lia

k to the present. She squeezed my arm, her eyes wide with starry-eyed admiration. "Cameron Vinson! He's ev

ne. A man like that, still unattached after all this time. Perhaps he'

ngle? I scoffed internally. He was single because it suited him, not because he was pining for some long-lost love

the flashing cameras, the screaming headlines. My algorithms, the intellectual property of my very soul, stolen and repackaged as his genius. All to secure a merger with Sen

l," I said, my voice flat, d

uance. "See? I knew you' d agree! Who knows, perhaps

a cruel joke orchestr

illed out in all the right places, a man sculpted by power and privilege. The boy I married, the one who

bet. You were quite the talk of Wall Street back then.

e and undo the last ten years of my living hell for

ale tasted like ash in my mouth. I wanted out, away from his g

s voice, deep and resonant, cut thr

ili

that sent ice through my veins. My muscles locked. I froze

d. I could feel their eyes on me, dissecting

s expensive shoes on the ma

in my faded existence, my reduced circumstances. I imagined the subtle disdain i

hind me. The air grew heavy,

w, a silken cord wrapping around me. The s

lue, but colder now, calculating. A flicker of something I couldn't quite decipher crossed them as he scanned my fac

oice clipped, devoid of an

ccharine voice chimed in, "Ca

r arm snaked around his, possessive and confident. Hailee Abbott. His fian

the time." Her grip on his arm tightened. "He feels so terrible about how things ended for you. He truly d

now. From your Wall Street days. Says he likes to remember the 'good times' before everything went... awry." She emphasized "awry" with

erest. Their eyes darted between Hailee's glamorous presence, Cameron's s

ed me a sleek, black business card. The weigh

r need anything. Anything at all. My resources are at your disposal." It wasn't an

my desk. Each one a tiny brick in the wall he built around me, trapping me in his narrative. Now, it was just a card, but the feeling

y face. My voice was calm, almost serene. "But I d

fiancée in the shimmering ballroom. I didn't look back. The card remained clenched