Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Betrayed Heiress: Chasing Her Back: Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

The car glided smoothly through the city streets, but I felt every bump like a physical blow. My mother sat beside me in the back seat, her voice was a constant stream of words that I was barely listening to. "And I told the event coordinator that we absolutely must have fresh flowers, not those dreadful artificial ones. The charity deserves better than that. Polly agrees with me, she’s actually going to donate one of her paintings for the silent auction.” She turned to me, shaking her head with a smile. “Isn't that wonderful? The opening event is this weekend, and I really think you should come, darling. It would be good for you to be seen supporting charitable causes, especially now with everything that's..."She trailed off, probably realizing she's strayed too close to mentioning my crumbling marriage.I wasn’t listening anyway. Julien's words from this morning kept circling in my head like vultures.Normally, I'd brush off his mockery but this one hit too close to home. Espec

JAIME’S POVFatima stepped out of an office just ahead of us. She looked at me and her expression hardened into pure contempt.She didn’t acknowledge me at all. Just glared, turned on her heel, and walked away like I was beneath her notice.Anger flared hot in my chest. “Did you see that?”“Yes, sir,” Jeffery said carefully.“The disrespect in my own building.” My jaw clenched. Jeffery was quiet or a moment. “What do you want to do about it?”“Nothing,” I forced myself to say. “They’ll all get over it when Alessandra comes back then things will return to normal.”“You sound very certain of that.” Jeffery said.“I am certain.” The elevator doors opened and we stepped inside. “She’s angry now, but she’ll calm down. We’ll talk, and work it out. We always do.”Jeffery didn’t respond, and his silence feels like judgment.Daniel was waiting with the car when I exited the building. He opened the door without a word, I climbed into the back seat and he closed the door with a soft click.As w

My bedroom was transformed into a fitting room. Two rolling racks of clothes line the wall, with fabrics in every color imaginable. Three maids stood nearby, ready to assist. A makeup artist sat at my vanity, organizing brushes and palettes. A hairstylist tested a curling iron, the smell of heat and hair product filling the air.And in the center of it all was my mother, holding up the dresses one by one like she was curating an art exhibition.“This one is lovely,” she said, displaying a butter-yellow sheath dress. “Sophisticated but approachable. Or perhaps this-” She switched to a powder blue wrap dress with delicate flowers “Fresh, optimistic, shows you’re moving forward.”I sat on the edge of my bed, watching her but not really seeing anything. Today was the court session. In a few hours, I’d be sitting across from Jaime in front of a judge, officially dismantling our marriage.My mother had taken the liberty of arranging this whole production after my last shopping trip ende

I turned slowly, knowing what I would see but still unprepared for the reality of it.Jaime stood about twenty feet away, flanked by Jeffery and two lawyers but I barely registered them. All I could see was him.Despite the crispness of his suit and how impeccable he was, he looked terrible. There were dark circles under his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. His face was thinner, and his there was a slight bruising around his nose, no doubt from where Jason broke it. Our eyes met and the rest of the world narrowed to just the two of us.“Stay the hell away from her!” My grandfather’s voice cut through the moment.He started moving forward, but I put my hand on his arm. “Grandpa, it’s okay.”His nose flared and his eyes narrowed. “It’s not okay, Alessandra. He doesn’t get to talk to you.”“Can I speak to you for a moment?” Jaime asked, his eyes never leaving mine. “Please. Just a moment.”“Absolutely not,” my mother said firmly.“Yes,” I heard myself say.Everyone turned to look

He escorted me to his car. He opened the passenger door for me like a perfect gentleman, and I slid into the leather seat.When he got to the driver’s side, I noticed there was no driver waiting. “You drive yourself?”“Yeah.” He started the engine. “I know, shocking for someone in my tax bracket, but I like driving. It gives me a sense of control.”I gave him a look but didn’t comment further.The car ride was quiet at first. Jason kept switching between radio stations, his fingers tapped against the steering wheel. He cleared his throat twice, then adjusted the rearview mirror even though it was fine.“You can ask,” I finally said.“Ask what?” Jason glanced at me.I managed a smile. “How the case went. That’s why you keep fidgeting.” I shrugged. “You want to know but you’re trying to be polite and not push.”He laughed, glancing at me before returning his eyes to the road. “Was I that obvious?”“You switched radio stations six times in two minutes. You cleared your throat twice, and