"Ma'am, I'm sorry," he finally said, his tone switching to that awkward customer service voice reserved for people about to ruin your life. "Your marriage certificate and adoption papers are both… fake."
***
Amara Piers had what everyone in town called the perfect love story. Seven years of marriage, ten years of devotion, and enough couple goals to make Instagram jealous.
To the world, she was the luckiest woman alive, married to Sebastian Creed, the charismatic CEO whose smile could sell a dream and whose wallet could fund one. He adored her. Worshipped her. Made every other husband look like they needed tutorials on romance.
Every morning came with a note. Every anniversary came with a surprise trip. Every fight ended with flowers so big they could start a mini garden. Sebastian Creed was the man every woman wanted, but he only ever had eyes for Amara Piers.
At least that's what she thought.
Until one sunny Thursday morning, because life loves to ruin you when you least expect it, Amara's entire world collapsed with a single sentence.
"Hi, I'm Seren's mom," she said with her usual calm smile, the kind that came from years of being married to a man who made sure she never had to raise her voice. "I'm here to pick up her birth certificate. I requested a new one since we couldn't find the original."
She handed over the papers neatly, marriage certificate, the adoption form, and the documents that represented her beautiful, carefully built life.
"Alright, please hold on," the clerk said, tapping away at his keyboard with the enthusiasm of someone who clearly needed more coffee. A few seconds later, he frowned at the screen.
Then frowned harder. That wasn't good. No one likes a double frown at the registry office.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry," he finally said, his tone switching to that awkward customer service voice reserved for people about to ruin your life. "Your marriage certificate and adoption papers are both… fake."
Amara blinked, then smiled, one of those polite, you-must-be-joking smiles. "That can't be right. My husband handled all of these himself. There's no way they're fake."
He gave a nervous chuckle, the kind that meant, I wish it were a joke, lady. "Our system shows no records for either document. In fact…" He hesitated, then turned the screen toward her. "It says here that Sebastian Creed's spouse is Elara Langford and Seren is their daughter."
Silence.
Amara stood frozen, staring at the screen as the clerk's words echoed in her mind.
Fake. Elara Langford. Sebastian's real wife.
The words didn't make sense, not to her, not to the life she had built. This kind of plot twist you'd expect in a bad soap opera, except this one came with her name on the fake marriage certificate.
Because six years ago, she remembered her husband, her Sebastian, walking through their front door with a baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket and a smile that could melt her heart.
"Amara," he had said softly, his eyes warm, his voice steady. "I adopted a child from the orphanage. My mother won't pressure you with all those herbal concoctions anymore. You don't have to keep trying. With this child, we're complete. Come, hold her."
He had handed her the tiny bundle with such tenderness that Amara's heart nearly burst.
Her hands trembled as she reached for the baby, her voice breaking with relief. This child will save us, she had thought. Maybe now his family will finally accept me. Maybe now… I'll be enough.
She pressed her cheek against the soft blanket, whispering, "You're our miracle, Seren. I'll give you the best of everything."
But the baby had cried, and cried, and cried, refusing to be soothed no matter what Amara tried. She rocked, sang lullabies, and even made funny faces that would've embarrassed her in any other situation. Nothing worked.
Then the front door opened again.
"Sweetheart," Sebastian's voice floated in, calm and casual, as though he hadn't just handed her the loudest infant in existence. "This is my new secretary, Elara Langford. She's great with kids. Maybe she can help?"
Amara turned, smiling politely through her exhaustion. Her loving husband thought of everything, she thought, but bit her tongue.
"Mrs. Creed, may I give it a try?" Elara asked softly, her smile delicate, her perfume filling the room with something floral and expensive.
"Of course," Amara said, handing Seren over carefully. "Be gentle." The moment Elara held the baby, the crying stopped. Just like that.
The silence was deafening. Elara smiled down at the child. "See? There we go. She's such a sweet girl."
Amara blinked, half impressed, half offended. "You're so young, but so good with kids."
"I have one of my own," Elara said quietly, her eyes soft with something Amara couldn't quite read. "Whenever she cries, this is how I calm her. It's just a shame… her father doesn't love me. He only ever loved his first love."
Amara had laughed awkwardly then, the kind of laugh you use to fill silence when something doesn't sit right. She didn't realize then how close she was to the truth.
Now, years later, standing in that government office, the memory hit her like a cruel joke finally explained. Her smile faded. Her fingers trembled as she gathered the fake documents off the desk.
Amara walked out of the office on autopilot, her heels clicking against the floor like punctuation marks to the end of her perfect love story.
"I've been with Sebastian for ten years," Amara whispered to herself, gripping the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. "Ten years… why would he lie to me?"
The question bounced around her head like a cruel echo. The man who once called her his miracle, who kissed her forehead every night before bed, couldn't possibly be the same man who forged their entire life together. Could he?
She blinked repeatedly, the traffic lights ahead blurring into streaks of red and gold. With a shaky breath, Amara turned onto the coastal highway, the city of Verenza unfolding before her, a place so beautiful it hurt.
Verenza was a masterpiece of contradictions, ancient cathedrals nestled between glass towers, cobblestone streets winding into lit avenues, sea breezes that carried both salt and the scent of ambition. It was the kind of city where everyone was chasing something, be it money, love, validation, or a second chance.
Amara, however, had no idea what she was chasing anymore.
Was it the truth? Closure? Or was she still chasing the illusion of the man she fell in love with a decade ago, the Sebastian who smiled like he could move mountains just to make her happy?
...
Creed Tech Corporation
The glass façade of Creed Tech Corporation shimmered under the morning sun, a monument to power, wealth, and ambition. People often said it reflected Sebastian Creed himself, flawless on the outside, impossible to read on the inside.
Amara stood at the entrance, taking a deep breath before stepping in. She fixed her expression, the serene smile of the perfect Mrs. Creed, the woman everyone admired, envied, and whispered about.
"Mrs. Creed, good morning." "Good morning, ma'am."
The greetings followed her like a respectful chorus. No one dared stop her. After all, she was his wife. The one woman Sebastian Creed would drop everything for.
Her heels clicked confidently against the marble floor as she made her way toward his office. Every stride measured, every smile rehearsed. But her heart, her heart was chaos.
Just as she turned the corner, voices drifted from the slightly open door of the executive lounge. She froze.
"Hey, Sebastian," came a familiar male voice, Demian Holt, Sebastian's best friend and company CFO. "The flat you bought for Elara is fully renovated. Aren't you going to check it out?"
Amara's breath caught. Flat? For Elara? Inside, Sebastian's calm voice replied, casual and light, too light. "No need. Amara's been into steaks lately, so I'm… looking into new recipes."
Recipes? He was flipping through a magazine, pretending to be interested in food while his life crumbled just a few feet away.
Demian chuckled. "You sure are a romantic man. But I don't get it. You clearly love Amara. So why did you marry Elara? Tell me the truth, Seb, was she more than just your secretary?"
There was a long break. The kind that stretches thin before it breaks.
Sebastian exhaled softly. "I can spoil Amara all I want. But Elara… she saved me. She even gave us a daughter. It's only fair she gets that title. Besides…" his tone softened, "Elara's pregnant again."