Chapter 002. My Cheating Fiancé

My head snapped to the side, and a sharp, burning pain spread across my cheek. For a moment, I couldn't move. I could only stare at the floor, one hand rising instinctively to cover the place he'd struck.

"Have you lost your mind?" Finn snarled. "I've told you countless times to stay away from my brother. How many times do I have to repeat myself before you understand? Or are you genuinely stupid?"

My eyes filled with tears. "Finn, I didn't invite him. He came to give me a birthday present."

"And you were standing here laughing with him."

"I wasn't—"

"Don't argue with me, Daphne."

I swallowed the rest of my sentence, my cheek throbbing.

Finn paced away, dragging a hand through his hair. "You know what your problem is?" he said. "You never listen. You keep pushing me until I lose my temper, and then you act surprised when I react."

I stared at him, struggling to recognize the man in front of me.

"I don't like hitting you, Daphne. But you make it difficult when you refuse to listen."

For a moment, I wanted to tell him that I hadn't done anything wrong. That Killian had come on his own, that I had only been talking to him, that none of it justified hitting me.

But I knew where that conversation would lead. He'd get angrier, he'd hit me again, and eventually we'd both say things we'd regret. I didn't want my birthday to end like that. I didn't want our engagement to begin with another fight.

So I whispered. "I'm sorry,"

Finn looked at me for a long moment before his expression softened. He opened his arms, and I stepped into them, pressing my forehead against his chest.

"Please don't be mad at me," I murmured. "I just want us to enjoy tonight."

His hand moved over my hair. "All right, baby. But don't let this happen again. I don't want to be pushed into doing something I'll regret."

I nodded against him.

And that was it. We were fine.

Finn had a temper, but he also had a good heart. He could be demanding, and sometimes he said things he didn't mean. Relationships weren't perfect. People made mistakes. Love required patience, understanding, and the willingness to work through difficult moments.

Maybe if I loved him enough, understood him enough, and learned how to avoid the things that upset him, we'd eventually find the kind of happiness I'd always imagined.

Killian's words returned to me, uninvited: 'I know your idea of love is adjusting your entire personality just so you don't inconvenience him.'

I shut my eyes.

Shut up, Killian. You know nothing.

He didn't know Finn the way I did. Killian collected people's worst moments and treated them as proof of who they were. He'd always done that.

I told myself Killian was wrong. He was always a bitter, arrogant ghost who liked to ruin my good moods. Finn loved me. We were going to be happy.

I almost laughed at how ridiculous the whole thing was. A taser? Seriously?

I didn't know it then, but in a few hours, I would really use the taser on Finn.

                             •••

We didn't stay at the hotel for the main party.

Finn insisted on a "boys' night" in the penthouse suite while I was dispatched to Vanguard—a club downtown Chicago—with my bestfriend, Sienna and other friends.

By midnight, I was three tequila shots deep, standing on a stage with my heels off. "I'M GETTING MARRIED!" I yelled over the music.

"WE KNOW!" Sienna screamed back, laughing.

Soon a server approached the stage and held up a small gift box. "Miss Rhodes? Someone dropped this at the front for you."

I blinked. "For me?"

The server nodded before disappearing back into the crowd.

My grin returned instantly.

"Oh my God!" Sienna squealed. "Another gift?"

"Apparently."

I took the box, laughing as I shook it lightly beside my ear. "Maybe it's jewelry."

"Open it!"

I hopped off the stage and placed the box on a nearby table as I lifted the lid,expecting a sweet handwritten note, a spa voucher, or maybe room keys to a surprise getaway.

Instead, they were stack of photographs.

I blinked, looking at the top photo. The grin on my face froze so fast it felt like my skin was cracking.

It was Finn. Bare-chested, tangled in white sheets. Face pressed into the ear of a blonde woman whose face was turned away from the camera.

My heart did a violent, sickening flip. "What... what is this?"

"Daph, what is that?" Sienna asked, her voice instantly dropping its drunk, bubbly tone.

I fumbled through the stack, my fingers trembling so badly I almost dropped them.

Photo two: Finn's hand tangled in her hair.

Photo three: The woman straddling him.

Photo four: A clear shot of the nightstand. Next to an open whiskey bottle sat Finn's navy polo—the exact shirt he wore when he kissed me goodbye two hours ago.

It wasn't an old mistake. It was happening right now.

"Daphne? Hey, look at me, what's in those pictures?" Sienna reached for them, but I pulled back, shoving the photos into my clutch alongside Killian's taser.

"I need to go," I whispered.

"Daphne, wait! You're drunk, you can't—"

I didn't hear the rest.I shoved my feet back into my heels and tore through the crowd.

There was something about shock. It makes you swim through actions without having to feel yourself doing it.

One moment, I was in the club, and the next I was in the backseat of a cab. "The Grand Hyatt," I choked out to the driver. "Penthouse suite. Drive fast."

There has to be a logical explanation, I bargained desperately with myself. It's photoshop. A setup. He wouldn't do this after six years.

The cab screeched to a halt outside the hotel. I threw cash at the driver and sprinted inside.

When the elevator hit the 12th floor, I stepped out, swiped my keycard, and pushed open the suite door. The air reeked of scotch, cigars, and pizza. Half a dozen of Finn's executive friends were passed out across the sofas and carpet, completely dead to the world.

Empty bottles littered the marble coffee table and floor. Nobody moved. Nobody even noticed me.

I stepped over a stray dress shoe, my eyes locked on the bedroom door at the end of the hall. I walked toward it, placed my hand on the wood and pushed the door open.

My whole world stopped.

Finn was on the king-sized bed, his shirt completely unbuttoned. Resting her head on his bare chest was a woman with blonde hair, wearing nothing but a white hotel bathrobe.

Vanessa.

His "indispensable" senior executive assistant. Vanessa looked up first. Her eyes went wide, and she let out a small, terrified gasp, pulling the robe tighter around her neck.

Finn blinked lazily, his drunken eyes shifting toward the doorway.

For a fraction of a second, I waited for the panic. I waited for him to jump up, scramble for an excuse, or look even remotely ashamed.

Instead, Finn just sighed. A long, weary, disappointed sigh. "Daphne," he said, his voice terrifyingly smooth, entirely unbothered. "You're back early."

The sheer audacity of it hit me like a physical slap. My voice stuck in my throat, raspy and raw. "Finn... what the hell is this?"

"Vanessa, give us a minute," Finn murmured, gently patting her shoulder.

Vanessa didn't need to be told twice. She scrambled off the bed, grabbed her heels from the floor, and bolted past me into the adjoining bathroom, clicking the lock shut behind her.

Finn slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed. He didn't rush to button his shirt. He didn't even look guilty. He just ran a hand through his styled hair, looking at me with that gentle expression.

"I know how this looks, babe," Finn began softly, standing up and taking a slow, deliberate step toward me. "And I'm sorry you had to find out like this. Truly. I was actually planning on sitting you down tomorrow to explain everything, but you caught me off guard."

I stared at him, my mouth slightly open. "Explain... everything? You're sleeping with your secretary on our engagement night!"

"I'm not sleeping with her, Daphne. Don't be vulgar," he corrected, his tone infuriatingly calm. He took another step forward, holding his hands out in a pose of open, honest innocence. "It's an arrangement. A long-term, carefully thought-out plan."

My brain short-circuited. "A... what?"

"A plan for us," Finn said, his dimples faintly appearing as he gave me that warm, reassuring smile. "Listen to me, Daph. You know how much I love you."

"Are you insane?" I choked out, taking a step back. "You're in a bed with another woman!"

"Because I care about your future!" Finn insisted, his voice rising with a frightening blend of conviction and warmth. "Daphne, think about it. I've been reading the medical reports lately. Do you have any idea how dangerous pregnancy is? The physical toll? The excruciating pain of childbirth? Women die in delivery rooms every single day, Daph. I love you too much to ever put your body through that kind of trauma."

The twisted logic spinning out of his mouth was so absurd I felt like I was hallucinating.

"Not to mention," Finn continued casually, stepping closer, "your career as an accountant is just taking off. If you get pregnant, you lose nine months of productivity. You gain weight, your hormones get ruined, your body changes... Why would I subject the woman I love to that when there's an easier way?"

"So... so your solution..." my voice trailed off, my hands shaking uncontrollably as I tried to process the madness.

"My solution was simple," Finn beamed, looking genuinely proud of himself, like a man presenting a brilliant proposal. "I approached Vanessa with a proposal. She bears the child using my sperm. You don't have to ruin your body, you don't have to feel an ounce of pain, and in nine months, we get a baby to raise together as our own. That was what I was doing earlier before you walked in. For her to bear a baby for me and you."