The Betrayal That Broke Us

our son's sch

how I f

er end was professio

s Mrs.

smile on my face. "It's Ms. Vance, ac

is about your son, Leo Thorne. He

ed the edge of my desk, m

a whisper. "You must have the wrong n

act number for Julian

The woman who sometimes joined us for dinner, her smile always a

to say. "This

k with an embarrassment that wasn't min

om my hand and clatt

d been together

ne Industries, a name that mattered. He was the face, the charismatic deal-maker. I was the st

I th

tant. "She's brilliant, Elara, a real go-getter," he'd said. I never liked her. There was something calc

ife" echoed in t

i

o

e

at was terrifyingly real. I thought of all the late nights he said he was working, the b

nger. I couldn't breathe. I needed to do somet

phone, the one Julian didn't know about. I scro

Ste

am and I had a different history. We'd known each other in college. He was quiet, intense,

rs, but the unspoken understanding was always ther

utton, my heart hamm

irst ring. "Elara? I

tarted to fall. "Liam," I choked out, th

ce a steady anchor in my sto

I whispered. "I want to

e force of my decision. The grief was still there, a massive, gapin

r. He didn't see me in the shadows of the living room. He walked

I crept closer, hiding behi

now. I'll be

pa

ra. She's just a place

caught in

She... she's just a rose I cut and keep in a vase. Pretty to look a

. A vase. Something to be discarded. Ten years of my

ng drink of

but I'll handle it. She's weak. She won't fight me.

ence that followed was

gna

e called me weak. He th

as w