로그인Chapter TenSaraThe smell of blueberries filled the kitchen. For a moment, I was twenty-one again. Back when the biggest problem in my life was whether my muffins would rise properly. Back when Damian Blackwood walked into my little bakery and stole my ability to form a coherent sentence.THREE YEARS AGOHe’d been intimidating from the moment he walked through the door. Tall. Impeccably dressed. Cold enough to make the warm bakery feel ten degrees colder. The man I was going to marry to clear my father’s debt.I stared at him as he walked to the counter.“Good morning.” His deep voice snapped me out of my trance.“Good morning.” My voice cracked.His eyebrow lifted and I wanted to disappear.“What do you recommend?”“My blueberry muffins.”I immediately regretted how quickly I’d answered. He glanced at the tray of the different pastries arranged colorfully. “Then I’ll take two.”“Two?”“Yes.”“Right.” My fingers fumbled with the paper bag as I put th
Chapter NineDamianI stood at the foot of the driveway, watching two men carry my favorite leather armchair out of my house.My house. Or apparently, not anymore.A third man followed them with a box of books I kept in my library. More men filed behind with more of my precious belongings. She was doing this to piss me off, Sara knew very well she didn’t need to move out half of my things in order to move in. And she’d been in the house for less than an hour. I had already learned that my new landlord had no intention of easing me into the arrangement.“Sir.”I glanced at the security guard approaching me. He was probably confused as to why my wife who they thought was dead, was back as a different person, all the staff were. “Should we stop them?”I looked toward the house.Sara stood just inside the open front door, now wearing a silk dress that left nothing to the imagination and her short auburn hair tied in a bun. She had washed her makeup off her fac
Chapter EIGHT Sara The leather chair creaked softly beneath me as I leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. I had never sat at the head of this table before. I used to be the perfect doting wife, waiting patiently for her husband to come home and hoping he wouldn’t act like I didn’t exist. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city skyline, sunlight spilling across the polished mahogany table. The Blackwood Group logo gleamed proudly on the wall behind me, everything Damian held dear was right her in this office. I smoothed an invisible crease from the sleeve of my ivory pantsuit before glancing at the stack of documents resting neatly in front of me. Everything was in order. Every signature. Every move had been carefully planned. His whole family used to refer to me as a gold digger, who had seduced her way into a marriage with their precious Damian. As if a man like that could ever be manipulated into doing what he didn't want to do. But n
CHAPTER SEVEN SaraThe smug bastard actually expected me to get into his car. I stared at him, then at the car parked by the curb before letting out a sharp, humorless laugh.“Wow, you've really lost it haven't you?”Without waiting for a response, I turned on my heel and headed back toward the restaurant. “Sara.”I ignored him. “Sara.”“I said no.”The click of expensive leather shoes echoed behind me, measured and unhurried. He wasn’t chasing me. Of course he wasn’t. Damien Blackwood had never been a man who chased.He simply expected the world to stop moving until it obeyed him.“I can wait,” he said evenly.I kept walking.“But I wonder how patient your friend will be.”My steps faltered.Just for a second.That was all he needed.“He seems like a decent man.” His voice remained infuriatingly calm. “I’d hate for him to become collateral damage because you insist on being difficult.”I spun around so fast my hair whipped across my face.“That's the
CHAPTER SIXSaraI spotted Adrian before he saw me. He was sitting near the window, fingers typing away on his phone.The moment he looked up, his face broke into the same easy smile that had pulled me through some of the darkest nights of my life.“There she is.”“You’ve been waiting long?”He looked dramatically at his watch. “Mm, not that long.”I slid into the chair across from him, setting my bag beside me. ”Good. You ordered before I got here?”“I know you.” He shrugged. “You would’ve skipped dinner again.”He wasn’t wrong.The restaurant was quiet enough that soft jazz drifted through the air without competing with conversations. It was one of those places where everyone spoke in hushed voices, where expensive wine sat on every table and no one seemed to be in a hurry.The waiter had just refilled our glasses when Adrian leaned back in his chair, studying me with an amused smile. “So.”“So what?” I took a sip of my wine.He folded his hands on the t
CHAPTER FIVE Damien The scent of her perfume still lingered in my office. It was faint now, almost impossible to notice unless I stood perfectly still. I hated that I noticed it anyway. Three years was supposed to be enough for memories to fade. Instead, one conversation had undone every ounce of progress I’d convinced myself I’d made. I walked slowly toward the floor-to-ceiling windows where she stood while demanding all my attention in that sexy way of hers. I replayed the way she’d stood in front of my desk with her shoulders squared, refusing to look away. She hated me, that much was obvious. But what unsettled me was the fact that I noticed the way sunlight caught the shorter strands of her hair. Although, she couldn't loathe me anymore than I did myself. I craved to pull her into my arms the way I fantasized doing when I had the chance. But I made sure I committed her to memory this time before she slipped away like yesterday. She looked thinner. It made me wonder.







