Sofia had her dinner in her room. She had enjoyed her very first shopping spree like a normal person. It excited her but tired her too. To say she was tired was an understatement. After having her dinner, all she wanted to do was to take a hot bath and go to sleep.

Meanwhile, Bella was wrapping up her work when she heard Jeremy coming towards the library. She was afraid to talk to him after what happened between them earlier in the morning. She could still feel his eyes boring into her. They were emotionless and cold. She could sense the raging of a storm through the drop-dead silence in the house.

Jeremy had never been silent around Bella. He loved talking to her. Sometimes she had to ask him to be quiet because he would go on and on about anything that came to his mind. It was not that he was not talking to her. He was still talking to her but his demeanor was completely changed around her since the day he found out she was with another man.

Bella was sensing her downfall. She was nothing without him. He was why she was respected in elite society. He was the reason why people bowed their heads to her. He was her source of power and she didn't want to lose him. She didn't care much about Sofia herself because that girl was just like her father a completely soft person at heart.

Whatever was the reason for the downfall of their marriage, it had to stay inside the walls of their bedroom. She couldn't afford to have her name tarnished. The name she got after a lot of sacrifices and hard work.

Jeremy sat in the dining room lost deep in thoughts when he heard the door to the dining room open. He dragged himself out of his thoughts and sat straighter in his seat as if he was waiting for his food.

"Jeremy, darling, how are you feeling now?" Bella asked as she took the seat to his right. Jeremy looked right outside the window to the garden where the dim lights were more appealing to him than this woman beside him who he loved once.

What the... He still loved Bella. Who said he didn't love her? Just because she chose to spend her night with another man doesn't end his love for her. Jeremy convinced himself that nothing mattered more than Bella to him.

"I'm fine." He said as Bella held his hand lightly. The moment her skin came in contact with his, he pulled his hand back and rested it in his lap. He just got reminded of the other man she was with the other night and the thought disgusted him.

"I can't do this." He said and dashed out of the room leaving Bella shocked.

"I can't lose like this. I have to do something." Bella muttered as her she waited for her dinner.

Throughout the dinner, Bella kept thinking about different ways to get Jeremy to trust her again. She needed to do it fast because her company's annual ball was approaching soon and it was a huge affair for the press. She had to get Jeremy to be all good to her otherwise her name would be splashed across the newspapers and that would harm the big deals she had just closed off with other clothing giants around the world. She couldn't afford that.

After dinner, Bella went back to her room to find Jeremy sitting on the chair in their balcony. He was leaning back and rested his head at the back of the chair with his eyes closed. Bella took off her shoes and slipped quietly into her walk-in closet. She changed her dress into a midnight blue lacy nightgown with silk at the hem and applied a little bit of his favorite perfume.

No matter how much she hated being a seductress but she knew it would work perfectly on her husband. She touched his shoulders with a feather-light touch and trailed her hands lightly down his neck. She felt him stiffen. She brought her hands back up and tried to rub his shoulders but he caught her hand and brought her forward. He made her sit on the wide arm of the chair and held her waist.

Jeremy took an all over look at her. She looked irresistibly gorgeous. No wonder he fell in love with her enchanting beauty back then. Bella put an arm around his neck wanting to side hug him. He let her touch him but that disgusting feeling came back. He was just not ready to accept her touch.

"Bella... What do you want?" he asked dryly.

"You. I want you back, Jeremy." She said as she looked in his eyes. He looked away from her.

"No, if you wanted me you wouldn't have let another man touch you after all these years of our marriage." He said pushing her hands away. Jeremy stood and walked to the glass wall of the balcony that overlooked the garden.

"Jeremy, I promise. It was just a one night stand. It won't happen again." Bella said as she shed some tears.

"Whatever happened Bella, it has affected our marriage seriously." He said as he kept looking away into the dark night.

"please forgive me, Jeremy." She said as she clasped her hands together and pleaded.

"I don't know.. it's hard for me to forget that you betrayed our relationship." He said now looking at her.

"Besides, I want you to stay away from Sofia for a while. Don't bring the topic of her wedding up again. And be civil with her. It's the least you can do. It was very hard for me to bring her old self back; I missed my daughter because of all the problems you caused." He added.

"Okay. I will not. I will do as you say." She said as she held his hands.

"And keep your distance from me if you don't want to end up dead. Because each time I see your face, I get reminded of your betrayal which I didn't deserve. And now you are dressed like this to seduce me? Really, Bella?" He said as he pointed at her choice of dress.

"Inside the bedroom, we're two strangers because honestly, I don't know who you are. You're not the amazing woman I married. You're just the body she lives in. so keep your distance and next time don't try to seduce me. You can do better than this." He said the last line in a whisper very close to her ear.Jeremy wanted to strangle her whenever she was close to him.

Bella huffed and stomped into the bathroom like a stubborn child who had been denied his candy.