LOGINA month before my wedding, I've discovered a series of suspicious transfers made by my fiancee, Irene Lambert. The recipient is none other than her first love, Blake Chandler—the man she has never truly forgotten. For seven years, she has sent him 50 thousand dollars every month without fail. When I place the bank statements before Irene and demand an explanation, she barely looks up from her work. "Blake injured his right hand saving me. The money is simply compensation for what happened. Don't worry, money's the only thing I'll ever give him," she says evenly. I refuse to let the matter go, but even my friends urge me to overlook it. "It's only 50 thousand dollars. With how wealthy Irene is, she'd consider a watch at that price too cheap to buy for you. As a man, you've got to be the bigger person," they argue. With our wedding only a month away and seven years of history between us, I finally give in. That is, until I discover that our housekeeper, Olivia Harper, prepares a child's meal every afternoon and delivers it to Irene's office. When I confront Olivia, she stares at me in confusion. "Isn't that your child, Mr. Sanford? He's already around five or six years old—and he calls Ms. Lambert 'Mommy'."
View MoreRaphael's POVIrene grabbed my hand like a drowning woman clutching at a lifeline."Raphael, there's something I have to tell you."Sensing something was wrong, I led her out of the police station."You evaded taxes?""Yes…"Her voice was barely a whisper as she hung her head and confessed.I found the whole thing absurd.It was true she'd made a great deal of money over the years. It was equally true she'd evaded a staggering amount in taxes.Apparently, even her fortune was just another piece of her selective narration."I've done the math. The shortfall is enormous…"Cold sweat beaded on Irene's forehead. "A conservative estimate puts it at nearly ten million dollars.""What?" I sucked in a sharp breath."Can you help me pay it back?"Her legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees. "Raphael, I'm your fiancee. We were together for seven years. Are you really going to stand there and watch me go to prison? My whole life, everything we spent all those years building, wil
Raphael's POVBlake was about to speak when Irene appeared out of nowhere.Fury radiated from every step she took as she marched up to him, grabbed his arm, and yanked him away."Get lost! Who told you to come here and provoke my fiance?" she barked.But Blake refused to leave. He looked ready to drop to his knees right in front of her."No… Irene, even if you don't care about me, you have to think about Lucas. We're the ones who are family!"Irene's patience snapped. "Who said we're family? What is wrong with you?"Off to the side, Lucas was sobbing his heart out. "Mommy, don't leave Daddy and me! I'll be good!""Don't call me 'Mommy'!" Irene roared. "Shed one more tear, and you can spend the rest of your life in an orphanage!"That pushed Blake over the edge."You can't do that, Irene! He's your child, your own flesh and blood! How can you abandon your own child for another man?"Irene slapped him hard across the face, not holding back an ounce of it."I give you 50 thous
Raphael's POVIrene was so worked up by my words that she nearly laughed."Is this your revenge? Selective narration, too?" she scoffed. "Well, I have to say, you're good at it."While she was still talking, I tore the contract to shreds right in front of her."Is this investment supposed to win me back? Too bad. I don't give a damn about your investment. There was a time when I needed money, but it's been seven years, Irene. You're not the only one who's made something of yourself."I could see the veins beneath her skin bulging with anger.She said nothing for a long while. Ignoring her, I picked up my bag and turned to leave.Irene grabbed my arm. "Don't go… I'm not here to fight with you. Just give me a little time. Can we talk?"I pulled free without so much as a glance at her. "Sorry, I don't have time. Instead of wasting it on me, you should be thinking about Blake and your son."I paused. "Irene, let's let each other go."She didn't chase after me.…On the drive ba
Raphael's POVSummers in Marbury were oppressively muggy.I liked living high up, so I'd deliberately chosen a place with a huge window that let the light pour in.Between renovating the new place and scouting a location for my studio, I barely had a moment to breathe. Every night, I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.Then, one night, I dreamed about the old days, back when Irene and I used to eat instant mac and cheese in our rented apartment.I woke with my shirt soaked in cold sweat. A wave of nausea rolled through me, forcing me out of bed to dig up some antacids. But once I lay back down, sleep never came.If everything had gone to plan, the next day would have been my wedding day.A few old friends had reached out asking me what time the ceremony started, and I gave them all the same short answer—the wedding was off. Irene and I were done.I left it at that, and I wasn't afraid of Irene hearing about it. After all, I'd told her long ago that I wasn't going thr












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