakota's name.

It broke my heart to watch my husband weep over another woman.

But what did I expect? I brought this on myself.

Fortunately, despite his initial refusal, he turned out to be a great father to Calen.

There are many things I know for certain, and one of them is Aziel's love for our son.

We lived together for ten years. Ten years in which he never touched me, never held me, never said a single kind word.

Mother's Day, Women's Day, Christmas, New Year's, birthdays -- through all of it, I never received so much as a card from him.

I only ever got two.

One from Carolina. One from Calen.

I swear I did everything in my power to make our marriage work.

I learned to cook his favorite meals -- meals he never tasted.

I learned to do all the housework even though we had servants.

I studied, graduated, and my husband didn't even come to my ceremony.

Not my husband, not anyone.

Only Carolina and my son.

No one else.

Even so, I held on to the hope that one day Aziel would wake up and see me.

I wanted him to see Aspen Voinescu.

To acknowledge my presence, my effort. But that never happened.

His hatred for me ran so deep that we slept in separate beds.

His family was the same -- they didn't want me around because according to them\, I was a *gold digger*.

A slut who climbed into her sister's boyfriend's bed.

I think it's pretty obvious that even my husband's family preferred Dakota.

But at least they treated my son well.

During those ten years, I tried to at least build a relationship with my own family. I wanted them to know my son. But once again, they slammed the door in my face.

That's why their sudden invitation caught me so off guard.

It was my grandfather's eightieth birthday, and they'd just invited me.

I was stunned when I saw the invitation.

I mean, they'd been avoiding me for a decade. And now they invite me to a celebration? What was going on?

Still, I was happy. I could finally have the family bond I'd always wanted.

I left my son with Carolina and went to my childhood home alone.

The place was packed -- luxury cars everywhere, servants bustling back and forth.

I was nervous. My emotions were all over the place.

"You came." I heard a male voice behind me. I turned around -- it was my older brother, Luke.

I hadn't seen him in years, and I got excited.

"Brother!" I beamed with a genuine smile.

I tried to hug him, but he stopped me.

I could feel my face flush with embarrassment, but I held it together.

"Sorry, I got carried away," I said shyly.

He let out a bitter laugh.

"How convenient for you, always 'getting carried away,'" he said with contempt.

I frowned, about to ask what he meant.

But before I could, I heard my father's voice addressing the guests.

"Thank you all so much for coming to my father's eightieth birthday," he said, and his eyes landed on me briefly before he looked away.

He smiled at the crowd.

"And thank you as well for being here for the engagement of my eldest daughter, Dakota," he announced, and I froze.

*My sister was back?*

*She was getting married? To whom?*

*It can't be Aziel... can it?*

As if my father had read my mind, he stepped aside, revealing my ex-husband with his arms around my sister.

My heart shattered at the sight.

I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes.

Dakota noticed and smiled. She grabbed Aziel's tie and kissed him passionately -- a kiss he returned instantly.

They were in their own little bubble while my entire world collapsed around me.

"I hope you're enjoying the view, Aspen," Luke said. "This is how it should have been from the start. It was always Dakota -- never you. You were just a slut who slept with her sister's boyfriend. You got pregnant trying to trap Aziel, but it didn't work. Because the second Dakota came back, Aziel divorced you and proposed to her."

Tears streamed down my face as I kept watching the kiss. No matter how much I wanted to look away, I couldn't.

"Tell me -- how does it feel to finally get what you deserve?" Luke taunted, savoring my pain.

All of this had been planned.

I turned and saw nothing but the faces of my relatives, watching me with the same mockery.

They did this on purpose to hurt me.

I couldn't take it anymore and bolted out of there.

"ASPEN!"

I could hear my father screaming my name, but I didn't stop.

I got in my car and started driving as fast as I could.

I couldn't stop crying.

That kiss kept replaying in my mind -- that goddamn kiss.

I thought about my marriage and how terrible it had been.

Everything was terrible. From the moment I was born, nothing had ever been good. I thought they'd changed, but they hadn't. They never will.

I cried. I kept crying as I drove.

I had no idea where I was going.

I didn't stop.

Not until I heard a horn blare -- and then everything went black.