Chapter 7 Actor Ryder Sterling

LUCAS RAVENWOOD'S POV I am 200% sure that it's her despite the stunning changes she now has. I may have kicked her out of my house like stinking trash, but I never stopped thinking of her, especially after marrying Aubrey. Her face has been in every one of my good dreams. Every memory of her has been my comfort when the consequences of my mistakes made me feel like a wrench. I never thought she was smart, someone capable of attaining her own success. She was such a committed housewife who never seemed passionate about achieving anything else. Which is why it's difficult to believe that she is the super talented designer that every brand now wants. Before I kicked her out, Loraine claimed that she had talents that would be helpful to my brand. I ignored that confession because making Aubrey Sinclair my wife was the only thing I cared about then. I returned back home early because there is only one way to be sure that the elegant woman I met today is indeed my beloved ex-wife. I make my way towards the spacious kitchen with the stylish designer jacket she left in my closet on the day that I kicked her out. The jacket is the only physical item I have to remember her by. But now it is prove that I should have paid more attention to her abilities. "I need a few seconds of your time. Can you pause what you're doing?" I ask Catherine who is already preparing a delicious supper for me and my awful wife. The maid appears surprised as she glances at the jacket in my hands. "I am your service, sir." She says. "You seem to recognise the jacket." I observe. “Tell me, where did my ex-wife buy it from?” "I saw her making it that night before you kicked her out, sir." She answers. She made the jacket as a gift for me. Then I kicked her out believing that she was useless. I wonder if she would have told me about her incredible talent if I did not oust her? Apparently my parents did not just bind me to a narcissistic, deeply flawed woman, they also made me lose the most perfect woman who could have actually contributed to greater growth of my brand. I would trade anything to get her back, because no amount of success I could have earned can replace the joy of waking up to the soothing sound of her voice every single day. Lorraine was an angel living among humans, but I was too blinded by pride to see it until I married Aubrey, a devil dressed in fame and forged beauty. Who would blame Lorraine if she refuses to take me back? I did the worst to her. But now I will chase her to the edge of the universe because she left a void in my life that no other woman can fill. I slip on the jacket she made for the first time and make my way to a room with a full length mirror. It's fits flawlessly, like she knew all my measurements without measuring them. The beautiful woman I met today was not as sweet as my Lorraine, but that's because I kicked her out into the unforgiving world and she had to adapt. Now she acts more tenacious than any woman I have ever met. Yet beneath the veil of toughness I could see my kind, benign wife. The door creaks open behind me and I keep gazing at my reflection since I have no doubt that it's my disgusting, self-centred current wife, Aubrey Sinclair. "Is that your brand's newest creation?" She cheerfully asks while walking into the room. I ignore her presence as I try to enjoy the warmth of the jacket that my true love made. But Aubrey comes to stand by my side and wraps her hands around my shoulders. "It's incredibly beautiful." She says in a seductive voice. "You do not need that costly designer to dominate all markets. She cannot make something as good as this." She adds and I scoff. The lady never bothers to learn about anything. She just assumes she is too beautiful to be wrong. "Come to bed with me. You look sweeter than candy, and I want to link every part of you." She murmurs. "I am not in the mood." I say. Her smile fades. "But I got you a gift." She lets go of me and goes to the bed. "I got a tattoo of your full name." She says while taking off her short skirt to show me the huge tattoo on her inner thigh. The letters are huge enough for one to clearly read the names, Lucas Ravenwood, from metres away. I shake my head, thinking that she must be the dumbest woman on earth. She got a permanent tattoo of my name on her inner thigh when I am figuring out ways to get rid of her. "I thought you would like it, honey. It shows that I am totally yours." She says. "You're my partner, not my property." I state. "I wanted to be more than your ugly housewife was now that I don't have a job. Unlike her, I am beautiful." She defends. "You had over a dozen plastic surgeries, and you still look ugly without makeup." I point. “My first wife also did more than warm my bed.” Her face creases with hurt. "You want me to clean the house and cook like a maid?" She asks. “Can you?” "No. I want a decent job. Like being your beloved wife." She says. “Tell me, how did your meeting with the designer go?” Lorraine's beautiful face and her stunning form in a designer dress stands tall in my mind again. She is everything that would have impressed my parent if I were to take her to them now. "The designer turned down our offers." I answer Aubrey. "She is prideful. But I promise to prove my worth to you. I will find out everything about her. Then I will make sure she agrees to work for you." She swears. "Stay away from the designer. She is nothing like you." I order. "Do you like her? Was she beautiful?" She asks in a worried voice. “She is both talented and beautiful, isn't she?” I have no desire to let her know that the pretty, talented designer is my ex-wife whom we verbally abused two years ago when kicking her out of my house. It's impossible to predict what my monster wife would do with such information. "I am only interested in the designer's unique creativity. Which is why I don't want your wicked ways to ruin my chances of finally getting her to work for my brand," I state. "Then show me that I am still your beloved," Aubrey demands. “Have sex with me.”