Love Is but an Illusion

Joan has loved Sebastian Ford since she first saw him painting at the Ford residence, though she knew she was never meant to stand beside the heir to a billion-dollar corporation. When an accident left him in a coma for five years, it was Joan who cared for him day and night and begged the surgeon who healed him. Cassandra Sutton, the woman he loved, had fled abroad the day after the accident. Now Cassandra has returned, and Sebastian has married her in secret.

Hidden behind a floor-length window, Sebastian takes a call from his friend Zachary Lance and speaks in Francian, unaware that Joan understands every word. He admits he will divorce Cassandra after two years and will give Joan a fake marriage certificate so their wedding can go on as planned. Joan says nothing, though his words cut straight into her heart.

Knowing he has never let go of Cassandra, Joan calls Sebastian's mother, Emily Potts, and accepts her offer: fifty million dollars to break up with Sebastian and disappear after the wedding she spent a year preparing for.