Chapter 1Seven Years of a Lie

The first person I saw after stepping off the plane at JFK was a ghost from a past I had buried seven years ago: my ex-fiancé’s sister.

She cornered me by the baggage claim, her arms crossed. "It's been seven years, Elara. Don't you think it's time you apologized to my brother?"

Her brother, Julian Vance, was the man I almost married. Seven years ago, at our engagement party, in front of everyone we knew, he had shattered my world. He’d publicly called off our wedding, accusing me of carrying another man's child. He wished me a long and happy life with my "lover" before taking his young assistant's hand and walking out, leaving me in the ruins.

But there was no lover. There never had been.

The wound he’d carved into my soul had been so deep I’d fled New York that very night. And now, his sister, Jessica, stood before me, suggesting I should be the one to crawl back and beg for a second chance.

A dry laugh escaped my lips. "Apologize? For what? My daughter is already in kindergarten. The time for reconciliation is long past."

* * *

Jessica’s perfectly made-up face stared back at me in disbelief. "What did you say? You… you're married?" Her voice was a stuttered whisper, as if she couldn't process the words. "And a child? A… a four-year-old?"

I gave a curt nod, having no desire to get dragged back into the Vance family drama. I tried to step around her, but she grabbed my arm, her grip surprisingly strong.

"You're joking, Elara. This has to be a joke!" Her voice climbed to a shrill pitch, drawing stares from fellow travelers. "You would never marry someone else! You couldn't possibly give up on Julian!"

She leaned in, her voice dripping with a venomous pity. "Everyone in our circle knew you lived and breathed for him. A shadow. You threw away that incredible career opportunity, a job anyone would kill for, all for him. How could you possibly marry another man?"

Her eyes widened with a sudden, crazed realization. "And the child! She's not four! She's seven! She has to be Julian's daughter!"

I felt a familiar headache begin to throb at my temples. I couldn't believe she was dredging up my past devotion as proof of her insane theory. It was true, I had loved Julian. I’d loved him so much that everyone saw me as an extension of him, not as his partner. But that was a lifetime ago.

"Why would I lie to you?" I asked, my voice flat. "And as for Julian's child… I took care of that seven years ago."

The implication of my words seemed to ignite her. Her grip tightened, her nails digging into my skin. "Impossible! Tell me, who is your husband? Is he as handsome as Julian? As tall? I bet he's not even six feet."

The questions came in a torrent, each one a thinly veiled insult. "What does he do? Where does he work? Does he even clear six figures a year?"

Her words were laced with a hostile certainty that by leaving her brother, I had doomed myself to a life of mediocrity. I had no interest in wasting my breath on a woman so blinded by a cult-like devotion to her brother.

"Jessica," I said calmly, "this has nothing to do with you or your family anymore." I began to pry her fingers off my arm, one by one.

She wouldn't let go. "Is that it, Elara? Did you marry some lesser man just to spite my brother? Do you have any idea what he's been through? He nearly destroyed himself looking for you!"

She puffed out her chest, a triumphant gleam in her eye. "He runs Vance Corporation now! He's powerful, handsome, and rich. Women dream of being with him! And you, you foolish girl, threw him away out of stubborn pride!"

By the end of her speech, she was practically beaming, as if the world contained no other man of value. As if I were a blind fool for not wanting him back.

She lifted her chin, looking down her nose at me. "It's not too late to apologize. We Vances aren't completely unreasonable."

The sheer audacity made me want to laugh, but all I felt was a wave of nausea.