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Chapter 3

Author: Pansy Wilde
I stared at Jules, unable to believe what I was seeing. After our parents died, my sister was the only family I had left, and Jules knew exactly how much she meant to me.

"Get up there. Officiate the wedding."

She looped her arm through Nicolas's and smiled at me. My fingers dug into the photograph, my nails cutting into my palm.

"I, Max McGraw, am honored to pronounce Ms. Jules McKenna and Mr. Nicolas Bernstein husband and wife..."

I don't remember how I made it out of the church. All I know is that the press had a field day at my expense.

[THE KINGPIN TURNS SOFT? BROTHERS-TURNED-RIVALS IN LOVE, AND HE'S WORSE OFF THAN A KILLER]

Jules had paid an army of trolls to stir up the narrative online.

[Jules faked her own death just to get away from him. Max's level of obsession would scare any woman off.]

[If I were her, I'd have run a long time ago.]

[What does he even do besides hurt people? The one who was never loved is the real third wheel here.]

I stayed awake all night.

The next day, I went back to the mansion and found all my belongings dumped outside, soaked through from a full night of rain.

"Sorry, Max. This is all just trash to me now. I don't want any of it."

The door opened, and Nicolas leaned against the frame, watching me.

"Why are you here?"

I tried to look past him into the house, but Jules stepped into my path.

"You signed this house over to me years ago. It's about time it went back to its rightful owner."

I blinked, not believing what I'd heard.

"But this was my wedding gift to you."

Jules cut me off, impatient.

"What wedding gift? My husband lives here now. I've decided to sign this house over to Nicolas, so get your junk out of here!"

She shoved me. I stumbled and caught myself against one of my own boxes. When I looked up, I saw the pocket watch my mother had left me hanging from Nicolas's breast pocket.

My lips trembled with fury.

"Give that back! You have no right to touch anything of my mother's!"

I lunged toward him. Before I even touched him, Nicolas lurched backward and tumbled down the stairs.

"Nicolas!"

Jules's face went pale. The second she saw the blood pooling beneath him, she screamed at the guards.

"Get a doctor! Someone call an ambulance!"

…

Inside the hospital room, the doctor shook his head helplessly.

"Jules, Nicolas's thigh has been shattered in multiple places, and... his fertility has been affected. He may never be able to father a child."

Nicolas collapsed against Jules, sobbing so hard he could barely breathe.

"Jules, what am I going to do?!"

Jules turned on me, her face twisted, while I knelt on the floor against my will.

"Max, you came here on purpose today, didn't you? You wanted to hurt Nicolas!"

Her palm cracked across my cheek, hard enough that it swelled instantly. Jules looked like she wanted to tear me apart with her bare hands.

"Just looking at your face makes me sick! If you didn't have the harbor in your pocket, you really think I'd have ever looked twice at you?"

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  • Betrayal at the Pier   Chapter 8

    I'd come back in from the water and was waving to my sister, Tiffany McGraw, on the shore."Tiffany, come give me a hand!"Six months earlier, I'd caught something wrong a minute before the boat exploded and gotten my sister off it just in time. The blast had knocked us both unconscious. When we woke up, we'd already been pulled out of the water by fishermen from the eastern islands.Tiffany came bounding over, grinning so hard it looked like her face might split, staring down at a hold full of fish."We're rich, we're rich! You did great, Max!"We stayed on the little island and became fishermen ourselves. Life turned out happier than either of us had imagined.We were getting ready to head to the docks one morning when the village head sent out a message in the group chat."A big buyer's here to take everyone's catch today. Everyone get down to the docks!"The moment I reached the docks and saw a familiar figure, my whole face fell."Max!"Jules walked toward me. She'd gott

  • Betrayal at the Pier   Chapter 7

    "Jules, what... what's wrong?"Nicolas clawed at her hand, his lips turning blue from lack of air. Jules threw him down onto the couch and grabbed a fistful of his hair."You actually hired someone to kill Max? Nicolas, you have some nerve!"Nicolas went limp against the cushions, his eyes wide with panic."I didn't! Jules, don't listen to whatever he told you! Someone paid him to frame me!""Frame you?"Jules drove her heel into the couch beside his head."Who framed you? Are you going to tell me it was Max?"Nicolas shook all over, terrified."I, I really didn't do it. Jules, you have to believe me!"He threw his arms around her leg, sobbing."Why would I ever do something like that? Max was my best friend. Believe me.""And you're still lying to my face."Jules's patience ran out completely. She pulled the recording of the captain's confession out of her pocket. Nicolas's face went white as paper. He shook, unable to force out a single word.Jules's eyes burned red

  • Betrayal at the Pier   Chapter 6

    That night, Jules dreamed of Max. She dreamed of him at seventeen, tearing into the McKenna estate to save her, breaking through a window to get her to her finals on time. She dreamed of him at twenty-one, on a camping trip that got hit by a flash flood, handing her the last cracker in his pack. She dreamed of him at twenty-seven, on the third day after she'd faked her death, when he'd tried to hang himself and been saved only by chance.When she woke, her pillow was soaked through with tears. His face in the dream had been unbearably clear."Jules, what's wrong?"Nicolas blinked awake, groggy, and pulled her close on instinct. This time, Jules didn't hug him back the way she usually did. She quietly slid her arm free instead."Go back to sleep. I'm going to have a cigarette."Out on the balcony, Jules held an unlit cigarette between her lips for a long time. She remembered that Max had never liked smoking. She'd always had the habit herself, but once they were together, s

  • Betrayal at the Pier   Chapter 5

    "What?"Jules shot up off the couch and switched the call to speaker."It's true. Check the news; it's being reported right now!"We've sent people out to search, but the officials are saying the explosives used were so powerful that there's a real chance... there won't be a body to recover."The assistant's voice cut off as the call ended. Jules's vision went black. Her legs gave out, and she dropped back onto the couch."That's not possible. I had the boat inspected myself."Nicolas rushed to steady her, a flicker of satisfaction crossing his eyes."Don't panic, Jules. Max has always been lucky. Nothing's going to happen to him."An inexplicable panic rose in Jules's chest."That much explosive, out in the middle of the ocean? The odds of surviving that are next to nothing!"Nicolas hesitated before speaking."This couldn't be one of Max's schemes, could it? You know how unhinged he gets. He might be faking his death just to win our sympathy."Jules paused to consider it.

  • Betrayal at the Pier   Chapter 4

    Jules stared at me like I was a piece of garbage."I didn't push him," I said.Nicolas's crying only got louder."Max, are you saying I'd cripple myself on purpose?""It's not impossible," I replied.Jules's fury boiled over. She kicked me so hard I flew backward. My forehead slammed into the coffee table, and blood poured down my face.She froze for a moment, her chest heaving."Have you even noticed? You're the one who's always pushed me away. Every time I asked you out, you said you were busy with work. Every time I planned a trip, you said you had a business trip. You never once put me first. Everything that's happened to you today, you brought on yourself."She grabbed my collar in a death grip."I'll give you one last chance. Apologize to Nicolas publicly. Tell all of Hallahan City that you forced yourself between us and destroyed what he and I had. Do that, and I'll let your sister go."Every part of my body was in pain, but none of it compared to what she'd just asked

  • Betrayal at the Pier   Chapter 3

    I stared at Jules, unable to believe what I was seeing. After our parents died, my sister was the only family I had left, and Jules knew exactly how much she meant to me."Get up there. Officiate the wedding."She looped her arm through Nicolas's and smiled at me. My fingers dug into the photograph, my nails cutting into my palm."I, Max McGraw, am honored to pronounce Ms. Jules McKenna and Mr. Nicolas Bernstein husband and wife..."I don't remember how I made it out of the church. All I know is that the press had a field day at my expense.[THE KINGPIN TURNS SOFT? BROTHERS-TURNED-RIVALS IN LOVE, AND HE'S WORSE OFF THAN A KILLER]Jules had paid an army of trolls to stir up the narrative online.[Jules faked her own death just to get away from him. Max's level of obsession would scare any woman off.][If I were her, I'd have run a long time ago.][What does he even do besides hurt people? The one who was never loved is the real third wheel here.]I stayed awake all night.The

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