Reclaiming Her Heart Novel – Selena Fair woke up, only to find the man beside her still asleep. Enduring the discomfort between her legs, she got out of bed. Just as she was about to pick up the clothes scattered on the floor, a cold voice came from behind her. “How much do you want?” he remarked in an indifferent tone, sounding nothing like the guy who cooed dirty talk in her ear last night. Selena paused, feeling absurd. After three years of marriage, her husband didn’t even know who she was. Three years ago, she accidentally saved Cassius Montague, the patriarch of the Montague family, from death. At that time, her father’s company encountered difficulties during its first round of financing. So Cassius offered her a deal: if Selena married his grandson Raymond Montague, he would invest three billion dollars into her dad’s business.
Raymond never appeared during their marriage ceremony, and it wasn’t until she received her marriage certificate that Selena found out he had gone abroad. Since then, she’d been dubbed as “Mrs. Montague Who Never Was.” She never expected their first encounter to take place in a bed, of all places. That was right, her “one-night stand” was her husband, who hadn’t even met her before. Selena struggled to put on her clothes, her head spinning from the hangover. “I don’t want money,” she managed to say, her voice wavering. “You don’t want money? So you want me instead?” Raymond’s piercing gaze examined every inch of her body, his sneer betraying his skepticism. She was undeniably beautiful and alluring but that was all.
“I’ll give you enough money, but don’t expect we’ll become a thing just because of what happened last night.” He thought to himself, ‘I would never have lost control over a woman, even in my drunken state. So, it must be the drink. There must’ve been something wrong with the drink she handed me.’ Selena quickly dressed herself up, her mind filled with what happened the previous night. The Montague family hosted a welcoming banquet for Raymond Montague, attracting all the celebrities and affluent individuals. Since he was about to take over the family business, every guest was dying to befriend him. Cassius had invited Selena. Initially, she planned to make a brief appearance and bail, but her father stopped her and offered her two glasses of wine, telling her to talk to Raymond. The evening then had taken an unexpected turn, leading to their intimate encounter.
She was acutely aware of Raymond’s resistance to their arranged marriage. In this regard, she couldn’t help but wonder, ‘How am I gonna convince him that what happened last night was not part of my plan when he already hates our marriage so much?’ A tinge of self-deprecation flickered in her eyes, and she hesitated for a moment before speaking, “Actually, I…” Just then, the phone on the bedside table vibrated, interrupting Selena. Raymond glanced at it; it was his personal lawyer calling. He put the caller on the speaker and a respectful male voice then came from the other side, “Mr. Montague, we’ve arrived at Miss Fair’s apartment. She’s not home. Should we send the divorce agreement to the Fair’s place?”
Raymond walked over to the window. His brow furrowed as he gazed at the distant view of the river. He had no recollection at all of his wife whom he had been married to for three years. ‘Grandpa says she’s good-natured. According to him, she never engages in conflicts or covets others’ possessions. And she’s an exceptional Harvard graduate. But so what? The Fair family has already passed through its crisis long ago. It was enough to repay her kindness for saving Grandpa’s life,’ he complained to himself. Then he responded with a ruthless and cold tone, “Keep contacting her and let her sign the divorce agreement. If she refuses, get the Fair family involved.” As Selena checked for any missed work messages on her phone, she overheard the mention of a “divorce agreement.” She paused for a moment before reading James Fair’s message on her phone screen. James: [Selena, did you leave early last night? Beatrice asked me if Raymond drank that glass of wine.]
Selena: [Dad, wasn’t it you who prepared it?] James: [Nah, it was Beatrice. If you have time today, please come and visit Alice in the hospital. She said she missed you.] Anger surged in Selena as she learned Beatrice was the one plotting against her. Selena didn’t reply for a long time, so James got worried. He thus called her and asked if she needed any hangover medicine, sounding full of concern. Selena was hot-tempered, yet she didn’t wanna upset James. He had been having a hard time raising her since her mother died when she was little. Besides, he only remarried when she had already been in college. So she fought back the urge to tell him about Beatrice. Instead, she said, “You don’t have to, Dad. I’ll go see Alice later. Tell her that I miss her, too.” Raymond was still on the phone when Selena was done, yet the topic had shifted to business matters. Selena looked over and saw the light outside fall on Raymond’s shoulders as he stood there in a white robe with a casual posture. He had his back to the light and his handsome face showed no expression, but his profile seemed particularly cold and stern, making him even more aloof and unapproachable. She decided to leave before he could notice.
They were planning to divorce anyway. It would be awkward if he found out that he had slept with his so-called wife. She’d better just leave quietly. When Raymond finally hung up the phone, it was already getting late. Turning around to look at the silent room in front of him, he couldn’t help but frown. The messy sheets dragged to the floor while crumpled shirts lay at the foot of the bed. The smell of red wine mixed with that of intercourse filled the air. Upon thinking about what happened last night again, he couldn’t help but rub his forehead. If it weren’t for the dark red stain on the sheet, he might have thought that waking up next to a woman earlier today was just a hallucination. A knock sounded from outside followed by John Walker’s voice, “Mr. Montague.” “Come on in,” said Raymond. John walked in holding a brand new suit set.
Upon seeing what was inside Raymond’s room, he felt puzzled yet didn’t ask any questions about it. He respectfully placed down clothes before leaving for the living room immediately after. Raymond took a shower and then got neatly dressed before heading out with John. Suddenly halting midway, Raymond asked, “Who’s the woman leaving my room this morning?” John immediately linked what Raymond asked to what he had seen earlier in the room. Shocked, he hurried to respond, “I’ll go check right away…” Raymond pursed his lips as his face darkened. ‘Playing cat and mouse is so degrading. Maybe she wants me to look into her. I can’t fall into her trap. Since she has tried so hard to put on such a scene, I’m sure she’ll turn up again.’ Thus, Raymond stopped John. “Don’t. She’ll come back.” Selena hurried back to her apartment and washed herself thoroughly several times before collapsing onto the bed. Once she closed her eyes, all she could think about was Raymond’s ferocity during intercourse. At first, she could hardly bear it, but later that extreme pleasure seemed to penetrate into her bones. To be honest, Selena didn’t find it intolerable to lose her chastity to Raymond was acceptable.
What she couldn’t accept was the fact that he was calling the name of another woman while having intercourse with Selena. “Olivia…” Olivia Stone was the reason why he wanted a divorce from her. Though exhausted, Selena stayed awake because of the great pain. She turned over but still felt uncomfortable. Thus, she gave up on sleeping and instead, got up and opened a drawer where there were two marriage certificates. Back then at the city hall, Raymond didn’t show up. However, with Cassius’ help, she managed to obtain the certificate in Raymond’s absence. This was the first time she had opened them and faced the man who shared the same certificate with her. After just one glance at it though, she threw everything back into the drawer. She then set off to visit her sister Alice Fair instead. When Selena arrived at the hospital at noon, Alice was left alone in the ward as her nurse was on a lunch break. Alice looked pale in bed, yet when she saw Selena, her pretty face was filled with joy and surprise.
“Selena! What brought you here?” Alice sat up eagerly upon seeing Selena come through the door, “Dad is being paranoid again, isn’t he? Oh, come on! I’m totally fine! I told him not to let you know that I’m here! How could he spill the beans?” Selena sat down beside Alice’s bed and handed over some water to her. “Dad is worried about you.” Alice had been susceptible to illness ever since she was born. When her condition worsened, she would have to stay in the hospital for a few days at a time. Thus, James had always paid extra attention to her. “But I really hate being hospitalized! Mom is always watching me like a hawk.
I can only have some milk as food.” Alice pouted pitifully while licking her lips. “The nurses were talking about this new burger shop that just opened up nearby for a few days. It’s driving me crazy!” She grabbed Selena’s hand excitedly with doggy eyes. “Selena, you’re the best! Can we go there together? Just one bite won’t hurt.” Alice was so thrilled that Selena couldn’t resist buying some burgers on their way back. “You can only have a taste but you can’t swallow it,” Selena reminded her repeatedly as she handed Alice the Burger. Yet suddenly Beatrice Fair’s voice came from outside the door. “What are you doing?!” Beatrice looked shocked and angry as she walked quickly towards them. She then snatched away the burger and binned it.
“You wanna kill your sister while I’m gone? I always knew you had bad intentions!” Selena was pushed aside by Beatrice. She then glanced at the burger in the trash bin, feeling somewhat self-mockingly bitter inside. “What else did she feed you? Are you feeling unwell?” Beatrice looked at Alice angrily while considering calling James to complain about what happened. However, Alice pulled on her arm anxiously, trying to explain, “Mom, don’t get Selena wrong! It was my fault.” Beatrice paused for a moment but didn’t feel embarrassed or awkward at all. She said coldly, looking over towards Selena, “Alice doesn’t know what could happen, yet you must do, right? Then why did you listen to her?” She then turned to Alicia and continued, “If it weren’t for her, how could your dad ignore us for such a long time? You wouldn’t have suffered that much!” “Mom, please stop.
Selena is busy with work and she came all the way here just to visit me,” Alice said. Beatrice snorted while looking at Selena, who remained silent beside them. She didn’t have much affection towards Selena as she was the daughter of her husband’s ex-wife. ‘I only bear with her because the chick could still be of use to our family.’ Thinking of it, she glanced over Selena’s neck where there were no marks or signs. ‘I wonder if my plan has worked out last night. If it weren’t for Alice’s physical condition, I wouldn’t have yielded such an excellent young man to her!’ Beatrice was even more annoyed and her tone became even worse. “Raymond has returned to New York now. You are his wife. Don’t just think about yourself. You need to think about how to get support from the Montague family for your father’s sake.” Having heard that, Selena smiled faintly and said, “It sounds like you’re blaming me for not helping my dad enough. Is this what you think or is it what Dad thinks?”
Beatrice was speechless while Alice quickly interjected, “The doctor prescribed some medicine for me. Selena, can you go get it for me please?” As she left the ward, she could hear Beatrice’s reproachful voice coming from behind. “It’s been years! James doesn’t owe her anything now! She has a grudge against me! Her mother died of overwork, yet it was not my fault! I think she’s blaming me for what she used to suffer. How could she do that? It was her mother who didn’t have the luck. How does that involve me?” Selena frowned slightly. In fact, she was hurt quite badly last night. Beatrice couldn’t tell it only because she tried hard to endure her pain. After queuing up for a long time to collect Alice’s medication, Selena went to the OB&GYN. Her private part had been slightly torn apart. After examining her carefully, the female doctor asked, with a serious expression on her face, hesitantly, “Miss, do you want us to call the police for you?” Selena didn’t see this coming. She suddenly understood what the doctor was implying. Feeling embarrassed, she replied, “That won’t be necessary… It was just my husband.
You know, after we’ve been parting for quite some time…” Just as Selena walked out of the office, holding her medicine tightly in hand, she saw Nick Fair, Alice’s elder brother. He looked up and his gaze fell on the bag of medicine in Selena’s hand. A strange expression flashed across his eyes as he asked, “Selena, are you here to see Alice? But… are you feeling unwell?” Nick was smiling and he was neatly dressed. But still, Selena felt uncomfortable under his gaze. She replied coldly while handing over Alice’s medicine to him. “I’ve already seen her. Please give it to Beatrice.” Nick raised an eyebrow and said meaningfully, “Why not go upstairs together with me? It has been so long since we last met.” “Sorry, but I’m kind of in the middle of something urgent.” Selena handed over the medicine before turning around and leaving the lobby directly. As Nick saw her off, he couldn’t help but smirk, ‘A young woman with anti-inflammatory drugs at the OB-GYN? What a hoe! Well, it makes sense since her husband has been away for three years. I’ll have my chance sooner or later.’
Selena got into her car, feeling somewhat depressed. When Beatrice moved in with Alice and Nick, Selena suggested that it wouldn’t be proper for her to live in the same place with Nick, who was not related to her through blood. Thus, she tried to advise that maybe Nick could move out and live alone. Yet James didn’t wanna upset Beatrice and Alice, so he hedged. Selena didn’t wanna frustrate James, so she moved out. ‘Now I seem to be the outsider,’ Selena thought to herself. She didn’t have to clock in at the studio, so she drove back home directly. Her phone rang and she found herself in a worse mood upon seeing the caller ID. Taking a deep breath after letting her phone ring for a while, Selena finally picked it up. “Hello, Mrs. Montague.” It was Catherine Montague, Raymond’s mother, on the other end of the line. Ever since they got married, her high-born and snobbish mother-in-law was never satisfied with her. Selena knew better than to provoke her. Thus, she tried to keep a distance from the Montague family except for visiting Cassius from time to time. “I hope you can come to the Montague family so we can discuss your divorce face-to-face,” Catherine spoke frankly. She was afraid that Selena would refuse, so she took the lead and said, “Selena, you should know that you only managed to marry my son because we couldn’t resist Cassius’ pressure back then. Now that Raymond has taken over the Montague family, Cassius won’t mind his business for him.” She was suggesting that Selena divorce Raymond.
Catherine originally thought Selena would cry and make a scene since no woman could bear to let go of such a perfect husband. But on the phone, Selena responded calmly without any hesitation or emotion, “Okay, should I go there now?” It was as if Selena had been waiting for the day to come. Catherine was somehow offended by Selena’s calmness. Though she was eager to see Raymond divorce her, she was expecting a much stronger fightback before that. After all, girls would kill to win her son over. To make herself feel better, Catherine snorted coldly. “I’m glad that you agree. You don’t deserve Raymond. He deserves someone much better than you. Come over now. I’ve also called Raymond and he’ll be here soon.” Selena paused when she heard that Raymond would be there too. She wondered, ‘If he knows that the woman he slept with last night will soon become his ex-wife, what will he do? I’m sure someone as proud as him will be embarrassed.’ Selena chuckled lightly and headed towards Wolfland, the Montague’s villa. Catherine looked unhappy when seeing Selena. In fact, she was never happy to see Selena. But since Selena wasn’t making a scene, Catherine didn’t find too much fault with her, either.
“Don’t blame me for being blunt,” Catherine said while sitting on the sofa after Selena arrived. “You should know what kind of situation your family is in right now.” “Yes, I do,” replied Selena. She nodded in agreement. “A kind reminder for you. Since your dad wasn’t born to be a businessman, he’d better give up as soon as possible. The Montague family can help him once but not twice. Plus, your stepmother is still eyeing my family’s position and wealth. You’re nothing but a troublemaker. I don’t see anything in you at all. You’re just not good enough for him.” “You’re right,” Selena said calmly without any resistance or argument. All she had with Raymond with the marriage certificate. They were not much different from strangers. The divorce was a relief for her. Catherine was upset by Selena’s obedience. She didn’t feel the joy of winning a battle at all. Just then, the sound of a car braking outside interrupted. It was Raymond who had returned home. Catherine stood up excitedly and walked towards the door while Selena watched in anticipation, trying to control her nerves despite being mentally prepared to face Raymond already.