Fitzpatr

y with unshed tears and the crushing weight of Kade' s betrayal. It was Ava, my best

Or just look at my screen

showed a dazzling red carpet event. Camera flashes popped li

dress glittered. His suit was perfectly tailored. They looked like the

ack, a genuine, unrestrained laugh spilling from his lips. Then he bent dow

not from tears this time, but from a sudden, seari

m, my fingers brushing his chest, seeking closeness. He had subtly, gently, moved away. He' d kissed my forehead, a chaste, almost paternal gesture. He had murmur

y touch, every cautious gesture – a calculated performance. He didn'

se to intimacy with me. It was a cruel, humiliating truth that twisted my gut. My body felt like

e "placeholder." It all clicked into place with horrifying clarity. Kade Dalton, the ambitious heir, was a master manipulat

in my own room. Kade and Jodi kissed again, a slow, sensual performance for the cameras. He ran his hand t

' d see it. This wasn't just a strategic merger; it was a publi

ll of frantic concern. "I swear to God, I'm going to fly o

A terrible, guttural sob rippe

ter you gave him everything? Don't care that he used you like

searing, washed over me. It wasn't just that he had used me; it was that he had so utterly devalued me. My intellect, my

oments of triumph. It was the same smile he used to give me when we' d crack a difficult line of code, or when our app

le, once my beacon, now looked li

voice barely a whisper. "I c

r voice softening. "I shouldn't have s

my head violently. "I jus

le, Jodi's possessive gaze, the flashing cameras-all burned into my mind.