From Wedding Bells to Shattered Dreams

oice was low but steady. The shock was we

uring Chloe a glass of wine

s. Her apartment has a pest problem. It' s n

gh was harsh. "So you brought

with feigned innocence, suddenly let out a small sob. Her

rtbroken expression. "I didn' t mean to cause any trouble.

d to her side, wrappin

air. He shot a furious look at Ava over Chloe' s shoulder. "Look what you d

look at me. Look at what' s happening. T

tude. Ever since you got back from Paris, you' ve been acting so high and mighty. Chloe is my friend and my

gize to the woman who was sleeping with her fiancé,

he man she thought she

barely a whisper. She turned

s eyes or the momentary confusion on Liam' s face. He probably thought

gan to fall, soaking her in seconds. She didn't have a coat. She didn't have a destinatio

face a mask of irritation. "Ge

t kept

trying to avoid the car, her foot slipping on the wet pavement. She fell hard, her

t. He didn't get out. He didn' t ask if she wa

ted, right? To be a ma

wave of dirty street wate

hollow ache in her chest. The rain plastered her hair to her face, mingling with tears she didn't

ng up. It was Ava who had coached him, helped him rewrite his resume, and used her family' s connections to get him the entry-level job at his brother' s company. It was her sav

pam or wrong numbers. The late nights at the "office." The sudden, unexplained credit card charges. It all clicked into place. It hadn't jus

. Some morbid curiosity, some need for finality, pulled her back. She used the emerg

nt was slightly ajar. She

scent of wine and something else... something intimate and musky. A man' s jacket-Liam' s f

hey were. O

ap, and she was running her fingers through his hair, leaning down to kiss him softly. They

ad, she met Ava' s gaze, and a slow, triumphant smile spread across her face. She deliberately leaned down and kissed Liam again,

as the delicate, expensive lingerie she had bought in Paris, something sh

n burned away, leaving only a cold, empty void. Without a word, she let

way, closing the door quietly

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