3

The night air clung to Delilah like fog, cool against her skin as she walked the quiet street alone, the distant hum of traffic blending with the thoughts spinning in her head.

She kept seeing his face.

Chase.

His cold stare. His silence. The way he didn’t flinch when she stood just across from him, like she was a stranger, like she meant nothing.

He’d never looked at her that way before.

Never once.

He used to smile just by hearing her name. Used to brush her hair out of her face like she was the most delicate thing in the world. He used to whisper that she was safe with him.

Tonight?

He looked through her.

Like she didn’t exist.

She wrapped her coat tighter around herself and bit her lip to keep from crying.

Maybe it was time to truly let go.

He belonged to someone else now. He had a future. A ring on his finger. And she… she had no plan. No dream. No direction.

Maybe she could join her father at the company. Not because she wanted to... she didn’t. But because she needed something. She had never really been interested in anything. Never really cared about much.

Until Chase.

He’d pulled her out of her shell once.

Now, she was back in it cracked, fragile, and colder than ever.

 When she reached a quiet alley off the main road, she stopped. Her breath caught in her throat. And then she broke.

She fell to her knees, her body trembling as loud sobs tore from her chest. Tears streamed down her face without shame, her hands clutching her coat tightly. A few people passing by slowed, eyes curious, but she didn't care. Let them look. Let them wonder. She had loved him once… and now he was someone else's.

When she reached her house, she paused.

Three unfamiliar men in suits were walking out the front door, briefcases in hand and stiff expressions on their faces. They nodded politely as they passed her.

Confused, she hurried inside.

“Dad?” she called. “Mom?”

Her father was at the dining table, head in his hands. Her mother stood nearby, arms folded tight around her chest. The air felt heavy, suffocating.

“Mom, what’s going on?” she asked.

Her mother turned slowly, eyes tired, face drawn.

“The company… we lost it,” she said quietly. “Your father’s business is bankrupt, Deli. Everything is gone. We’ve already sold three of the properties. The house will be next.”

Delilah stood frozen.

“What… how?” she whispered.

“Please, go to your room,” her mother said gently as more men in suits came through the door, this time heading toward her father with contracts and files.

Kaela backed away slowly. Everything was falling apart.

★

At the Montgomery estate, Chase stepped out of the car, loosening the first two buttons of his shirt. The night had drained him... not because of the crowd, or the drinks, or Vanessa. But because of her.

She’d returned, looked him in the eye, and walked away like he was just another page she flipped past.

“Chase,” Vanessa’s voice snapped behind him as she climbed out of the car in her red heels. “Are you seriously sending me home again? You haven’t even let me into your house since we got engaged!”

Chase didn’t stop walking.

“Lewis,” he called coldly to his driver, “take her home.”

“Chase!” Vanessa barked. “I’m your fiancée!”

He ignored her, walking into the penthouse building without looking back. The heavy glass door clicked shut behind him, shutting her out...just as he had done since the day she slipped the ring on her finger.

Inside the luxury of his penthouse, silence greeted him.

Chase loosened his tie and walked to the marble kitchen counter. He made himself a coffee, black, no sugar...then his phone buzzed.

He picked up.

“Sir, it’s about the Hart family,” his PA said.

A silence.

Then Chase's lips curled into a devilish smile.

“Leave the rest to me,” he said darkly. “I’ll take it from here.”

He ended the call.

He sank onto the leather couch, ran a hand through his hair, and stared blankly at the floor.

★

“I’ve called everyone who could possibly help us,” Mr. Hart said to his wife as they sat in silence in the living room.

“But surprisingly, no one’s willing to step in.”

Elena nodded, fighting back tears. “Since we already lost everything, we must at least keep this house for Deli’s sake. I don’t want my poor girl to suffer any more than she already has.”

“She’s been through enough,” she whispered.

Just then, Peter’s phone rang again. He leapt to answer it.

“Hello?” he said.

The call was brief. A few seconds, and it ended.

He stared at the phone, stunned.

Elena approached slowly. “Peter? What is it? Another buyer?”

“It’s Chase Monroe,” he said in disbelief.

Elena’s face tightened. “Chase?”

“He wants to help the company.”

“But after what happened… why would he?”

Peter shook his head. “I don’t know. He said he’ll be here tomorrow. Don’t tell Delilah.”

★

It was happening too fast. Like a dream she couldn’t wake up from.

One moment, her family was drowning in debt. The next, she was here looking like a bride. 

Kaela stood in front of the mirror, wearing the bridal gown the boutique owner had called “custom-crafted royalty.” The dress shimmered under the golden lights, diamonds sewn into the bodice. Her dark hair spilled down her back, curled delicately. She looked like a dream.

But her eyes told another story.

They were hollow.

The door creaked open slowly.

She turned.

There he was.

Chase Monroe.

Dressed in a dark tailored tuxedo, sharp and breathtaking. The man she once loved. The man who now stood at the altar of her ruined life.

Their eyes locked.

The silence screamed louder than any words.

What was this?

A second chance?

Or a deal with the devil?