His Promise, Her Ruin

of my career. I was the frontrunner for the Pi

widow of his older brother. My fiancé, Kason, the man who was suppo

credit for my projects. During a promotional shoot, he stood by and watched

m the entire industry. He didn't stop there. He pushed me to the gro

while I was ca

. I took my unborn baby and disappeared. I flew to a

ears, we w

pte

silk gown, my heart pounding against my ribs. Tonight was the night I' d been work

runner. It was more than a building; it

gue, Arthur Vance,

Clara. A well-deserved win.

ervous, smile. "Thank you,

"There's no j

tate mogul in the city, the man who was going to build Sunstone. But he' d called an hou

e moment we've all been waiting for. The Pinnac

a smile already

rrett for 'T

' t make sense. The Willow was a derivative,

I felt the eyes of the entire hall on me, the fav

k back into my seat, the plush velvet feeling like stone

g for something, anything to make

so

ng in the third row, his powerful fr

s were fixed on the stage, on th

é' s first love. The wi

e wasn't for me.

ound me, a low hum of c

rrett? Wh

ion to the Hanson Corporat

ong. Sunstone was

brutal clarity. Kason had done t

iving room about her stalled career and how she' d never achieve

n for you, Hazel. I

ilt, a story he never fully told me. A story

cus on my craft-all of it culminated in this moment. A moment he had hand

blur. I sat frozen until

und me, his expr

la

ice dangerously c

fused. "It' s just an award. It

embling now. "It was the Pinnacle Priz

ore. It' s a stepp

my life's work made so

ed? I poured a decade of my life into my work to get here! My in

stand. The words were a torrent, a da

an award! It

th emotion I could

thing in his eyes. Regret, maybe. But

rds, Clara. Bigger proj

onizing. He didn't und

g," I said, my voice dropping to a

breathless vo

as

trophy, ran toward us. She threw her arms

ning. "I can't believe it. Th

as he looked at her. He

azel. Your talent d

he hadn't spent a single sleepless night refining her design. She hadn't fought

, and he had made

and walked away, the sound of their happy