<<Finding Forever After the Betrayal Chapter 15
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“No,” I said, my voice firm, the word a clean break, a severance of ties that
had once felt unbreakable.“Seattle is where my family is. Los Angeles… I’m done
with Los Angeles.”
A strange smile flickered across Aiden’s face, quickly replaced by a mask of
cold fury.“You’ll regret this, Violet,” he said, his voice low, laced with a threat that
sent a shiver down my spine.“You’ll come crawling back to us. You’ll see.”
“Don’t hold your breath,” I retorted, meeting his gaze with a defiance I hadn‘
t known I possessed.
Charles, without a word, snapped his fingers, and the security guards,
moving with a swiftness that was both impressive and terrifying, descended
upon Aiden and Ethan. They struggled, their protests muffled by the hands
clamped over their mouths, their bodies bound and helpless as they were dragged
towards a waiting helicopter.
Charles turned to me, his expression unreadable.“Did that… frighten you?”
he asked, his voice softer now, almost hesitant.
It was a strange question, but I understood what he was asking. He was a
man of power, a man accustomed to getting his way, and I’d just witnessed a
glimpse of the ruthlessness that lurked beneath his polished exterior.
I shook my head, meeting his gaze with a newfound clarity. In that moment,
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I saw him for what he was: a man who understood the cost of freedom, the price
of protecting what was precious. We were more alike than I’d realized.
“No,” I said, a slow smile spreading across my lips, a smile that had nothing
to do with happiness and everything to do with relief.“Not at all.”
I hadn’t expected Aiden and Ethan to follow me to Seattle. In my naive, post-
breakup fantasy, they’d realize the error of their ways, see Hannah for the
manipulative, social–climbing opportunist she was, and come crawling back to
me, begging for forgiveness.
But life, I was quickly learning, rarely followed the script I wrote in my head.
It seemed they hadn’t quite moved on. And Hannah, clearly, wasn’t about to
let them.
The thought of them all living together, their lives intertwined in a messy
my stomach churn. But it knot of shared grief and misplaced affections, made was their problem now, their tangled web to unravel.
I was free.
Charles‘ townhouse was a world away from the sprawling chaos of our shared home in Los Angeles. It was elegant, understated, every detail a reflection of his meticulous nature. I wandered through the rooms, my footsteps echoing on the polished marble floors, a sense of unreality washing over me. This was my
life now.
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As we settled into our new routine, the initial awkwardness of our arranged
marriage slowly giving way to a comfortable companionship, I found myself
thinking about Aiden and Ethan less and less. The memories, once so vivid, so
painful, were fading, replaced by the demands of my new life, the challenges of
my new job, the quiet comfort of Charles‘ presence by my side.
They were probably just adjusting to my absence, I told myself, clinging to
the belief that time, that great healer, would eventually erase the sting of our
fractured friendship. We’d been a part of each other’s lives for so long, it was
only natural that they’d miss me. Like a faded photograph, tucked away in a
drawer, a reminder of a past that could never be reclaimed
But some photographs, I realized, were better left forgotten.
On the helicopter ride back to Los Angeles, the roar of the engine a deafening counterpoint to the silence that had settled between them, Aiden and Ethan sat side by side, their bodies bound, their spirits broken. They’d flown
across the country, fueled by a desperate hope, only to find Violet standing
beside another man, a man who radiated a quiet confidence that both
intimidated and infuriated them.
They’d failed.
“How did this happen?” Ethan finally choked out, his voice rough with
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disbelief.“How did we let this happen?”
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Aiden remained silent, his gaze fixed on the city sprawling beneath them, a
concrete jungle that mirrored the chaos in his own heart. They’d underestimated
Violet. Underestimated her strength, her resilience, her ability to move on
without them.
And they’d overestimated Hannah.
Hannah. The thought of her, her carefully constructed vulnerability, her
insatiable need for attention… it filled him with a disgust that was as much
directed at himself as it was at her.
Had she really been so naive? So blind?
It had seemed like such a good idea at the time: a little harmless flirtation, a way to make Violet jealous, to force her to choose between them. They’d never intended to hurt Hannah, to play with her emotions. They’d just… they’d been so focused on Violet, on winning her back, that they hadn’t considered the
consequences.
They’d been playing with fire. And they’d gotten burned.
