His Secret Betrayal, Her Grand Return

, controllable. Chloe Davis, propped against a mountain of silk pillows, felt anything but in control. The faint sound of the shower

e capitalist whose name was spoken in hushed, reverent tones. To the world, they were oil and water. In private, tangled in t

he scrolled to her mother' s number-her stepmother' s, really, but the dis

her voice a sickly sweet concoction of feigned conce

. She stared at the skyline, the glittering lights feeling

contained joy. "Oh, darling! That' s wonderful news! Your father will be so pleased.

e cut in, her voice slicing

tone. "A condition? Name it! Anything,

s settled in her eyes, a hardness that wasn' t there a few hours ago. She hung up

n her eyes landed on Ethan' s laptop. He' d left it open on the nightstand, a careless mistake for a

a contact

ome keep me compa

hout a second thought, now trembled as she stared at the simple, innocent-lo

houlders. Water droplets clung to his chiseled collarbone, and his damp hair was slicked back from his

s cool and distant as ever. He didn't look at her, his

led Chloe' s lips. "Is it the

ectly folded shirts. He turned his head slightly, his

e stood, the oversized shirt she' d borrowed from him slipping off one shoulder, revealing the lean, ton

said, his voice clipped

ent he was gone, the smirk vanished from Chloe' s face, replaced by a blank, hollow expression. Sh

pulled up across the street. Rain began to fall, streaking down the car window and blurring the city lights. Through th

ate. He let Liam drape the jacket over his shoulders, their movements fluid and familiar, as if they had performed th

than' s voice, see the concern etched on hi

e watched them walk into the hotel, a picture of domestic intimacy. The concern on Ethan' s f

le of wills since her mother' s death. After one particularly defiant act, her father, at the end of his rope, had sent

er glasses as cold as ice. Chloe, of course, had no intention of being tamed. She decided to make his life a livin

ng across the expensive fabric. "Italian cashmere," he'

the quarter. Unfazed, Ethan stood before the board of executives and dictated the enti

hidden camera to capture whatever embarrassing moments followed. She planned to u

-to-ceiling windows. She felt a wave of self-disgust, but before she could m

d, his voice husky as h

ely. No one had called her Chloe like that, not really, not since her mother di

the office, he would drag her into his private study. The entire company thought he was disciplining the unruly heiress. In reality, they were t

t because, for the first time in years, she didn't feel so devastatingl

tire day decorating his penthouse. Roses, candles, music. She even had a small,

d down to puddles of wax, and the roses began

her phone. #TechMogul'sSecret

efully escorting a delicate-looking man into a car. The look on Ethan' s face, a tender

tion was a stor

couple! I'm shipp

, the campus sweethearts? If Liam hadn't gone a

han was cold to everyone

? If Ethan already had someone he cherished so deeply, then what

me. Desperate for an answer, for any kind of explanation, she did something she had never done before

t was filled with photos of Liam Miller. Graduation photos, travel photos from places she' d never been, candid shots of

im anymore? The evidence was all a

to the polished floor. The laughter turned into sobs, and the sobs turned into a blind rage. She trashed the entire penthouse. She shatter

dn' t yell. He didn' t ask what happened. He simply instructed his staff to clean it up, not even

small, velvet box-the one with the engagement ring-being swept into a dustpan

to give him her entire future. And he certainly didn' t know that in

where are

back to the present, back to the rain

voice like a chip of ice

her was waiting for her in the grand foyer. "Chloe, are you serious? Ela

r stepmother, Elaine, watc

r both of them, cold and dismissive. "Bu

er father urged, his voice fi

ed each word with perfect, chilling cl

light with greed, contorted into a mask of disbelief and rage

woman"-she flicked her eyes toward Elaine-"into our home, and you drove my mother to suicide to

ering fifty billion dollars for a marriage of convenience, money you desperately need. You' ve been ho

l? We disown each other. You get your money, and I get my freedom from you. Go ahead and

Sterling family says she's on her last legs!" He scoffed, a cruel glint in his eye. "As for your stepmother' s son, he came back

"So eager to raise someone else' s son, while you couldn' t be bot

oved to block her path, her face a mask of false concern. "Chloe, how can

ed finally boiling over, burning in her eyes. "What? You think once I' m married off and

that doesn't change the fact that you are, and always will be, a homewrecker that everyone in this city despises. And your pr

She stumbled back, her hand flying

lt like walking on broken glass. It wasn' t until she was safely behind her closed door that she

he sounds of commotion and cheerful

throwing open her bedroom door. "Can'

the hallway, stammered, "Miss Da

top of the stairs. A familiar figure. Dressed in a simple wh

Liam

el. The man from Ethan's photo shrine. Her st