Esmerelda Sleuth: The Other Side of the Mirror (Book 1)

Watching the couple in the living room, I felt like all my senses had shut down.

Just last night, we had been so close it was like we were melting into one. But when I woke up, Connor Grayson suddenly had a fiancée?

It felt like I was in a nightmare.

I didn't even know how he'd called his father, Stephen Grayson, and my mother over, or how they'd discussed his wedding.

By the time they were done talking and Connor had seen them out, he came back and gently brushed his fingers across my cheek.

"Have you been crying?" he asked.

Only then did I realize my face was wet with tears. "Connor, you're getting married. You said–"

But before I could finish, Connor cut me off with a chuckle. "Marry the girl next door who's ten years younger than me? Baby, people would say I'm a creep. You might not care, but I still have my pride."

It felt like I had been plunged into an ice bath.

Connor and I had known each other for five years.

Back then, my father had just passed away, and I moved into my mother's house.

After divorcing my father when I was little, my mother, Amanda Johnson, had gone abroad. By the time she came back, I was no longer the little girl who could throw herself into her mother's arms and act cute.

Connor had been incredibly gentle. He had looked after me and comforted me through the fear and confusion of a broken family.

Even Amanda would forget my birthday, but Connor never did. No matter how busy he was, he'd rush over late at night with a cake in hand.

I slowly started falling for him. After I turned eighteen, one night when he'd had too much to drink, he accidentally let it slip that he had feelings for me too.

He kissed me first. I didn't push him away.

In our most intimate moment, he had made me a solemn promise. "Selena, I will marry you one day."

I shut my eyes and pushed Connor away. "I get it. I'll end this."

But his expression darkened, and he pinned me down.

"What nonsense are you saying? How could I ever let you go? Vanessa is understanding. She won't mind. Nothing will change between us. We've always been perfect for each other. You can't bear to leave me either, can you?"

At that moment, I understood what he meant. He wanted to keep me as a mistress in the shadows.

My hands were trembling as I pushed him away. "Connor, what do you take me for?"

He actually chuckled. "Selena, haven't you always wanted to build a family with me? Does it really matter whether it's out in the open or not?"

It was like someone had ripped all my dignity away.

Looking at Connor's casual expression, I suddenly felt like I never really knew him at all.

I fled.

Later, when I saw the list of eligible bachelors my mother sent me, I randomly picked one and texted her back.

I just wanted to live a normal life now.