ONE

JUST LIKE many other women in their youthful prime, Doris had believed in fairytale love, in the idea of Prince Charming who would whisk her away from her mundane life. She'd fed herself on a steady diet of romantic comedies and love stories.

Though she'd also been warned about the other side of love, the side where people's hearts get broken and lives get shattered, she in her true hopeless romantic fashion had chosen to ignore them all and push for love and romance.

She'd fall in and out of love and had her fair share of broken hearts and bruised egos. But yet, she held out hope that maybe, just maybe, there was someone out there who was meant for her.

And, boy, had she been through a lot finding that "someone" meant for her!

From the jerk in high school who had left her for the blonde cheerleader only for the reason, she'd been much more curvaceous than she'd been—like, how was it her fault mother nature decided to visit her a little later than others?

To the bastard in her first year of college who had promised her the world and then disappeared without a trace. . . and her limited edition sports car. THAT BANDIT!

Down to that scum of the earth who had dated her merely for the fact her father was a billionaire tycoon and left her for some other heiress the moment, he realized she had no intention of taking over her father's empire.

She'd known it was a risk, that her heart could get broken over and over again but she'd been willing to take the chance.

Love was worth the risk, she'd thought. And she could endure about anything to find it.

Well, not until she'd met Brad Bruce.

When she first met him, she'd been struck by his good looks and charming personality. She'd been swept off her feet by his attentiveness and his ability to make her feel special.

They'd quickly fallen into a sexual relationship, but Doris had thought there was more to it than that. Even though he'd made it clear oftentimes that he wasn't capable of love, she'd stupidly let her heart deceive her into believing that he felt the same way she did, that they had a connection beyond the physical.

However, she'd been mistaken and led herself to her worst heartbreak ever.

After all her horrible experiences, she'd eradicate the illusion she built around love and vow to safeguard her heart from further damage.

And so far, she'd been doing a great job of keeping that vow so why the hell was she melting like butter in a hot pan just by the presence of this man?

Doris beamed, rolling her shoulders back as she struggled to compose herself and prayed he couldn't hear the sound of her heart hammering against her chest like craze. "Brad, what are you doing in Paris?"

"Work," he said casually with a shrug. "And you?"

Doris pursed her lips. "Uh. . . well, I. . ." Before she could finish her statement, Brad's phone rang.

"Excuse me. . ." He raised a finger before proceeding to converse with whoever it was on the other end of the line. "Yeah. Okay, I'll be there in a short while."

When he disconnected the call, he turned his attention to her. "I'm sorry. I'm really in a hurry," he said as he began to move away from her. "Let's do this some other time, okay?"

"Okay!" Doris called, waving him off. "Let's do that."

A smile lit up her face as she watched him vanish through the crowd. Though their relationship had not ended all blissfully, it had also been the most joyful and fulfilling experience she had ever had. Despite her best efforts, she could not deny the fact that she missed him and looked forward to their next meeting.

Doris gasped sharply as it dawned on her. HIS CONTACT! She had forgotten to ask for his contact. How were they supposed to meet each other?

UGH! DORIS!

She began to push through the crowd again, apologizing as she hurried to the exit but unfortunately, she was just in time to see him get into a cab and zoomed off.

"Ugh! Come on," Doris groaned in frustration. "I was just this close."

Doris huffed in defeat as she watched the cab disappear in the distance. Perhaps this was for the best. Perhaps the universe was trying to protect her from making another rash decision that would lead to her hurting herself once again.

Besides, she had more pressing problems to deal with at the moment and her love life was the very least of them. However, if fate were to be on their side then they were bound to meet each other again.

* * *

Seething with wrath, Doris walked briskly through the entrance of her agency.

D&M Agency was her pride and joy. She'd never believe she would come this far with her dreams all by herself without anyone's help.

As a typical Daddy's Girl whose "Daddy" was amongst the top five wealthiest tycoons in the states, she'd grown up having all the options and luxury. She'd been treated like a princess for as long as she could remember, getting anything. . . and everything she wanted at her beck and call.

She'd had maids to wait on her every second of the day. Spoilt with expensive gifts and a lavish lifestyle.

Most kids got toys, puppies, and other cutie stuff on their fifth birthday but her father had given her a piece of real estate.

He'd gifted her a Ferrari at ten which she wasn't even old enough to ride. A yacht with her name inscribed on it at sixteen. A limitless Black Card at eighteen. . . the list went on and on and on.

Since her birth mother had died the same day she was born, she never had the chance to meet her. Her father was the only family she had left, so turning to him for help had always felt natural and instinctive.

Truth be told, she hadn't needed to reach out to him. He'd always seemed to have a way of knowing when she needed help and often solved her problems before she could even ask. It was as if her father could read her mind.

However, at a certain point in her life, she decided to strike out on her own and explore life without his guidance or financial support. She knew it would be risky, but she was determined to make her own way and find her own success. She was ready to take flight and see what she could achieve on her own.

And that she'd done when she moved to Paris four years ago, away from family and friends.

She'd left her old life behind and start over in Paris. It had been a fresh start, a chance to leave her heartbreak and pain in the past and put her life back together.

She had worked hard to establish her modeling agency from the ground up. It had been a struggle at the start but she'd succeeded in making it a thriving business. Now, she had models from all over the world working for her, and she was considered one of the top agencies in Paris in just two years.

She was proud of what she'd accomplished. . . and extremely protective of it. That was why she was prepared to raise hell on earth after learning what had happened to one of her models.

"GIVE ME THE DEETS!" Doris exploded as she blasted through the door of the meeting room. "What exactly happened when I was away?!"

Everyone rose to their feet, their expression glistening with surprise as she stormed in, including Geneviève Moreau, her acting president.

When she established her agency, she hadn't been ready to step into the limelight. She'd wanted to remain behind the scenes while running the affairs of the company. After careful consideration, she'd appointed Geneviève Moreau, a woman who exuded not just beauty and poise but also terrific insight, to take on the office of acting president and the public face of the company, while Doris remained the beating heart of the company, hidden from the world's view.

Which was quite funny considering the fact Doris had lived constantly in the public eye all her life. She'd been a child model, fell in love with the profession, and decided it was the career path to walk through and she'd smashed it quite excellently but now she was terrified to step into the spotlight.

It hadn't always been that way. In fact, it was far from it. She'd walked runways of prominent fashion shows, been on the cover of popular fashion magazines, starred in one or two musical videos and movies, and had over twenty million followers on her social media page.

She'd flourished in the industry and cherished all the attention she received but everything had changed on that day four years ago. . .