He Chose Her Over Us

I thought would complete our perfect life. Then his ex-girlf

kidnapping, he

born child to the kidnap

ining the concrete, and walked away t

e was leavin

g I told my rescuer was, "I'm thin

pte

Port

of changing my b

tween me and Camden Montoya. They sounded insane. Delusional, even. But the hol

side of the wrought-iron patio table. Years of friendship had taught me to read every nu

baritone that had always been my

amden. He didn't ask "why"

read it. I knew what it would say. The headline was probably already splashed across ever

ragile-looking woman. Her tear-streaked face was buried in his chest, his bespoke suit jacket draped

he loved w

from Camden, even though he wa

ve to look at

like cracking glass. "It'

ermanent scar on top of the wound that

ach, a symbol of our perfect life. He was the self-made tech billionaire, the man who had clawed his way up from nothing. I was Belen Porter

, the auctioneer announced a special, final item. Not an object, but a cause. A "humanitarian bi

pale, her eyes wide with a terror that seemed almost theatrical. She was a ghost from a

riend from before the money

d times, a woman who had lost everything and needed a second cha

aped his throat. His knuckles were white where he gripped h

ent that put Gregory in a coma. She' d vanished afterward, consumed by guil

his eyes pleading

whispered, m

y step echoing in the suddenly silent ballroom. He didn' t rais

ounced, his voice ringing with an authority no one dared to question. "I will take

ousand-dollar jacket, and wrapped it around Adrianna' s trembling shoulders. The ca

, whispering words I couldn' t hear but could feel like a physical blow.

slightly into the plush carpet. "Gregory," I sai

an I married. A flicker of guilt. "Belen, it' s not what i

f the stage, shielding her from the prying eyes

didn' t scream.

. The door was slightly ajar. I stood in the shadows, my

to me. "Are you okay, Adrianna? I was s

hispered, her voice thick wit

my gut. "I have a penthouse downtown. You can stay there. I'

giving her money. He was giving h

eaned in an

of a shared history that I could never penetrate. And he didn't pull away. For

ther of my child, was gone. In his place was a strang

robotic. I walked out of the gala, past the curious

oo cheerful for the wreckage of my life. I looked down at the news

sion wa

again. Another t

dy. Has been for year

typed my reply, a single word that held the weig

Ok