---- Chapter 17 Brandon Carlson POV: The sight of her smile, so radiant and directed at another man, was a physical blow. It was like watching the sun rise after a lifetime of darkness, only to realize it was rising for someone else. The man, Brett Blevins, heir to the Blevins fortune and my lifelong rival, leaned in and kissed her cheek. A possessive, feral rage | had never known | was capable of surged through me. Before | knew what | was doing, | was moving. | crossed the ballroom, shoved Brett away from her, and swung. My fist connected with his jaw with a satisfying crack. The room erupted in gasps. "Brandon!" Her voice. She said my name. It was the most beautiful sound | had ever heard. | turned to her, my heart pounding, a wild, desperate hope blooming in my chest. "Farah," | breathed. "You're alive." Her response was a sharp, stinging slap across my face. ---- "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she demanded, her eyes blazing with a cold fire | had never seen before. "You crash my party, assault my guest... who gave you the right?" "| was wrong," | blurted out, the words tumbling from me in a desperate rush. "Caryl lied. She lied about everything. She killed Grandpa. She framed you. | know everything, Farah. Please, come back to me." | reached for her hand, but she snatched it away as if my touch had burned her. "My name is Aurora Valois," she said, her voice dripping with ice. "And | have no idea who you're talking about. Now get out of my life." The pain in her eyes was a reflection of my own. | had put it there. "Please, Farah," | begged, my pride crumbling to dust. "Don't leave me. | was a fool. | didn't know how to love. | need you." The entire ballroom was silent, watching this unprecedented display of weakness from the infallible Brandon Carlson She just laughed, a sound completely devoid of warmth. "Your story is a dime a dozen, Brandon. I'm not interested. Now, for the last time, get out." "You're my fiancée," | insisted, my voice cracking. "My wife." "Ex-fiancée," Brett corrected, stepping between us, his hand ---- protectively on her arm. He wiped a trickle of blood from his lip. "And as for her being a wife... that will be me. We're getting married." The words hit me harder than his fist ever could. Married. To him. | looked at her, my eyes pleading. "Is he telling the truth?" She met my gaze, her expression unyielding. "Yes." She turned and walked away with him, her arm linked through his. She didn't look back. | had to find out what had happened. | made a call. An hour later, | had the truth. Aurora Valois. Heiress to an empire that dwarfed my own. She hadn't needed me for my money or my status. She had loved me for me. And | had thrown it all away. | had taken her pure, unconditional love and trampled it into the dirt. | had once harbored vile thoughts that she was with me for my family's power, for my wealth. The irony was a bitter, choking poison. | fell onto my bed, the pain in my chest a physical agony. | finally understood. | didn't just want her. | needed her. Like | needed air to breathe. And | would get her back. | would do whatever it took. The next day, the engagement of Aurora Valois and Brett Blevins was the talk of the town. Their families met, a merger of two of the country's most powerful dynasties. They decided ---- to waste no time. The wedding was set. They would register their marriage the very next day. Aurora dressed with care. She wore a simple white dress, her face glowing. Brett wore a dark suit, his tie a perfect Windsor knot. "You're wearing a tie," she noted, a small smile on her lips. "You hate ties." "You like them," he said simply. She took his arm, her heart filled with a quiet, peaceful warmth. This was right. This was her future. They walked up the steps of the city hall, ready to start their new life together. But | was already there. My bodyguards formed a human wall, blocking the entrance. "This wedding," | said, my voice dangerously calm, "is not happening."