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Flames of Betrayal
Flames of Betrayal
Auteur: Jotinn

Chapter 1

Auteur: Jotinn
Simon Hoffman had asked me out to dinner.

He was still tied up in a meeting, so I got to our reserved private dining room ahead of him.

While I waited, I pulled out my phone to check on flights home, hitting the peak of the summer travel season. The earliest one I could get was ten days out.

My birthday was also in ten days.

That same day, Simon and Ella Johnson were throwing their engagement party.

Well, that was one celebration I was not going to crash.

The door swung open and in came Simon, catching me off guard. I quickly locked my phone screen.

The room was large, yet he made a beeline to sit right beside me, warmly grabbing my hand.

In a flash, it felt as if I had returned to the night our non-cohabiting relationship began nine years ago. That night, he snuck into my room, gently kissed my hand, and whispered promises of a love that would last a lifetime.

However, now there was a ring on his finger—a ring I knew all too well. Given who he was, Simon was meant to have just one matching set for life.

He could not wait to be tied down to Ella.

The ring's gleam under the restaurant lights was like a dagger to my eyes.

He must have caught my gaze because he chuckled awkwardly and slid the ring off.

"Sorry... I forgot to take it off."

I kept my expression neutral. "Why bother? It's yours, isn't it?"

He paused, looking stunned, but then his phone ringtone shattered the silence. He picked up, and his face twisted into a grimace.

"A fender bender?! Is everyone okay? If you say so, but what's the doctor's verdict? Hold on, I'm on my way."

He ended the call and turned to me, his distress written all over his face.

"Ella's car got hit from behind, and I've got to go see her. She's expecting and needs someone around. Go ahead and eat. I'll make it up to you with another date, okay?"

Suddenly, I was hit with a wave of indifference. I zipped up my bag and stood up.

"Something's come up. I've got to run."

Simon reached out to stop me and asked, "Are you upset? Lily Scott, come on, it's almost done!"

I did not respond. Instead, I just pulled away from his grip and headed for the door.

"Lily! Lily! Hold on!"

I took a deep breath and turned to look at him. "Simon, I'm really in a rush. I can't wait any longer."

'That's that, Simon.'

I hurried down the street, head held high, blinking back tears that no one could see.

'In ten days, Simon, we'll each go our own way,' I thought to myself.
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Jadon mary
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  • Flames of Betrayal   Chapter 11

    The news of Simon's arrival had Nicole and I exchanging glances, our faces dropping in unison.Like mother, like daughter, our expressions mirrored each other's discontent.I rose quietly, taking my time as I changed into a fresh set of clothes.Simon tracking me down was not a shock, but his timing was inconveniently premature. I was not ready to face him.I inhaled deeply and swung the door open.Before I could even find the right words, the neighborhood gossip reached my ears."That's the guy from the internet, Mr. Hoffman!""Yeah, I heard he ditched his girlfriend of nine years for someone new, and now, he's backing out of the wedding.""What a soap opera!"I was not the only one listening. Simon's face turned a shade of stormy gray.He lashed out at the onlookers, "What are you blabbering about? Who are you to judge me?"The onlookers did not take kindly to his outburst, their voices rising in protest."Hey, watch your tone, buddy!""For your information, you're not i

  • Flames of Betrayal   Chapter 10

    Landing from the flight, I was suddenly gripped by indecision.When my parents first learned I was seeing Simon, they were dead set against it.The Hoffmans, with their grand family name, would never accept my family's tradition of non-cohabiting partnerships.It was a tradition we had honored for years on end.Love was not something that could be chained down with a marriage license—just like my parents' relationship.Without any piece of paper, they have loved each other their whole lives.However, caught up in my own fervor back then, they still opened their home to Simon with open arms and let me go.My family's home was by the sea, with a beach that had always been part of my journey home.Nicole and I strolled along the sand when we bumped into my old elementary school teacher.His hair had gone mostly white, but he was beaming, welcoming me back with a warm smile.'Yes, this is definitely home. This wonderful place, this wonderful city. Why on earth did I let Simon tal

  • Flames of Betrayal   Chapter 9

    Simon cleared his throat, playing out the reunion with me in his head.I would be in tears, rushing into his embrace, while he would put on a stern face and scold me.He would say, "No more fits, okay? Can't we just talk things out?"He would listen to my heartfelt apology and forgive me with a tender kiss.However, when Simon swung the door open, it was not his beloved he found—it was Ella.His expression turned to stone.Oblivious to his mood, Ella cozied up and latched onto his arm as she cooed, "I knew you'd see sense, Simon. You can't just flip-flop on something as big as marriage."Her face lit up with excitement as she tugged him inside."See, I tossed out all of that girl's junk. There's not a thing left. She had it coming, treating you like that. She deserves to be left with nothing."Simon's anger erupted, and he shook off her grip."How dare you?!"He bolted to our bedroom, burst through the door, and found it wiped clean of my existence.Even the half-used bottl

  • Flames of Betrayal   Chapter 8

    In the end, Simon came back empty-handed.The Hoffman family might be loaded and influential, but they could not get an airline to round up passengers from a landed flight and fly them back.Back in his office, Simon flopped down and pulled up our old chat history, scrolling through every message with meticulous care.There were the days he would laugh at Nicole's quirky antics, and the sunsets I would snap from our living room's panoramic windows.He scrolled, lost in the memories, a smile creeping onto his face.However, ever since Ella came into the picture, our conversations had turned stale.No more playful banter from me, and his responses whittled down to 'Hmm' and 'Okay'.The last message was my goodbye.Just before that, Nicole's birthday was something he had forgotten in the whirlwind of his work until I brought it up.However, with Ella's situation hanging by a thread, he had to promise to make it up later.He had given his word, after all.'Could Lily not show a

  • Flames of Betrayal   Chapter 7

    [Simon, this is goodbye.]I dropped my phone and chuckled bitterly.The start with Simon was a fairytale, but the ending was a hot mess.Perhaps folks like us, with our different worlds, were never meant to be. It was time to get my life back on track.Simon did not text me back. He probably figured that I was just upset.It was better that way—less drama to deal with.I shut my eyes, letting sleep pull me under.By the time Simon read that text the next day, Nicole and I would be airborne.Meanwhile, Simon snapped awake to my message, froze, then booted the coffee table across the room.He dialed his driver frantically and yelled, "Get over here, now! Airport, stat!"The driver hesitated as he replied, "Mr. Hoffman, aren't you supposed to be with Mrs. Hoffman at the doctor's—"Simon interrupted, "Ella isn't Mrs. Hoffman. Lily is Mrs. Hoffman! Don't you get it? Airport, now!" Simon was restless the whole drive, punching numbers into his phone only to be met with dead lines

  • Flames of Betrayal   Chapter 6

    A hush fell over the crowd, everyone too shocked to speak.To them, the woman who had dared to strike at the untouchable Simon was practically signing her own death warrant.Simon, clutching his bleeding forehead, kept his lips sealed tight.Ella lost it. She held her belly, her eyes wild, and forgetting all decorum, she flailed her arms and screamed, "How dare you hit Simon?! Get her, now!"Her bodyguards swarmed me, a flurry of fists and boots coming at me from all sides.I fought back with all my might, but against those muscular men, I was overwhelmed and forced to the ground. I curled up, doing my best to shield myself.Nicole let out a piercing scream and threw herself over me, her small body trying to fend off the blows meant for me.I called out to her weakly, unable to push her away. Desperate, I managed to roll over, pulling Nicole underneath me to protect her.I barely cracked my eyes open, squinting at Simon a short distance away.His lips quivered, but no words ca

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