Chapter 2

Five years.

Five years of whispers that eventually faded, of rebuilding a life from ashes.

Sarah smoothed the simple cotton dress she wore.

She preferred to be unnoticed these days, a quiet presence in a loud world.

Today, she was shopping for Alex's birthday, a rare outing into the bustling downtown boutiques.

Alexander Sterling, her husband.

The words still brought a soft smile to her lips, a warmth that chased away old chills.

He was a U.S. Senator, a man of immense quiet power and even greater kindness, a world away from the life she once knew.

Their marriage was a secret, a precious, guarded thing. Alex valued his privacy, and after her past, Sarah valued it even more.

She found a small, independent bookstore, the kind Alex loved.

As she browsed the shelves, a familiar, grating laugh cut through the quiet hum of the store.

Sarah froze.

She knew that laugh.

Brittany Smith, her former intern, now clinging to the arm of Ethan Reed.

Ethan. He looked largely the same, perhaps a bit more polished, his suit expensive, his expression still radiating that same arrogant confidence.

He was a tech executive now, moderately successful, according to the occasional, unavoidable news snippet she' d stumbled upon.

They hadn't seen her yet.

Sarah tried to turn, to slip away unnoticed, but it was too late.

Brittany's sharp eyes, always scanning, always assessing, landed on her.

A slow, malicious smile spread across Brittany's face.

"Well, well, well," Brittany drawled, her voice dripping with mock surprise. "If it isn't Sarah Miller. Fancy meeting you here."

Ethan turned, his eyes widening slightly, then settling into a smirk.

He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her simple dress, her lack of expensive jewelry.

The assessment was clear, and contemptuous.

"Sarah," he said, his tone a blend of feigned politeness and disdain. "It's been a long time. Still in town, I see."

Sarah felt a familiar knot tighten in her stomach, but she straightened her shoulders.

"Ethan. Brittany," she acknowledged, her voice carefully neutral.

"Shopping for a new... self-help book?" Brittany chimed in, her eyes flicking over the books in Sarah's hand. "Or maybe something on how to land a man and keep him this time?"

The venom was undisguised.

Ethan chuckled, a low, unpleasant sound.

"Now, now, Brittany, be nice," he said, though his eyes gleamed with amusement. "Sarah's had it tough, I'm sure."

He stepped closer, invading her personal space.

"Still working that dead-end job at the library, Sarah? Or did you finally move on to something equally... uninspiring?"

Sarah clutched her books tighter. "I'm doing just fine, Ethan."

"Are you?" he pressed, his smile widening. "Because you don't look 'fine.' You look... like you're struggling."

Brittany giggled, a high-pitched, annoying sound. "She probably still pines for you, Ethan. Some women just can't let go of their first love, no matter how badly he dumps them."

The words were meant to sting, and they did, but not in the way they imagined.

It was the casual cruelty, the unearned arrogance, that angered Sarah.

They still saw her as that broken girl from five years ago, the one Ethan had discarded so easily.

They had no idea how much her life had changed, who she had become.

And who she had in her life.