Drew Halston looked almost exactly the same.
Expensive suit.
Perfectly styled dark hair.
A watch on his wrist that probably cost more than the first car I ever owned.
Beside him stood Vanessa Crowley.
The woman he had left me for.
She wore a pale blue dress and rested one hand naturally on Drew’s arm, as though that place had belonged to her forever.
I already knew they would be at the wedding.
What surprised me was that Drew walked directly toward me.
“Well,” he said. “This is unexpected.”
I smiled politely.
“Hello, Drew.”
His eyes traveled over my burgundy dress and the small clutch in my hand.
Then came that familiar smile.
The same one that used to make me feel like I was being graded.
“You look… good, Maren.”
The pause before “good” said everything.
Vanessa smiled beside him.
“It’s been forever.”
“Five years.”
Drew laughed softly.
“Best five years of my life.”
Once, those words would have broken something inside me.
Now they barely landed.
“I’m glad things worked out for you.”
His smile weakened slightly.
Drew had always enjoyed winning most when he could see the other person losing.
And apparently, he had expected me to look like I had.
When I married Drew at twenty-eight, I confused confidence with character.
It took me years to understand the difference.
Drew was ambitious.
Charming.
Magnetic.
He could walk into a room full of strangers and leave with business cards, invitations, and someone offering him an opportunity.
At first, I admired that.
After our wedding, we moved to Charleston because Drew wanted to grow his financial consulting business.
What happened next changed everything… FULL STORY on the next page.
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