“…finding your own true
los
Being cheated on is something no man wants to hear about from someone else, especially from a woman he barely knows.
Unfortunately, my subtle hint went right over his head. He just smiled, his handsome, almond–shaped eyes holding a charm that could bewitch anyone. A blind man, it turned out.
“My true love is right here with me,” he said. “You should save that toast for yourself.”
But thinking back, wasn’t I just as blind?
Teddy was willing to break from his family for that actress.
And my own heart had been shattered into a million pieces by Max.
5
The wine went down easy, but the delayed punch of the cabernet was brutal.
Before I knew it, I was completely wasted. I was clinging to Teddy, a mess of tears and laughter, cursing Max one minute and myself the next. Teddy gently pushed me away, his tone teasing. “If Max saw you holding onto another man like this,” he drawled, “he wouldn’t take you back even if you begged him on your knees.”
The memory of the past seven years, of me always being the one to swallow my pride and beg for reconciliation, flooded back. Fueled by alcohol, all my pent–up frustrations came pouring out.
“This time, I’m the one who doesn’t want him!” I slurred. “Even if he gets on his knees and begs me, I’m not going back!”
“You mean it?” Teddy’s voice was intense, his gaze burning.
Sprawled on the sofa, I didn’t see the galaxy of stars glittering in his eyes.
I just mumbled, “As real as it gets.”
In the hazy space between dream and reality, I felt a warm pressure on my lips.
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An electric tingle traced paths across my skin.
Instinctively, I responded to the seating heat, giving in to the passion.
When my mind finally cleared, it was noon the next day. My entire body ached, as if it had been run over by a truck.
My eyes fell to the floor, where a tangled mess of clothes lay discarded.
Then I saw him. Lying next to me, bare–chested, was Teddy.
His long lashes rested on his cheeks, deep in sleep. A few faint, rosy marks–kisses–were scattered across his muscular chest.
Flashes of the night before…
My mind exploded.
Did I just have a one–night stand with Teddy?!
Whatever his girlfriend was doing last night, they were still together. What did that make me? How was I any different from her?
If word got out that I’d broken them up, the gossip would bury me alive.
Holding my breath, I carefully lifted Teddy’s arm from around my waist. Like a thief, I tiptoed around, gathered my clothes, grabbed my phone, and fled my own apartment.
1
I didn’t feel safe until I was speeding towards my office, the gas pedal pressed to the floor.
I just had to hope that when Teddy woke up, he’d be just as eager as I was to forget last night’s insane mistake.
“Ms. Lin, Mr. Cole is waiting for you in your office,” my assistant whispered, her eyes wide with fear. “He was… really angry earlier.” She must have caught the brunt of his temper.
I walked in. Max was leaning against my desk, arms crossed. My suitcase was on the floor beside him.
He saw me and his face hardened into a scowl. “Cara, you’ve got some nerve, blocking my number!”
He gestured to the suitcase. “Here’s the rest of your stuff. You can move back in once Ava’s feeling better.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “The engagement is off. Why would we need each other’s numbers? Please do me a favor and block me too.”
Max’s eyes flashed with surprise, then irritation. “What kind of game are you playing now? I’ve told you before, you can’t compete with Ava. In my life, she will always come first.”
“If you want to be Mrs. Cole, you’ll learn to behave.”
6
I couldn’t take it anymore. “Mr. Cole, was I not clear enough?”
“We. Called. Off. The. Engagement.”
“Who you put first has absolutely nothing to do with me. Do you understand?”
I enunciated each word of that last sentence. He froze, his gaze locking with my cold, indifferent stare. For the first time, Max lost his compo- sure in front of me, his mask of superiority crumbling.
A vein pulsed in his neck as he pointed a trembling finger at me. “Cara! If you think I have the time or patience for your little push–and–pull games, you’re dead wrong! This is your one and only chance. Either you play along and wait until Ava’s better for our engagement, or you get out of my life and never show your face again!”
Without a word, I bent down and picked up the files he had angrily swept to the floor.
“Just as long as you stop showing up here and throwing tantrums, Mr. Cole, I can guarantee you’ll never see me again.”
He was so used to me fawning over him that my blatant disregard was more than he could handle.
He stormed out, slamming the door behind him. “Don’t come crawling back to me like a pathetic dog,” he snarled. “I’m sick of watching you beg!”
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His words were like a thousand tiny needles piercing my heart. Even though the love was gone, seven years of my life, a heart offered on freely, being trampled on like this… it still hurt
But I didn’t have much time to wallow. My phone began to explode with calls and texts from Teddy
“So you just eat and run? Classy.”
“Is this how you treat your lead investor?”
“Was I that bad last night?”
“You have three minutes to answer your phone, or I’m coming to your office.”
My heart hammered against my ribs as I read his messages. I was terrified. In a panic, I did the only thing I could think of I turned off my pho
- ne.
Last night wasn’t my idea, but… I hadn’t exactly said no.
Teddy was reckless. He feared nothing and no one. I wasn’t like him. My business was just taking off, I had too much to lose.
I couldn’t fight him, so I had to run.
I booked the next flight to Paris.
The visa was originally for my honeymoon with Max. Now, I was using it to escape a different kind of entanglement.
Chapter 2
Chapter 2
