Chapter 1Fluttering Wings

The senior trip after graduation was where I met Ethan.

It was like lightning striking kindling. I fell for him so hard it was almost a death wish.

And it was, in a way. It ended when he threw a positive pregnancy test in front of my father.

“Mr. Albright,” he’d said, his voice cold and steady, “your daughter is pregnant. The child is mine. And I’m leaving her.”

Just like that, Ethan Thorne vanished from my world.

It turned out our entire relationship had been nothing but a means to avenge his first love.

After that day, my father died. My mother lost her mind.

Ten years later, I met Ethan again.

* * *

I’ve been drinking. Come get me. Got two friends with me.

The text was from Marcus.

Okay, I typed back, adding a string of hearts and kissing emojis.

Marcus is in his forties, but his needs are still… intense. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be coming home tonight. After telling Leo to finish his homework and put himself to bed, I left.

Leo is nine now. He’s a good boy. He can sleep at home alone, make his own breakfast, and get himself to school without me.

I couldn’t find a parking spot near the hotel. Marcus’s phone was off. I had no choice but to park on the street and walk to the address he’d sent.

I heard his booming voice before I even reached the entrance.

“Stunning, right? Great body, never complains. Eight grand a month. Cleaner than a hooker, less hassle than a girlfriend. And she comes whenever I call, faster than an Uber.”

I pretended I hadn’t heard him talking about me. “Marcus,” I said, my voice even.

He spun around. Seeing me standing there, a flash of discomfort crossed his face. He cleared his throat and made the introductions. “This is my old friend, Ethan Thorne, and his fiancée, Rachel.”

He gestured toward me. “And this is… my, uh… friend, Valerie Albright.”

“A pleasure, Miss Albright.” Ethan shook my hand, his grip firm and polite.

Rachel just snorted, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The official girlfriends and wives—they always looked down on me.

I never thought I’d see Ethan again in this lifetime. Ten years had stripped away his boyishness, replacing it with the polished confidence of a successful man.

In those first few years, I used to fantasize about this moment every single day. How would I react? Would I be incandescent with rage? Would I hate him so much that I’d slap him, or sink my teeth into his flesh?

But time and hardship have a way of sanding down all emotion.

Seeing him again, all I could manage were two quiet words.

“Hello.”