I was devoted to Tom Collin, a man whose ambition I once admired. I gave up my career, my future, my entire identity for him. I was the perfect wife while he built his empire. But when he reached the top, I became invisible.
Then I found him with her—his college ex, the woman who’d abandoned him when he had nothing. When I confronted him, the man I married vanished, replaced by a monster whose hands left bruises on my skin.
I was finally ready to leave. But I never got the chance. He left our five-year-old daughter, Joy, alone for his mistress. And in his absence, my baby was murdered.
I buried my child, and with her, the weak woman I used to be. In a haze of grief, I let a handsome stranger hold me for one night in Italy—a single moment of oblivion.
Five years later, I live for one purpose: Revenge. Tom Collin will pay for what he did. He has no idea the woman now standing before him. But my new boss… he might. The magnetic CEO of our rival company is the stranger from that night. And he doesn’t know he’s the father of my secret daughter.


We settled onto the couch, the cushions accepting our weight as I tried to steady my nerves. My limbs felt oddly heavy, and despite my attempts at composure, my thoughts churned like a storm. Eden positioned herself beside me, her arms folded defensively across her body, eyebrows drawn together in that familiar expression she wore before launching into one of her interrogations. In that moment, she resembled a stern parent more than my closest friend, ready to demand answers from a wayward teenager.


"So where exactly were you last night?" Eden's voice cut through the air, loaded with suspicion and barely contained curiosity. This wasn't casual questioning - it carried implications and the threat of judgment to come.


Chapter 72 - Chapter 72 Truth Comes Out