Chapter One

CHERRY’S POV

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Vane. We hope you enjoyed your stay at the Grand Crest Hotel. We’d love to have you again—”

“I’m sorry… what?”

The plastic tray in my hand tilted, the edges digging into my palm. I stopped dead in the middle of the crowded café, the noise of clinking spoons and espresso machines fading into a dull roar.

“I think there’s a mistake,” I said, my voice sounding thin even to my own ears.

There was a polite, professional pause on the other end. “No, ma’am. Mr. Vane checked in three nights ago with his wife. You.”

The floor felt like it was tilting. I reached out a hand to steady myself against a nearby table. “That’s not possible,” I whispered. “I’ve never been to the Grand Crest.”

“The woman who checked in with him identified herself as Mrs. Vane, ma’am. She used the corporate card on file.”

Something inside me snapped. It wasn't a loud break—it was quiet, like the hairline fracture on a windshield right before the whole thing shatters.

Six months. That was how long I’d been married to Julian. Six months since I stood in a cold chapel and said vows I didn't mean to a man I barely knew. And the worst part? The part that made my throat tighten with shame?

I had actually started trying.

I’d tried to be a good wife. I’d tried to find something to love in him.

“Marry him,” my Uncle Arthur had told me, his eyes as cold as the Laurent family vault. “Or walk away with nothing.”

A year ago, I was an heiress. I had a name that meant something. Then came the car accident. No survivors. Just a girl left alone with a pile of legal documents she wasn't allowed to read and a "family" that turned into vultures the second the bodies were in the ground. They took the house. The company. My father’s legacy.

And then they sold me to Julian Vane.

“Ma’am? Are you still there?”

I swallowed hard, forcing the bile down. “Yes… thank you.”

I hung up before she could say anything else. I stood there, frozen, feeling the eyes of the customers on me. I didn’t even want this marriage, I thought bitterly. And somehow, I’m still the one being cheated on.

“Elara! Table six—move it!” My manager’s bark broke my trance.

“I’m coming!”

I moved on autopilot. My vision was a blur of shapes and colors. My mind was stuck on a loop: Another woman. Wearing my name. Sleeping in his bed.

I didn't see him. I didn't see the man sitting at the edge of the aisle.

My foot hit a wet patch on the tile, and the world went sideways. The tray slipped. The cup tilted. I watched in slow motion as a wave of scalding dark roast poured straight onto the crisp white shirt of the man in the corner booth.

“I—!”

The apology died in my throat. Because as I pitched forward, expecting the hard impact of the floor, a pair of hands caught me.

They weren't just hands. They were a solid, unyielding force. One arm locked around my waist, pulling me back from the brink of the fall with terrifying ease.

Everything stopped. The café noise, the shame, the anger—it all vanished. I looked up, gasping for air, and my heart stopped.

Dark eyes. Sharp. Dangerous. Unforgiving.

My fingers curled into his expensive shirt before my brain could tell them to stop. It was a physical jolt, a pull in my gut that I hadn't felt in exactly 365 days.

No. It can't be.

My mind tried to scream "coincidence," but my body knew better. This was the man from the night I’d tried to forget. The man who had seen me when I was a "Cherry," not a "Vane."

TWO YEARS AGO…

The club felt like a fever. Too much bass. Too many flashing lights. I felt like I was drowning in it, and I didn't want to be saved.

“Miss Laurent, another drink?” Jasper, the only bartender who treated me like a human, asked.

I laughed, the sound hollow. “Don’t call me that tonight, Jasper. That name is a ghost. It’s going to be gone soon anyway.”

Jasper raised a brow. “Then what should I call you?”

I leaned over the bar, feeling the alcohol buzzing in my ears. “Call her Cherry.”

The voice didn't come from Jasper. It came from right behind my shoulder—smooth, deep, and utterly certain. I froze. The air around me suddenly felt electric.

“Cherry?” Jasper asked.

I turned slowly. He was standing there, hands in his pockets, looking like a king who had wandered into a gutter. He was effortlessly commanding.

“Why Cherry?” Jasper asked.

The stranger’s eyes didn't leave mine. Not even for a heartbeat. “Because,” he said quietly, his gaze dropping to my hair, “it’s not a color people forget. It suits her.”

I lifted my chin, trying to fight the way my knees felt weak. “You don’t even know me.”

One corner of his mouth ticked up. It wasn't a smile; it was a challenge. “I don't need to. People like you don't hide unless there’s something worth noticing.”

That was the start.

I don't remember who moved first, only that suddenly there was no space between us.

His hand found my waist first.

Firm. Certain. Like he already knew I wouldn’t pull away. And I didn’t.

My fingers curled into the front of his shirt as he drew me closer, the heat of his body cutting through everything else.

When his lips met mine, it wasn’t gentle

My breath caught, but I didn’t break the kiss. Didn’t step back. Didn’t think.

For once in my life… I didn’t think.

His hand slid up my back, fingers pressing just enough to pull me closer, leaving no space between us.

And I let him.

The kiss deepened slowly, not rushed, not careless

“Still sure you don’t belong here?” he murmured against my lips.

I shook my head slightly, breath uneven.

“I don’t care.”

That was the truth. For the first time in a long time…

I didn’t care.

Everything after that blurred into sensation.

His hand in mine.

The way he guided me through the crowd like I was already his responsibility.

I didn't think about my dead parents. I didn't think about my uncle’s threats. I just felt. For the first time in my life, I let someone else take the lead.

PRESENT DAY

My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought he could feel it through his palms.

It was him.

But as I looked into his eyes, hoping for a spark, I found... nothing. Just cold, icy indifference.

“Do you normally throw things at people,” he said, his voice flat, “or am I just special?”

The words felt like a slap. He didn't remember. Or worse—he did, and he hated me for it.

“I—I’m sorry,” I whispered.

For a split second, his grip on my waist tightened. I thought I saw a flash of something in his eyes. Then, he let go.

He didn't just let go; he dropped me.

My knee hit the hard tile with a sickening crack. I let out a sharp gasp of pain, looking up at him from the floor. He didn't offer a hand. He didn't even look at me. He just looked down at his ruined shirt with a look of pure disgust.

“Sir! Oh my God, we’re so sorry!” my manager scrambled over, nearly shoving me out of the way. “Elara, what is wrong with you?! Get to the back. You’re done for the day.”

I stood up, my leg shaking, my pride in tatters. I didn't say a word. I couldn't. I just turned and walked away, the humiliation burning hotter than the coffee I’d spilled.

He looked at me like I was nothing. Like that night had never happened. Like I was just a clumsy waitress who had ruined his morning.

I hit the back door and leaned against the brick wall, my eyes stinging. I wasn't just a "Cherry" anymore. I was a "Vane." And apparently, to Adrian Knight, that made me invisible.