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Chapter 1 

Tessa Ford 

~•~ 

“Where are you, Grayson? It’s almost eight and she has been waiting for you since five. Can you please pick up the damn phone?” I said through gritted teeth. 

The automated voice followed right after. 

“Your message has been recorded.” 

I hung up with a sharp exhale, tossing the phone on the couch. I couldn’t believe Grayson, it was our daughter’s birthday and he wanted to disappoint her. 

Grayson had been acting really weird for the past few weeks. At first, I thought it was just a phase because he was stressed with work. 

But I knew it was more than that when he started shutting me out, barely speaking to me, coming home late, and treating me like we were just strangers living under the same roof. 

I tried to be patient with him, I tried to talk to him, but he refused to open up about what was happening. 

Instead, he continued acting cold and distant. 

I just couldn’t believe that he would extend his harsh treatment to his daughter. 

“Mommy.” Raven’s soft voice dragged me out of my thoughts. “Where is Daddy? The day is already getting dark and we are meant to go out for my birthday dinner.” 

I lifted my head slowly and looked at her. 

Raven stood there in her pink dress decorated with tiny ribbons, the one she had chosen because her Daddy got it for her during his last trip. 

The two loose strands of her soft curls framed her face, and her hazel eyes shone with hope.  

How could I tell her that her father wasn’t picking up the phone? He couldn’t even use work as an excuse because I reached out to his office and they said he had already clocked out for the day. 

I let out a hollow sigh. “Come here, baby.” I gestured as I opened my arms widely. “I don’t think Daddy is going to make it for your dinner, so we can just go alone.” 

Raven stopped in her tracks and her eyes glistened with tears immediately. “No! I want my Daddy!” 

With that, she turned sharply and stormed over to her room. 

My heart ached as I watched her leave. 

I hated that she had to go through something like that. And the worst part was that I had no idea why Grayson was acting that way. 

Why wouldn’t he talk to me anymore? 

We used to be the perfect couple, how did things change so quickly? I leaned my back against the couch, running a hand through my hair in frustration. 

A few seconds later, my phone buzzed. 

I jerked up immediately and reached out for the phone, hoping it was Grayson who was finally calling me back. 

But I let out a disappointed sigh when I saw my sister’s name flashing across the phone. It wasn’t like I wasn’t happy to hear from her, but I really hoped it was Grayson. 

I swallowed hard, ignoring the lump that had formed in my throat. 

“Sabine, hey.” My voice was barely above a whisper. 

“Tessa, what’s going on? Is everything okay?” 

“Grayson, he didn’t show up for Raven’s birthday dinner,” I muttered under my breath. “You needed to see how she reacted when I told her he couldn’t make it.” 

Sabine was silent for a moment. 

Then she cleared her throat and continued. “Is he still acting cold towards you?” She asked, her voice sympathetic. 

I nodded. “Yes…and he still hasn’t told me what the issue is. He leaves the house really early and comes back really late.” 

The thought about everything made my chest tighten. Even though I had been acting like I had everything under control, I was losing my mind deep down. 

Grayson and I had been married for over three years and something like this had never happened before. 

He was always sweet and kind. And we always tried our best to make sure we settled any of our differences before going to bed. 

But whatever was happening right now had been going on for weeks. It wasn’t a joke anymore, my marriage was crumbling right before my eyes and I couldn’t do anything about it. 

Sabine let out a wistful sigh. “But what do you think the issue is? Do you think he is seeing someone else?” 

The signs were glaring, but I just didn’t want to believe that he was behaving that way because of another woman. 

And I hadn’t seen any evidence, so I still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Plus, I didn’t think he would totally abandon his daughter just because of another woman. 

Grayson always treated Raven like a princess and made sure she was always happy. At some point, I was even worried that he was spoiling her too much. 

“Tessa, are you still there?” Sabine asked, her voice laced with concern. 

I rolled my eyes. I had no idea when I even zoned out of the conversation. “Yeah…” I replied, pushing my hair backwards. “I don’t know if he’s seeing someone else, Sabine.” 

“You have to talk to him. You can’t continue living like this.” She continued, her voice solemn. “And you have to figure out if there’s another woman in the picture.” 

I sighed. “I’m scared…I don’t want what happened last time to repeat itself.” I admitted, my voice low. 

Without hesitation, Sabine responded. “You have a daughter this time around and you have to think about her.” She said, her voice quieter. “And you have to call him again, he needs to attend the birthday dinner.” 

“Sure,” I murmured, my voice tired. 

After the call ended, I dialed Grayson’s number for the umpteenth time. As usual, it went straight to voicemail. 

It took everything in me to hold myself back from smashing the phone against the wall. I took multiple deep breaths to calm myself down before sending a text. 

[ Grayson, call me back immediately. I can’t let you break my daughter’s heart like this.] 

Just as I was about to drop the phone, my eyes drifted to the television. I hadn’t been paying attention to it because I was busy worrying about my daughter and marriage. 

The volume was muted, but the bold headline running across the bottom of the news channel made my stomach churn. 

“Billionaire CEO, Grayson Grant Spotted with Vanessa Harlow at Monarch Hotel.” 

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.