Chapter 1

Opting out of the comfort of taking the wheel, Tabitha Bray headed home on foot instead.

Horrified to see Tabitha covered in biting frost, the maid ushered her inside to get some warmth and scrambled to get her a hot drink.

“Why didn’t you wear something warmer, Miss Bray? Mr. Loader is going to be upset if you catch a cold.”

Tabitha appeared numb to the world. Without a word, she turned on her heel and retreated to her room.

The moment the door was shut, Tabitha clutched her chest and sank to the floor.

She had never once doubted Christian Loader’s love for her.

All it took was a hint of interest from Tabitha for Christian to take the next flight out to South America, just to oversee the creation of a bespoke diamond bracelet.

Christian was the kind of man who would flip a table and throw away a multimillion-dollar deal if anybody pressured her to drink.

The same CEO, hardened by the cutthroat turbulence of the business world, set his pride aside to propose to Tabitha, his hands shaking with nerves.

Once Tabitha accepted the marriage proposal, the elites of Port Haven buzzed in anticipation of the wedding of the century happening a month later.

Only Tabitha knew that it was over. Christian cheated on her.

She had planned to sit down and talk things through with Christian. However, she didn’t expect the bombshell she had overheard.

Crashing a wedding? What did Christian take her for?

Did her family’s reputation mean nothing to Christian?

Tabitha ran her fingers along her engagement ring while closing her eyes.

She wondered how Christian had planned for Kelsey Cook to crash a wedding that would never take place.

Tabitha’s focus was to ditch Christian at the altar before he could have the chance to pull his stunt.

The wedding, set to take place a month later, would be the day she would disappear from Christian’s life.

Tabitha’s parting gift to Christian would be one he would never forget.

…

Christian arrived home late at night. Without time to take off his coat, he scrambled to hold Tabitha and apologize.

“I’m sorry, Tabitha. I got tied up in a meeting with a client and lost track of time.”

He caught a glimpse of the untouched food on the table. “Why haven’t you had dinner? Did you lose your appetite?”

Tabitha simply shook her head and distanced herself from him discreetly.

The sickly sweet stench on Christian made her head spin with nausea.

Oblivious to her odd behavior, Christian grinned helplessly. He pulled up a chair to sit next to her and served her some food.

“Things are hectic at the office lately, so I might not make it back for dinner. Don’t starve yourself while I’m not around.”

With downcast eyes, Tabitha spotted a smudge of red running down his shirt collar.

She had to stop herself from gagging as her stomach churned.

There was a time Christian would sulk whenever she would miss a meal with him.

On one serious occasion, Christian even shed tears of frustration.

He once claimed that life was too short to miss out on even one dinner with her.

Ironically, Christian was the one who had neglected his promise.

Staring at the food on her plate, Tabitha smiled wryly.

She pondered the moment when Christian had begun to change.

It was probably around the time of their engagement two months ago.

That day, Christian’s mind was elsewhere.

It was supposed to be a day to remember. However, Christian was glued to his phone, completely distracted when she spoke to him several times.

At one point, Christian walked out on Tabitha after a phone call, leaving her to face both their parents on her own.

Later, Tabitha found out that the day of their engagement happened to be the day Kelsey flew back.

Kelsey was the woman who stirred up all kinds of emotions within Christian, be it love or hatred.

Four years earlier, Kelsey had Christian completely under her spell, persuading him to pour almost all his assets into a venture she had pitched.

Nevertheless, Kelsey simply took the money and vanished abroad without a trace.

Unable to locate Kelsey, the investors turned their sights on the Loaders, demanding their money back.

Those were Christian’s darkest days. Crushed by financial ruin and the weight of his parents’ and partners’ expectations, he reached the point where suicide seemed like the only escape.

Just as Christian stood on the edge of the bridge, ready to jump, it was Tabitha who risked her life to pull him back from the brink.

Tabitha even stepped in to inject funds into his failing company.

She worked tirelessly alongside Christian to save the business, building it into the powerhouse it was today.

Since then, Christian moved on and poured all his devotion into Tabitha instead.

It took Christian a year to win Tabitha over and another three years before she said yes to his proposal.

However, all that changed when Kelsey slipped back into his life.

Now, Christian was even entertaining the idea of letting Kelsey swoop in and steal him away at the wedding.

With that in mind, Tabitha said indifferently, “I’m fine. I’m not hungry, and I don’t eat shrimp.”

Christian was taken aback, especially when his gaze met Tabitha’s emotionless eyes.

It hit him that Tabitha was never one to touch shellfish. Even a single bite would make her sick.

Feeling bad, Christian summoned the sleeping maid with his loud voice.

“Didn’t I give strict orders not to serve shellfish in this house? I expect a certain level of competency.”

Snapping out of her drowsy daze, the maid explained, “Mr. Loader, didn’t you have the shellfish delivered to the house? The instructions were to serve the food fresh, so I—”

Christian shot her a look. “Why the heck would I send shellfish to the house?”