All Chapters of Flames of Betrayal: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Simon Hoffman had asked me out to dinner.He was still tied up in a meeting, so I got to our reserved private dining room ahead of him.While I waited, I pulled out my phone to check on flights home, hitting the peak of the summer travel season. The earliest one I could get was ten days out.My birthday was also in ten days.That same day, Simon and Ella Johnson were throwing their engagement party.Well, that was one celebration I was not going to crash.The door swung open and in came Simon, catching me off guard. I quickly locked my phone screen.The room was large, yet he made a beeline to sit right beside me, warmly grabbing my hand.In a flash, it felt as if I had returned to the night our non-cohabiting relationship began nine years ago. That night, he snuck into my room, gently kissed my hand, and whispered promises of a love that would last a lifetime.However, now there was a ring on his finger—a ring I knew all too well. Given who he was, Simon was meant to have jus

I silently slipped off the bracelet, gripping it tight in my fist for a moment.Everyone in the room held their breath.Then, with a smile reaching my eyes, I passed the bracelet to her.Simon kept his head down, lost in silence.How ridiculous I felt, for a moment thinking he would remember the bracelet and intervene.I was deluding myself.With a smile, I told Ella, "It suits you beautifully."I lifted Nicole up a bit more, holding her close, and walked away without looking back."Lily..."Simon's voice trailed after me, but Julia cut him off."Just let her leave! We don't need that kind of negativity."From the corner, Ella gasped and exclaimed, "Simon, I think the baby moved!""What? Let me have a feel."I quickened my pace, their voices soon fading into the distance.Back home, Nicole was still reeling from the news of her father's absence, her tiny face creased with sorrow, tears clinging to her lashes, her cheeks flushed from crying.She gripped my hand, her voice

Hope sparked in me as I wrapped Nicole in a hug."Mr. Hoffman remembered! He's on his way!"Nicole's spirits soared, and she flipped the piano lid back open, her playing innocent and relentless."Dad says I'm clever for learning 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'! He'll be so surprised!"Nicole could not stop chattering about it, her face beaming.Thirty minutes later, the doorbell chimed.Nicole scampered to the door and leaped into Simon's arms."Daddy!"However, there was Ella, right by Simon, and a whole posse of high-society types trailing behind them."What's with the extra kid at Hoffman's future wedding home?""Why hasn't anyone kicked this woman out yet?""Talk about a jinx..."Their whispers and snide comments filled the air, every word a needle to my ears. A bodyguard was already on his way to remove me.A chill of dread washed over me.'Simon, can you really be this heartless?' I wondered.My heart pounded as I gazed at him, the world around us fading away. I mu

[Simon, this is goodbye.]I dropped my phone and chuckled bitterly.The start with Simon was a fairytale, but the ending was a hot mess.Perhaps folks like us, with our different worlds, were never meant to be. It was time to get my life back on track.Simon did not text me back. He probably figured that I was just upset.It was better that way—less drama to deal with.I shut my eyes, letting sleep pull me under.By the time Simon read that text the next day, Nicole and I would be airborne.Meanwhile, Simon snapped awake to my message, froze, then booted the coffee table across the room.He dialed his driver frantically and yelled, "Get over here, now! Airport, stat!"The driver hesitated as he replied, "Mr. Hoffman, aren't you supposed to be with Mrs. Hoffman at the doctor's—"Simon interrupted, "Ella isn't Mrs. Hoffman. Lily is Mrs. Hoffman! Don't you get it? Airport, now!" Simon was restless the whole drive, punching numbers into his phone only to be met with dead lines

Simon cleared his throat, playing out the reunion with me in his head.I would be in tears, rushing into his embrace, while he would put on a stern face and scold me.He would say, "No more fits, okay? Can't we just talk things out?"He would listen to my heartfelt apology and forgive me with a tender kiss.However, when Simon swung the door open, it was not his beloved he found—it was Ella.His expression turned to stone.Oblivious to his mood, Ella cozied up and latched onto his arm as she cooed, "I knew you'd see sense, Simon. You can't just flip-flop on something as big as marriage."Her face lit up with excitement as she tugged him inside."See, I tossed out all of that girl's junk. There's not a thing left. She had it coming, treating you like that. She deserves to be left with nothing."Simon's anger erupted, and he shook off her grip."How dare you?!"He bolted to our bedroom, burst through the door, and found it wiped clean of my existence.Even the half-used bottl