After They Sent Me Overseas, I Returned With a Powerful Husband Chapter 01

After They Sent Me Overseas, I Returned With a Powerful Husband Chapter 01

I had been married for less than a day when work pulled me back to the States.

As the brand director for a luxury fashion house, I had to deal with a major PR crisis.

The last thing I expected was to walk into the launch event and see my childhood friend and my ex in a fistfight over my younger sister, Sienna Monroe.

Cassian Sterling stood there, his suit drenched in red wine, a smear of blood at the corner of his mouth.

A staff member hurried over with a first-aid kit.

Cassian never looked away from me.

“Give it to her,” he said with a faint smirk. “Let her handle it.”

In an instant, every eye in the room was on me.

I didn’t move. Instead, I looked at him with a slight frown.

“That’s not my job,” I said, my tone flat. “Let the police handle it.”

Then I turned to leave.

I had no interest in getting tangled up with any of them again.

A cold laugh came from behind me.

“Ava.” Cassian narrowed his eyes. His voice turned icy.

“I send you abroad for a few months, and now you act like you don’t know me?”

***

“Then again, a high school dropout with no job—what kind of future were you expecting abroad?”

“No wonder you were too ashamed to come crawling back to me.”

“Weren’t you the one who made your sister cry?” he said coldly.

“What are you so upset about? I sent you away to knock some sense into you.”

“You used to last three days before begging to fly back and cling to me. This time you disappeared for months. I almost thought you’d finally grown a spine.”

“But here you are again. Couldn’t stay away, huh?”

“Did you hear I’d be here today, so you showed up on purpose?”

“Still using the same old tricks, I see.”

I frowned even harder.

As far as I knew, Cassian and I were over.

The way he talked made it sound like there was still something between us.

But I remembered exactly what he’d said before sending me overseas.

“Ava, don’t come back until you’ve apologized to Sienna.”

“If you still can’t figure that out, then there’s nothing left between us.”

After that, months passed.

Not a single text. Not one phone call. It was as if I’d never existed.

I’d always believed that was his way of ending things.

Before I could answer, Rowan Hale stepped forward, his face dark.

“Watch your mouth, Cassian.” His voice was low and sharp. “Ava isn’t someone you get to mock.”

“I’ve looked out for her since we were kids. Stop acting like you still have any right to speak for her.”

He turned to me.

“Come on. My mom’s been asking about you ever since you left. Stay with us tonight.”

He reached for my wrist, but I casually stepped aside to pick up a glass of wine. His hand caught nothing but air.

“No thanks.”

I looked at his stunned expression and shook my head.

“As soon as I’m done here, I’m flying back. My husband’s waiting for me. Next time, I’ll visit your mom with him.”

Rowan went still. He stared at me for a moment, then letting out a laugh.

“Ava, that’s not funny. No way you’re married.”

“We made a pact, remember? The three of us—we’d never get married. We’d stay together, always.”

We had. But I was done playing that suffocating little game for three.

Growing up, I was invisible in the Monroe family.

Sienna was beautiful. Everyone treated her like the center of their world. I wasn’t even the background.

For years, I believed Rowan was the only person who truly cared about me.

Every New Year’s Eve, he was always the first to text me at midnight.

Whenever my cramps got so bad I could barely stand, he’d skip class and climb over the school fence just to bring me a cup of chamomile tea.

Later, I realized none of it had ever been just for me.

He always texted me first at midnight.

Then seconds later, Sienna would post a picture of him standing behind her with a gift in his hands.

He brought me chamomile tea that day because Sienna wanted cake from the bakery outside school.

Even the year of our college applications, I scored hundreds of points higher than Sienna.

My parents took turns begging me to delay my plans so I could stay with her. I refused.

I thought Rowan would be on my side.

Instead, while I was asleep, he logged into my account and deleted my college application.

I cried and asked him why.

He didn’t even flinch. “You’re smart. It won’t hurt your chances.”

“Sienna’s different. She needs someone with her.”

“You’re her sister. You should be looking after her.”

That was the moment it hit me.

In his heart, my future would always come second to Sienna’s.

Then I met Cassian. He was the first man who didn’t fall under her spell.

Whenever people gushed about how beautiful and sweet Sienna was, he’d frown and say, “She doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

He stayed distant no matter how hard Sienna flirted, acted cute, or staged chance encounters.

I thought I’d finally found someone who saw only me. I was wrong.

One accident involving Sienna exposed everything.

From that day on, I understood the truth.

Between Sienna and me, no one would ever choose me. Not even Cassian.

I didn’t want to get tangled up with any of them ever again.

I turned to my assistant.

“What were they fighting over?”

She leaned closer and lowered her voice.

“I heard they were both trying to snag that limited-edition handbag for Sienna.”

“Only one exists in the world, and tonight was its debut release. Neither of them would back down.”

Everything clicked.

I smiled at the guests around the room.

“I’m sorry about the disruption tonight, everyone.”

“All purchases tonight are on me.”

Then I added with an easy smile, “As for the bag, you two can stop fighting.”

“I already bought it. First come, first served.”