Chapter 1

Eleven years. I had given Wesley Scott eleven years of my life.

For eleven years, I put my own dreams of being an architect on hold, working side jobs to support us while he, the golden boy from an "old money" Austin family, built his political career. I was the loyal, small-town Texas girl, the perfect, unassuming backdrop to his ambition.

And after eleven long years, he finally proposed.

Not out of love, I suspected, but because a "family man" image was crucial for his run for local office. The huge, high-profile engagement party was scheduled in three days, a key campaign fundraiser disguised as a celebration of us.

Then, the email arrived.

It was anonymous, with a single attachment. A photo. Wesley and Gabrielle Cullen, his childhood friend, were smiling, holding up a document. I zoomed in. It was the deed to a luxury condo right here in Austin, purchased jointly under both their names.

Beneath the photo, a single line of text from Gabrielle: "Coming home for good."

The air left my lungs. My hands started to shake. When Wesley walked in, looking pleased with himself after a day of glad-handing donors, I showed him my phone.

He glanced at it, his charismatic smile not even faltering.

"Oh, that? I was just helping Gabby out. She needed a co-signer to secure the property, it's just a favor."

His tone was dismissive, like I was a child questioning a grown-up decision. The casual use of "Gabby" felt like a slap.

"A favor? You bought a condo with her, Wesley."

He finally dropped the smile, his eyes turning cold. It was a look I knew well, the one he used when I was being inconvenient.

"Madisyn, don't make this a thing. It's a simple real estate transaction. If you have a problem with it, we can just call off the engagement party. Is that what you want?"

He was so confident. So sure that I, the ever-loyal Madisyn, would never dare to leave him, not when we were this close to the finish line he' d been running toward for a decade.

I looked at his handsome, entitled face, the face I had once loved, and a switch flipped inside me.

"No," I said, my voice surprisingly steady. "You're right. The party is too important. We'll proceed as planned."

He relaxed, a smug look returning to his face. He thought he'd won. He had no idea that my plan had just changed completely.