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Revenge Marriage: The Jilted Ballerina’s Comeback
img img Revenge Marriage: The Jilted Ballerina's Comeback img Chapter 4 4
4 Chapters
Chapter 11 11 img
Chapter 12 12 img
Chapter 13 13 img
Chapter 14 14 img
Chapter 15 15 img
Chapter 16 16 img
Chapter 17 17 img
Chapter 18 18 img
Chapter 19 19 img
Chapter 20 20 img
Chapter 21 21 img
Chapter 22 22 img
Chapter 23 23 img
Chapter 24 24 img
Chapter 25 25 img
Chapter 26 26 img
Chapter 27 27 img
Chapter 28 28 img
Chapter 29 29 img
Chapter 30 30 img
Chapter 31 31 img
Chapter 32 32 img
Chapter 33 33 img
Chapter 34 34 img
Chapter 35 35 img
Chapter 36 36 img
Chapter 37 37 img
Chapter 38 38 img
Chapter 39 39 img
Chapter 40 40 img
Chapter 41 41 img
Chapter 42 42 img
Chapter 43 43 img
Chapter 44 44 img
Chapter 45 45 img
Chapter 46 46 img
Chapter 47 47 img
Chapter 48 48 img
Chapter 49 49 img
Chapter 50 50 img
Chapter 51 51 img
Chapter 52 52 img
Chapter 53 53 img
Chapter 54 54 img
Chapter 55 55 img
Chapter 56 56 img
Chapter 57 57 img
Chapter 58 58 img
Chapter 59 59 img
Chapter 60 60 img
Chapter 61 61 img
Chapter 62 62 img
Chapter 63 63 img
Chapter 64 64 img
Chapter 65 65 img
Chapter 66 66 img
Chapter 67 67 img
Chapter 68 68 img
Chapter 69 69 img
Chapter 70 70 img
Chapter 71 71 img
Chapter 72 72 img
Chapter 73 73 img
Chapter 74 74 img
Chapter 75 75 img
Chapter 76 76 img
Chapter 77 77 img
Chapter 78 78 img
Chapter 79 79 img
Chapter 80 80 img
Chapter 81 81 img
Chapter 82 82 img
Chapter 83 83 img
Chapter 84 84 img
Chapter 85 85 img
Chapter 86 86 img
Chapter 87 87 img
Chapter 88 88 img
Chapter 89 89 img
Chapter 90 90 img
Chapter 91 91 img
Chapter 92 92 img
Chapter 93 93 img
Chapter 94 94 img
Chapter 95 95 img
Chapter 96 96 img
Chapter 97 97 img
Chapter 98 98 img
Chapter 99 99 img
Chapter 100 100 img
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Chapter 4 4

Daphne stood under the hot spray of the shower. She scrubbed her skin with a loofah until it turned pink, trying to wash away the feeling of the gala, the alleyway, and the confusion of the morning.

The steam filled the shower stall, thick and white.

It triggered a memory.

Flashback. Eight years ago.

The library at St. Jude's Prep. It was raining then, too.

Young Daphne sat hidden behind a stack of encyclopedias, sobbing. She was sixteen. She had just been cut from the terrifyingly competitive summer intensive at the Royal Ballet.

Footsteps approached.

She curled into a tighter ball, expecting a teacher to scold her.

"You're getting snot on the Britannica," a voice drawled.

She looked up. It was Charlton. He was wearing his blazer carelessly, tie askew.

He didn't ask why she was crying. He didn't offer empty platitudes.

He just handed her a pristine, monogrammed handkerchief.

"Dry your eyes, Flynn. Red isn't your color."

He sat down next to her on the floor, opening a comic book, acting like sitting on the dusty library floor was the most natural thing for a Bernard heir to do.

A few minutes later, Campbell walked by the aisle. He saw Daphne crying.

He paused. He looked at his watch. Then he saw the headmaster talking to a donor near the entrance.

Campbell turned and walked toward the donor, flashing his winning smile, leaving Daphne in the dust.

End Flashback.

Daphne snapped back to the present. She turned off the tap.

She realized with a jolt that Campbell had always been transactional. Even back then. She had just been too blind to see it.

She dried off and put on Charlton's shirt. It was huge on her, the hem hitting her mid-thigh. She rolled up the sleeves.

She lifted her arm to smell the collar. It smelled like sandalwood and safety.

She hated that she liked it.

She walked out into the living area.

Charlton was standing by the kitchen island, talking on his phone. He was speaking rapid-fire French.

"Non, c'est inacceptable. Bloquez tout," he commanded.

He hung up as she entered.

"Lawyers," he explained briefly.

He didn't smile. He slid an iPad across the marble counter toward her.

"Campbell gave an exclusive to 'The Daily Look' this morning. It went live ten minutes ago."

Daphne felt her stomach drop. She walked over and looked at the screen.

The headline screamed in bold black letters:

BROCK HEIR CHOOSING DUTY OVER RECKLESS ROMANCE

She read the first paragraph.

Sources close to the couple say that Campbell Brock ended the engagement due to Flynn's increasing emotional volatility and erratic behavior. Rumors of infidelity on her part have plagued the couple for months...

"Infidelity?" Daphne gasped. "I never looked at another man!"

"Read the next line," Charlton said.

Flynn was seen leaving the gala with notorious playboy Charlton Bernard, confirming suspicions of a long-standing affair.

"He's spinning the narrative," Charlton said, his voice hard. "He's using last night against you. He's making you the villain so he looks like the noble victim who had to choose the 'good girl' Kandice."

"How did he know?" Daphne asked. "About us leaving together?"

"He didn't," Charlton said. "He guessed. And we just gave him the proof he needed."

Daphne sank onto a barstool. She felt weak.

"My career," she whispered. "ABT has a morality clause. They won't keep a scandal-ridden principal dancer who is cheating on America's Golden Boy."

"They won't," Charlton agreed brutally. "You're already trending as a 'Gold Digger' and a 'Cheat'."

Daphne felt the walls closing in again. The panic from the night before returned, sharper this time.

"I have nothing," she said. "No family. No fiancé. No job. I'm going to be cancelled."

Charlton walked around the island. He stood directly in front of her.

He placed both hands on the counter, one on either side of her, boxing her in.

"You have me," he said.

He held her gaze. His eyes were intense, demanding she believe him.

"But I'm the 'reckless playboy', remember?" Daphne laughed bitterly. "Being with me just confirms the rumor. It proves Campbell right."

"So I'm doomed," she concluded, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Not if we change the narrative," Charlton said, a glint appearing in his eye. A gambler's glint.

He reached into a drawer and pulled out a thick document bound in blue paper.

He dropped it on the counter next to the iPad.

"Have you ever heard of the Bernard Family Trust Marriage Clause?"

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