Finding Him

I spent seven years loving Autry Villarreal, the man who became my guardian after my parents died. He was my savior, my entire world.

Then, he announced his engagement to Cassie Turner, a woman who looked uncannily like a younger version of me. I found out by watching it on the news.

His fiancée moved into our home and immediately began erasing me. She tore out the rose garden I had spent years tending, laughing as the bushes were ripped from the ground.

Next, he used his influence to kill a major brand deal I had, giving it to her instead.

The final blow came when she leaked fake, scandalous photos of me online. He refused to defend my name. He told me to just disappear, offering me money to live comfortably as long as I stayed away.

"I will protect her," he said. "She is my fiancée."

I looked at the man who had promised to always protect me, now offering to pay for my silence. In that moment, seven years of love turned to ash.

I booked a one-way ticket to France. This time, I wasn't running away. I was finally choosing to live for myself.

Chapter 1

"I'm done waiting for him, Darleen."

Jayme Barnes stared out the window of her aunt' s cozy kitchen, her voice flat.

"I' m giving up."

Darleen Henderson placed a mug of steaming tea on the table.

"It's about time, sweetie. He was never the right one for you."

She sat down, her expression a mix of relief and concern.

"I told you from the start. A man who keeps you at arm's length after you tell him you love him? That' s not a man, that' s a statue."

Jayme didn't answer. Her gaze drifted to a small, framed photo on the mantelpiece. It was from her eighteenth birthday. Autry Villarreal stood beside her, his arm stiffly around her shoulders. He had given her a delicate silver locket that day.

The day after, she had confessed her love for him. He never mentioned the confession, but he also never saw her wear the locket without a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

She had worn it every day for seven years.

Seven years of hoping.

Seven years of trying to break through the polite, distant wall he had built around himself.

He had taken her in when her parents died, a sixteen-year-old boy suddenly responsible for a fourteen-year-old girl. He had been her savior, her world. And for seven years, she had tried to show him she wanted to be more.

Then came the news report.