The Fiancée's Grand Design

see visitors. The first to arrive w

. Johnson was dressed in a sharp Chanel suit, her face a mask of disdain. Johnson Sr. sto

l son. He brought more flowers. This time, roses.

ondescension. She didn't bother with a greeting. "Yo

her, too stu

ding, a wedding you were lucky to have, and you manage

d on her arm. "Mother, please. Ava

nefit, a show of him defending

to watch our family name be dragged through the mud. The papers are having

ect Chloe. The Adams family are our oldest friends. They are our people. You, Ava, are.

twisted world, my life, the life of our unborn child, was worth less than

dressed in a soft, white dress, looking angelic and

y bedside. "I am so, so sorry. It's al

I let her. Her skin was cool. H

e only loves me, you know," she murmured, her sweet smile never leaving her face. "He tol

tating blow. I pulled my hand

m, she started sobbing. "I feel so g

ar, were listening. The nurses were watching.

om saved his friend in

acting hysterical. Maybe

ou know. Probably j

and twisting the truth until I w

around her. "It's not your fault, Chloe," he c

the hero, protecting the innocent victim. And I was the h

r. It was a look of warning. A look that

eful. To accept this narrative where

ked at Chloe, hiding her triumphant smirk in Mark's shoulder. I

won. They thought they h

vern. But in that cavern, a single, cold flame still burned. I didn'

on. I was learning my enemy. I was seeing the full

let him see the emptiness there. I wanted him t

cleared. Cleared of love, of hope, of any lingering w