Chapter 7
Jarren’s mind clung to the words like they were carved into his skull.
“She cheated on me
It was the only thread of logic he could grip as the quilt threatened to unravel everything. He repeated it to himself like a chant, like armor. Because if it wasn’t true–if everything he believer about Hayley was a lie then what did that make him?
He began ordering his men to investigate everything again–every file, every photo, every trace of Hayley’s last days. He needed to confirm it, to reassure himself,
And Elisa was there, always watching. Waiting.
One evening, he turned to her, the doubt bleeding through his eyes.
‘You swear it was real? That she actually cheated?”
Elisa tilted her head, feigning a hurt expression. “Of course it was real, Jarren, You saw the photos yourself. I would never lie to you. Why would 1?”
Jarren paused, the image burned in his mind: Hayley’s limp form next to another man. The wine glass, the tousled sheets, the silence.
He nodded slowly. “Right. You’re right. She deserved what she got. She brought it on herself.”
He forced the guilt down, pushed it beneath the surface like a corpse buried alive. “She’s gone now. I’m done mourning.”
He pulled Elisa closer and kissed her–hard and possessive.
“You were right,” he whispered. “Now we can finally have everything.”
A smile curved Elisa’s lips. “We can do everything we dreamed of. Forget your grandmother. If she wants Hayley, let her grieve alone. You have your own company. You can rebuild it from the ground up, with me.”
“I’ll show her I don’t need her support,” Jarren said, chest swelling with bitterness. “I’ll do it all myself.”
Elisa purred, “And I’ll help you. I’ll line up investors. We’ll rise together.”
She kissed him again, savoring every moment of her victory. “Now… should we finally plan our wedding?”
He hesitated, then gave a nod.
“Do whatever you want.”
“Perfect,” she said, running her hand along her stomach. “I want to be married before the baby comes. It’s the right thing, isn’t it?”
Jarren nodded. “Sure.”
She dove into planning immediately. Dresses, venues, rings. She dragged him to jewelry shops, snapping photos of diamond bands and custom initials. She ordered baby clothes from elite designers and posted carefully staged pictures online with captions about “building a future.”
For Elisa, this was everything she’d waited for. Her fantasy was finally real.
Hayley was gone. Buried. Forgotten.
Phahad
7:16 pm
She had won.
But victories built on lies always have cracks.
One afternoon, Elisa was in their shared apartment, going over the wedding guest list, when the doorbell rang.
She opened it with a casual flick of her wrist–expecting a delivery.
But her face drained of color the moment she saw the man on the other side.
Roger.
The man she had paid to drug Hayley.
The man who had slipped into that hotel room and staged the scene that ruined Hayley’s life.
Her old lover–and her biggest mistake.
Her voice dropped to a hiss. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Roger leaned against the doorframe with a smirk, his eyes scanning her swollen stomach. “Nice bump, Elisa. Playing happy housewife now, are we?”
“You were supposed to disappear,” she spat. “I told you never to come back.”
“Well, I don’t want to be here either,” he said, pushing inside uninvited. “But I’ve got a problem. One that smells like unpaid debts.”
She slammed the door behind him. “Get out.”
“Not until you pay me what you owe.”
“I already paid you!” she snapped.
Roger shrugged. “Yeah, for one job. But silence has its own price. You think I haven’t noticed how rich you’re living now? How you’re marrying that fool like some kind of saint? You really think I wouldn’t come knocking when it was convenient?”
“I’ll scream,” she warned, stepping back.
He smirked again. “Do it. You think Jarren will believe it? You think he won’t ask questions when
I show him the photos, the receipts, the phone records? I kept everything, sweetheart.”
She went pale.
“You wouldn’t…”
“Oh, I would,” Roger said, stepping closer. “Unless you pay. In full.”
Elisa clenched her fists, trembling. Her perfect world was unraveling one thread at a time. She had won. Hayley was gone. Jarren was hers. The company was in reach.
But if Roger talked…
Everything would be gone… and she wouldn’t allow that.
Chapter 7
