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Chapter 7
Our relationship caught fire fast. After just two months of dating, both families had already set a wedding date.
After a cocktail party one night, the streets outside were quiet, the city settling into darkness.
I’d had more to drink than I should have, my cheeks warm and flushed from the alcohol. Julian Hayes kept a steady hand on me as we walked–until I suddenly stopped.
“Nessa?” My voice came out uncertain, Julian followed my gaze and froze.
Vanessa Brooks stood at the hotel entrance, her eyes locked on me with pure venom.
“You little tramp,” she sneered. “Was I not good enough to you? Now you’re after my man?”
Her voice rose with each word.
“I was worried about you. Right after my wedding, I brought my husband to check on you, even threw you a birthday party—and this is how you repay me?”
The haze in my head cleared just enough to connect the dots.
Friends back in Portland had told me Nathaniel Carter had been tearing the city apart looking for me, pulling every string he had until the whole place was practically turned upside down.
Meanwhile, Vanessa–pregnant and alone–was left at home to wait out her pregnancy.
And Nathaniel? He hadn’t seemed to care at all.
She’d gone to him, eyes red with fury, and found only a cold, empty face staring back at her. The same look he’d once turned on me.
I had known this day would come eventually. I just never imagined it would unfold like this.
I won’t pretend I was happy about it, but guilt? No. That was long gone.
I composed myself, speaking calmly. “I never stole your man.”
“You stole mine,” I added.
The denial sent her over the edge. Vanessa stormed toward me, hand raised to slap, but Julian caught her wrist before she could land it.
“You filthy bitch,” she spat. “If you hadn’t thrown yourself at him, he never would’ve changed! You want a man that badly, go hire an
escort.”
Julian’s brows snapped together. He shoved her back, and she stumbled hard to the ground. “Watch your mouth.”
That’s when I saw it–blood spreading between her legs. My hand, halfway lifted, dropped back to my side. Consider that slap repaid by the three years she’d once helped me.
I lifted my eyes to the shadowed corner nearby. “Aren’t you going to comfort your wife?” My tone was almost mocking.
Nathaniel Carter didn’t even glance at Vanessa. His eyes stayed on me and Julian, burning with an intensity I could feel in my bones.
Julian noticed it too. His frown deepened, and he stepped in front of me.
After a long silence, Nathaniel stepped out of the shadows. His gaze was dark, unreadable.
“Come home, Vanessa,” he said quietly. “I’ll explain.”
Vanessa’s face twisted. “Explain what? What could possibly make me forgive the two people I trusted most?”
“You’re the love of my life,” she choked out, “and she’s my best friend. Did either of you think about this moment when you were
sneaking around behind my back?”
I let out a small laugh. “Double betrayal?”
Chapter 7
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“What about the one I endured?”
No–it wasn’t the same. I’d been lied to, kept in the dark, played for a fool for three years without ever knowing.
Chapter 7
