บททั้งหมดของ The wrong woman to lose : บทที่ 21 - บทที่ 30

Tyler Rashford could not stop thinking about Irina.The realization annoyed him.Greatly.The entire drive home had been spent replaying their meeting.Her confidence.Her composure.Her smile.Most of all…The way she had looked at him.Nothing.There had been absolutely nothing in her eyes.No anger.No bitterness.No longing.Nothing.As though he had become a stranger.And for some reason…That bothered him.More than it should.⸻Back at the Rashford residence, Karen kicked off her heels and tossed her handbag onto the sofa.“What was that?”Tyler looked up.“What was what?”Karen folded her arms.“The way you were staring at Irina.”Tyler immediately frowned.“I wasn’t staring.”Karen laughed.A short, humorless laugh.“Please.”The room fell silent.Because they both knew she was right.Tyler looked away first.Karen noticed.And she hated it.⸻Meanwhile…Across the city…Irina sat alone in her apartment.A glass of wine rested untouched beside her.The city lights shimmered b

Jacob couldn’t stop thinking about the café. Or his mother. The drive home had been quiet. Far too quiet. Even now, hours later, he sat on the edge of his bed staring at his phone. Thinking. Remembering. Questioning. A feeling he wasn’t entirely comfortable with. Because for months, maybe even years, he had been certain. Certain his mother had chosen work over family. Certain she didn’t care enough. Certain Karen had been right. But now… He wasn’t so sure. The memory replayed itself. “You hate vanilla.” His mother’s voice had been immediate. Certain. Effortless. As though she had never forgotten. Not once. Jacob frowned. Because Karen had forgotten. Twice. His father had forgotten too. Actually… His father forgot most things. The realization unsettled him. ⸻ Downstairs, Karen was setting the dinner table when Jacob entered the dining room. “How was your day?” she asked brightly. Jacob pulled out a chair. “Fine.” Karen smiled. “Good.” The conversat

Irina arrived twenty minutes early.And hated herself for it.She had spent the entire morning pretending she wasn’t nervous.Pretending she wasn’t excited.Pretending this lunch was no different from any other meeting on her schedule.It was a lie.A terrible one.Because no business deal had ever made her check her reflection three times before leaving the office.No business meeting had ever made her heart pound this hard.This wasn’t a meeting.It was lunch with her son.The son she had missed every day for almost a year.The son she still loved despite everything.The son she wasn’t sure knew how much she loved him.She sat near the restaurant window and glanced at the entrance every few seconds.Waiting.Hoping.Praying he wouldn’t change his mind.Then the door opened.Jacob walked in.And suddenly the world became very quiet.He looked around before spotting her.For a moment, neither moved.Neither spoke.Then Jacob smiled.A small smile.But real.And it nearly broke her.“H

The annual George & Sons Charity Gala was one of the most anticipated events of the year.Investors.Politicians.Business moguls.Celebrities.Everyone who mattered would be there.Normally, Irina would have treated it like every other business event.Smile.Network.Leave.Simple.This year was different.Because Kyle George had personally invited her.And somehow that made the evening far more complicated than it should have been.⸻Irina stood before the mirror in her penthouse bedroom.The silver evening gown hugged her figure elegantly without being excessive.Her hair fell in soft waves over one shoulder.The diamonds at her ears sparkled under the light.For a moment, she barely recognized herself.Not because she looked different.Because she felt different.Stronger.More confident.More… alive.Her phone buzzed.A message.Kyle.A smile immediately touched her lips.Dangerous man.Very dangerous man.Kyle: The gala starts in thirty minutes.A second message arrived.Kyle: M

Karen knew something had happened.She saw it the moment Tyler returned from the balcony.He wasn’t angry.He wasn’t frustrated.He wasn’t even pretending.He simply looked… defeated.And that frightened her more than anything.Because Tyler Rashford was not a man who admitted defeat easily.Yet as he stepped back into the ballroom, his eyes immediately searched the crowd.Not for her.For Irina.Karen followed his gaze.And there she was.Standing beside Kyle George.Laughing softly at something he had said.Kyle’s attention remained fixed on her.As though the rest of the gala no longer existed.Karen’s stomach twisted.For the first time since marrying Tyler, she felt something she hadn’t felt in years.Fear.Real fear.⸻The rest of the evening passed in a blur.Tyler barely spoke.Jacob texted constantly from home.Kyle and Irina seemed surrounded by people all night.Yet somehow they always found their way back to each other.A glance.A smile.A quiet conversation.Nothing inap