---- Chapter 13 Desmond Day POV: The ringing of my phone pierced through the thick, syrupy fog of my hangover. It was my assistant. His voice was hesitant, nervous. "Sir... there are rumors. About Ms. Quinn. Her family is... they ' re setting up meetings for her. With other men." | laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "That's ridiculous. Aurora loves me." But a sliver of doubt, cold and sharp, lodged itself in my heart. | tried to call her. Her phone went straight to voicemail. | sent her a text. A single, ominous checkmark appeared. | had been blocked. No. It wasn' t possible. | drove to her family' s sprawling estate, the one where | had always been welcomed as a future son-in-law. This time, a grim-faced security guard stopped me at the gate. "I'm sorry, Mr. Day. There' s a private event tonight. | can' t let you in without an invitation." Through the wrought iron bars, | could see the mansion ablaze with lights, hear the faint strains of music. | could see ---- elegantly dressed guests mingling on the lawn. Not long ago, | had been one of them. Now, | was a beggar at the gates. | watched as a young man, handsome and preposterously wealthy-looking, pulled up in a bright yellow Lamborghini. The guards greeted him by name and waved him through. My heart sank. | waited in my car for hours, the party a distant, mocking spectacle. Finally, as the guests began to leave, | saw her. Aurora. She was on the arm of the man from the Lamborghini, laughing up at him, her hand resting possessively on his chest. The guests' chatter drifted towards me on the night air. "A brilliant match, don' t you think? The Quinns and the Vanderbilts. Combining their fortunes will create a dynasty." "Poor Desmond Day. | heard his company is going under. Aurora certainly dodged a bullet there." Dodged a bullet. That' s what | was to her. A bullet to be dodged. The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow. It had all been a transaction. A business merger. And now that my value had plummeted, the deal was off. | waited until the last guest had departed, until the man in the Lamborghini had driven away. | got out of my car and confronted her as she walked back towards the house. ---- She saw me, and her face, which had been glowing with happiness moments before, twisted into a mask of annoyance and disgust. "Desmond? What are you doing here? You need to leave." "Why?" | asked, my voice hoarse. "Why are you doing this, Aurora? | thought you loved me." She let out a short, sharp laugh. "Loved you? Desmond, let' s be honest. You pursued me for my family' s name and connections. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. But you are no longer beneficial to me." "That' s not true!" | protested, a desperate edge to my voice. "| divorced my wife for you! | love you!" "You mean the secret wife you lied to me about for a year?" she shot back, her voice dripping with contempt. "Please. And now your company is worthless. My father doesn' t back failures, Desmond. And | certainly don' t marry them. | am not a charity case. | am not here to 'help the poor' . Help the poor. The words were a brutal slap in the face. She saw me for what | had always feared | was: the poor boy from the wrong side of the tracks, playing dress-up in a world | didn' t belong to. My pride, my ambition, my entire sense of self-it all crumbled to dust at her feet.