Betrayed Love, A Secret Heiress Rises

identity as the sole heiress to a culinary empire, pretending to be ordinary just to protect his f

rm. For the twelfth time, he canceled everything for one of her m

Kathie a diamond tennis bracelet-the exact one I' d o

d had the nerve to ask, "Can't you

It was a seafood stew I'm deathly allergic to, a fact he swore on our third date he

ingdom. So I smashed the model of our shared dream to pieces, booked a one-way ticket hom

pte

e Sawy

n five years we were suppos

ready. Tonight was meant to be a quiet celebration, just me, Jace, our two lead investors, and the cri

smile for the investors, Mr. and Mrs. Gable, who were admiring the restored brickwork in the lobby. I' d spent all day on my

nd entrance, searching for

head intensifying into a sharp, pulsing beat. His hand was resting on the small

and carry the latest handbag. She stumbled slightly, a practiced, delicate move that had her leaning into

hispered, her voice loud enough to ca

wn at her. He didn'

otion. I shot her a look that was supposed to be a warnin

ttered, appearing at my side with a glass of water. "O

knew how much this project meant to me, how I' d poured every ounce of my culinary ta

same scene that had play

n, her voice trembling, "I' m so sorry to do this, not tonight, but... my final model for the w

ll of it. The Gables, the papers, m

old dread coiling in my stomach.

g out his phone, his brow furrowed with a se

he flinched away almost imp

faux apology. "I am so, so sorry, Eve

impatience. "Something' s come up with Kathie' s proj

y a whisper. "Jace, not again

find endearing now a signal of his impending retreat.

felt like as

protective gesture that made my stomach chu

back toward the door he' d just w

ings. And every single time, the

rown things. I had cried until I couldn' t br

rent. A strange, chilli

led out, my voi

or, turning back wi

, the sound echoing in the cavernous space. I stopp

ting like poison and freedom. "Go. Kath

Eve." He fumbled for a moment, clearly expecting a fight. "Hey, I' ll make it up

y smile feeling

said. "Dr

look before disappearing throu

my face the second t

o from

to him, after he' d ordered it for the table, that I was deathly alle

apkin to write it down. "Shellfish. Got it.

into the back of his wallet

He just hadn' t care

ows seemed to seep into my bones, chilling me from the

f the hotel sitting on a display pedestal in the center of the lobby. It was a

o the stunned Gables and a wide-e

crashing down onto the polished concrete floor. The sound of splintering w

o burn it all