Wife's Temptation: Returns as Heiress to Reclaim My Son & Throne - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Five years into their marriage, Aurelia finally discovered a secret-Caleb, the little boy she'd been raising as her own, wasn't hers at all!
She stood outside the doctor's office, accidentally overhearing her husband Cassian talking with the doctor.
"Mr. Thornwell, the kid's got a really rare blood type.His biological mother must come here ASAP."
Cassian pinched the bridge of his nose, looking exhausted.
"Yeah, okay,I know. I'll... I'll figure something out."
The words hit Aurelia like a bolt of lightning, her mind going completely blank.
Biological mother? But she was his biological mother... wasn't she?
Standing there in the hallway, she slowly pieced together what they were really talking about.
The man who'd promised to love her forever had been cheating even before their wedding—and had switched their babies!
But why would he do this to her? They'd known each other since they were kids, grew up together in the same neighborhood.
She'd given up everything for him—her job at the marketing firm, her dreams of starting her own business—just to be his wife and stay home with Caleb.
When she told him, Cassian had actually gotten down on one knee right there in their kitchen, tears streaming down his face.
"Baby, you're giving up so much for us. I swear to God, I'll never let you down. Never."
Those words were still ringing in her ears, but reality had just bitch-slapped her across the face.
She stumbled back toward Caleb's room, feeling like someone was squeezing her heart with a vise grip.
She couldn't even look at him now—terrified she might drag him off for a DNA test,afraid she'd lose it completely and make a scene.
She turned and bolted from the hospital.
Outside in the parking lot, her brother Silas was just getting out of his car. Seeing her rushing past, he quickly caught her arm.
"Whoa, Aurelia! Where are you going? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"How's Caleb? I came to check on him."
Ever since Caleb got sick, their whole family had been freaking out. Silas had even blown off a board meeting in Tokyo and flown back on the private jet...
Aurelia's eyes were red and puffy, tears already spilling over. "Silas, I need you to look into something for me."
"Sure, what's up?"
"Caleb..." Her voice cracked. "I don't think... I don't think he's actually mine."
"Hey baby, where'd you disappear to? Caleb woke up asking for his mommy."
Staring at Cassian's text, Aurelia read her tears hit the phone screen.
Every December, he'd take Caleb up to their cabin in Aspen for a week. "Guy time," he'd call it. "Father-son bonding."
Four years of this bullshit, and she'd never questioned it once.
Now she felt like the world's biggest idiot. It wasn't father-son bonding—he was taking Caleb to see his biological mom!
If she hadn't overheard that conversation today, she'd probably still be living this lie.
Aurelia frantically scrolled through her camera roll—hundreds of happy family photos flashing by. The California sun was blazing outside, but she felt freezing cold, shaking like a leaf.
Maybe she should've seen this coming. Men's promises weren't worth the breath they wasted making them.
Being a selfish asshole was just in their DNA, especially guys like Cassian. CEO of a Fortune 500 company, movie-star looks, family money going back generations—he could have anyone woman.
So he'd thrown her away like yesterday's trash. Her and her baby.
But he'd sworn he'd never hurt her...
It felt like someone was taking a rusty knife to her chest, carving her up piece by piece.
They'd been together since high school. Everyone in their social circle knew how obsessed he was with her.
When she was fourteen and some creeps from the school were hassling her outside the mall, Cassian had taken on all six of them by himself.
He'd ended up in the ER with a broken nose and three cracked ribs, but the first thing he asked was, "Good job?"
At eighteen, when she forgot to text him back during a sorority mixer, he'd called campus security, her friends, even her parents.
When he finally found her, he'd been crying harder than she'd ever seen.
At twenty-two, he'd gotten his grandmother's engagement ring from the family safe—a five-carat diamond that had been in the Thornwell family for generations.
"Marry me, Aurelia. I'll never hurt you, I promise."
The way he'd looked at her that day, like she was his entire world—so she'd said ‘yes’ without hesitation.
She got pregnant six months after the wedding.
Cassian had completely lost it with happiness, calling everyone they knew. He'd even taken a leave of absence from Thornwell Industries.
"I want to be there for every second of this," he'd told her. "Every prenatal appointment, every craving, everything."
His dad had threatened to kick him off the Thornwell family.
The board members thought he'd lost his mind.
But Cassian had stood his ground, even when his father called him a "playbpy embarrassment to the family name."
Now she realized the truth—he wasn't trying to take care of her. He was making sure nothing happened to her pregnancy so he could pull off his sick little baby s
Her phone buzzed with an incoming FaceTime call. "Hubby" flashed on the screen, and she wanted to throw up.
She answered with a dead expression.
Cassian's face filled the screen, still as gorgeous as ever, which somehow made this worse.
"There you are! Jesus, baby, you look awful. Are you okay?"
Before all this, she would've told him everything. Every bad day, every worry, every time someone looked at her wrong—she'd run straight to Cassian to fix it.
Now she couldn't stand any sight of him.
"Aurelia? Have you been crying? Where the hell are you? I'm coming to pick you right now."
Cassian was already reaching for his keys, looking genuinely panicked.
"It's ok. Just grabbing coffee." She was too emotionally drained to even pretend anymore. "I'll be back in a few."
He relaxed a little, but his eyes kept darting off-camera. After a weird pause, he said, "Okay, but don't take too long. Caleb keeps asking when Mommy's coming back."
"Yeah, okay."
Just as she was about to hang up, a hot woman walked into frame and casually settled onto Cassian's lap like she belonged there.
Aurelia's blood turned to ice. Before she could even process what she was seeing, the call went dead.
She sat there staring at the blank screen. Then she started hitting herself in the chest with her fists, trying to make the pain stop, but it just kept getting worse.
He was with that woman. Right there in their son's hospital room.
She buried her face in her hands, trying not to completely break down in public, but the sobs came anyway.
This was what rock bottom felt like. This was what happened when your entire life turned out to be a lie.
For about two seconds, she'd tried to convince herself that maybe Cassian was the victim here. Maybe some bitch was obsessing over him, manipulating him somehow.
But he'd looked pretty fucking comfortable with her on his lap.
Silas noticed her breakdown and rushed over, his iced latte forgotten on the counter.
"Hey, hey... Aurelia, look at me." He crouched down next to her chair, his voice gentle but furious. "That piece of shit doesn't deserve your tears."
The tears just kept coming, leaving dark spots all over her white sundress.
Silas looked like he wanted to murder someone. He rubbed her back awkwardly—he'd never been good with crying women, even his own sister.
"Listen to me, okay? We're gonna get your real baby back. I don't care what it takes, how much it costs, or who I have to destroy to make it happen."
His voice got harder. "And Cassian? He's gonna pay for what he did to you. But right now, I need to know—what do you want to do? Because whatever you decide, I've got your back."
Aurelia looked up at him through her tears and nodded. The moment she'd learned of Cassian's betrayal, she'd already made up her mind...