Chapter 1

The day after my so-called fiancé publicly tore apart the engagement binding our two families, I boarded a private jet bound for the Berkshires.

He comforted his new girlfriend, saying, "Serena Brooks is nothing but a spoiled princess. She’ll cause a scene for a few days and come running back. Don’t let it bother you."

All my friends were worried I’d cling to Dominic Fletcher and turn Boston upside down in the process. But they didn’t know that I had already accepted another man’s proposal. This trip to the Berkshires wasn’t to lick my wounds; it was to forge a new promise.

With the wedding date fast approaching, I sent back every gift Dominic had ever given me – without leaving anything behind. Even the engagement necklace I once held dearer than life itself.

The humiliation Dominic Fletcher had subjected me to still felt like a dagger lodged deep in my chest.

The Grand Ballroom of the Fletcher Grand Hotel was packed that night, yet an unsettling silence hung over the room. The air was so stifling, I could hear the faint sound of ice melting in the glasses around me.

After what felt like an eternity, Abigail timidly broke the silence while tightly gripping Dominic’s hand. "Dominic, don’t do this. Serena is just—"

"Just what? She’s almost twenty-six; she’s not a child anymore," came a cutting remark from one of the family members in the corner.

Whispers rippled through the room, only making the atmosphere heavier.

I clung stubbornly to Dominic Fletcher’s suit jacket, refusing to accept what was happening. But as I looked up at him, my eyes were already brimming with tears.

"Serena, must I make myself even clearer?" he said coldly, setting down his champagne and rising slowly.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Our engagement is nothing more than a trade-off between our families. I don’t love you. I never will."

Choking back a sob, I shot back, "Then why won’t you let me date someone else?"

"Because, technically, you are still my fiancée," he said, his tone as cutting as ever. "If you do something scandalous, it won’t just disgrace you; it’ll tarnish the honor of both the Brooks and Fletcher families."

"Then why did you kiss me that night at my graduation party?" I demanded, my voice trembling.

A flicker of irritation passed through Dominic’s eyes. "That was because you were drunk and threw yourself at me."

I let out a bitter laugh, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably. "And yet, all these years, there’s never been another woman by your side but me. Do you really feel nothing for me?"

"That’s because I hadn’t met the girl I truly wanted to protect," he said, pulling Abigail closer to him.

"This is the last time I’ll say it, so listen carefully," he continued, his voice icy. "I love Abigail. She’s the one I’m going to marry. Your little princess antics won’t work this time."

Abigail leaned into him, her voice soft and trembling. "Dominic…"

He silenced her with a kiss, his lips pressing against hers with unguarded passion. Abigail wrapped her arms around his neck, responding just as fervently.

At my own engagement banquet, he kissed another woman in front of every member of both families without a shred of shame.

In that moment, I thought back to the kiss we’d shared at my graduation party. The same tenderness, the same intensity. It had made me believe, foolishly, that I held a special place in his heart. That he cared for me.

But Dominic moved out of Fletcher Manor soon after. He and Abigail settled into a penthouse on Newbury Street. The day he moved, he made sure none of our mutual friends told me. He probably thought I’d show up and make a scene.

This time, I didn’t give in to reckless impulses. I didn’t show up sobbing outside his office building. I didn’t beg him to come back.

Instead, I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest and forced myself to leave it all behind.