The Tainted Lover's Cold Comeback

“I was Grayson Deleon' s secret weapon and his lover. I took a bullet for him, saved him from a cartel, and in return, he promised me a secret marriage, a life where it would always be us. But on the night of my secret Juilliard graduation, I watched from the wings as he got down on one knee for my best friend, Camilla. He called her "pure," a word he used to contrast with my "taint" from the cartel rescue. A leaked video later proved this wasn't just a betrayal; it was a conspiracy. I heard them laughing about their "perfectly executed plan" to get rid of me, the "distraction." The man whose life I had saved had orchestrated my public humiliation, discarding me because of the very scars I earned for him. My world was ashes, but from them, something cold and hard formed. I made a single call to a heritage network I'd been using to find my lost family. It was time to disappear and never be his secret again.”