“I didn’t expect you back tonight, Simon. I thought you had a late board meeting.”Ariana Carter stood frozen. The vast, silent penthouse felt colder than usual, amplifying the sharp click of her heels on the marble floor—and the frantic pounding of her heart. Weeks away from the wedding, the silk and lace of her ruined dress lay discarded in the next room, already starting to smell like despair.Simon glanced up from the custom leather sofa. His response wasn’t guilt or fear—it was mild, irritated boredom. His mistress, a woman Ariana recognized from a rival’s charity gala, tugged her expensive shawl up around her shoulders.“Ariana, darling, this is beneath you,” Simon drawled, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. “Go home. We’ll discuss the pre-nuptial agreements in the morning. You’re being dramatic.”Dramatic. Agreements. Beneath you.Each word cut like a shard of glass.She had loved him. She had overlooked the distance, forgiven the coldness, defended his name. His betrayal
Last Updated : 2025-12-02 Read more