Peace After Pain: My Unwritten Blueprint

Matthe

he giant screens. The photo of Dallas in my dress. The kiss against the chinoiserie wallpaper. The screenshot of Arden' s text: Ditching her now. The close-up of him

ballroom must have

.. Dallas

dress? Before

ad their own 'w

comment about hurting Heidi? That' s no

from disbelief to horror. The blood drained from Arden' s face,

voice cracking with panic. He frantically w

been given one, and only one, inst

w. Their expressions were glacial. Eleanor Ellis, Arden' s mother, r

is this? Whe

at Eleanor, a look of such profound contempt

ance but a public execution, turned on Dallas. He grabbed her arm, his f

mous whisper loud enough for the front rows to h

. All she could do was stare at the screen, at her secret world laid bare for everyone to see. Her triumphant narrative,

had the secret love story. She had posted those things to revel in her victory, to have a private testament to the fact that she, not Heidi Matthews,

ing, started to quietly file out, their phones already buzzing as the

in the vast, empty ballroom, the silent

ng against the marble floor echoed like a gunshot

AC

ith champagne glasses, the sound expl

snarled, his eyes fixed on Arden.

d. "Glen, please, there mu

three years with this... this creature! They defiled my daughter' s wedding dress, plotted behind her back, and thi

ce ringing with finality. "The partnership between Ma

ove; it was a dynasty-sealing merger. "No, Mr. Matthews, please," he begged,

id, his voice dropping to a deadly calm. He turned his gaze

saved from ruin. "This is how you repay my kindness? By rai

dal, finally found her voice. "It wasn' t Dallas' s fault alone!

jailbird for a father if she hadn' t thrown herself at him!" Eleanor

g over the wreckage of the wedding. Accusations flew. Insults about fin

he tried to call me. My number was blocked. He tried WhatsApp. Block

th Dallas, the thrill of the illicit affair, but I was his future. Stable, powerful, respectable Heidi. He had beli

entire demolition of his life and simply walked away, was more

y, a pathetic, broken figure. My building' s security, under strict orders from my father, dragged him away. He ended up at my parents' townhouse

ome by her parents a

ed online. It went viral. The story was everywhere. The an

llas had so carefully buil

enting. It' s hard b

Glen Barnett, the real estate ty

e saved life. The family bailout. The

he saw the comments on her own public page turning vicious. But she al

love. We' ve all done

ould not go down without a war. She would take this fight

ing a new post. A tear-stained selfie. The ulti