---- Chapter 12 The pre-wedding dinner was held at a lavish, Michelin-starred restaurant near the Champs-Elysées. The air was thick with the scent of truffles and old money. Aria, flushed with excitement, chattered endlessly about the wedding plans, the flowers, the guest list. Bennett responded in monosyllables, his mind elsewhere. His attention was snagged by a group of people holding court at a nearby table. It was Jacques Dubois, a French billionaire he did business with, along with his entourage. Jacques spotted him and strode over, his arms open wide. "Bennett, my friend! What a surprise to see you here!" He then turned to Aria, his eyes lighting up with recognition. "And Kelsey! My dear, you look more beautiful than ever. That color is magnificent on you!" He kissed the air on both sides of Aria's face. She froze, her smile faltering, understanding nothing of his rapid French. She looked at Bennett, her eyes wide with panic. One of Bennett's friends, who had flown in for the event, quickly stepped in. "Jacques, this is not Kelsey. This is Aria Diaz, Bennett's fiancée." Jacques Dubois stopped, his jovial expression vanishing. He ---- looked from Bennett to Aria and back again, his disapproval palpable. "Fiancée? But... what about Kelsey? | just saw her last month at the gallery opening in SoHo. We spoke for an hour. Is she well?" The table fell silent. Other acquaintances were watching, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and judgment. Aria, understanding the gist of the conversation from the names and the tone, went pale. She looked down at her plate, her lower lip trembling. She was an imposter, and everyone knew it. She pushed her chair back, muttering something about the restroom, and fled. Bennett, furious and embarrassed, tried to salvage the situation. "Kelsey and | have separated," he said stiffly. "It was amicable." Jacques raised a skeptical eyebrow but said nothing more, offering a curt nod before returning to his table. Bennett found Aria crying on a velvet settee in the lounge. "They all hate me," she sobbed. "They all think I'm some cheap copy of her." "They're snobs, that's all," he said, trying to comfort her, but his words sounded hollow even to his own ears. He felt a sharp pang of guilt. He had put her in this impossible position. "It doesn't matter what they think," he said, pulling her into his arms. "You're the one carrying my children. You're the one | ---- love." The mention of the babies seemed to calm her. She leaned into him, her tears subsiding. "You promise?" she whispered. "| promise," he lied. They returned to their hotel suite in a tense silence. Aria went to take a bath, and Bennett found himself staring at the photo of Kelsey on his phone again. Jacques had seen her last month. Happy and thriving. While he was lying to her, planning a secret life. Aria came out of the bathroom, her mood improved. "Come to bed, baby," she purred, letting her robe slip to the floor. He looked at her, at her youthful, perfect body, and felt nothing. "| can't," he said, turning away. "We have to be careful. For the babies." It was a flimsy excuse, but she accepted it, a flicker of disappointment in her eyes. She curled up in bed and asked him to hold her until she fell asleep. He lay beside her in the dark, his body rigid, his mind racing. He was wide awake, haunted by the ghost of his wife. He pulled out his phone and tried her number again. Still disconnected. He texted his assistant. Get me another photo of my wife. | need to know she's okay. ---- A few minutes later, a new image appeared. It was Kelsey, sitting at an outdoor café in SoHo, bathed in the afternoon sun. She was laughing, her head thrown back in genuine mirth. A man was sitting across from her, a handsome, rugged- looking man with a kind smile. He was looking at her with an expression of pure adoration. 4 Bennett's heart seized. It wasn't just that she was happy. It was that she was happy with someone else.