Chapter 4

I was about to set them straight.

I was about to tell them exactly who I was, to watch the arrogant smirks slide off their faces as the truth crashed down on them.

But just as I opened my mouth, a new voice cut through the air.

"Brandon! What is taking so long? The guests will be arriving soon!"

A stern-faced, older man in a much nicer suit marched toward our little group. His ID badge identified him as "Mr. Harrison, Head of Operations."

Brandon and Liam immediately snapped to attention, their confident postures replaced with nervous subservience.

"Mr. Harrison, sir! My apologies," Brandon stammered. "Just dealing with a... personal matter."

Mr. Harrison's gaze swept over me, and his brows furrowed in annoyance. "Personal matters are to be handled on your own time, Hayes. We have a very important arrival today. The most important. You know who is on that flight."

"Yes, sir, of course, sir," Brandon said quickly. "Mrs. Beaumont."

My married name. He said my name without a hint of recognition. To him, "Mrs. Beaumont" was some abstract, powerful figure he had to impress. A faceless entity.

Mr. Harrison's eyes then fell on Seraphina. "And you, Mrs. Hayes. This is a restricted area for employees and authorized personnel only. Your presence here is a security violation."

Seraphina's face flushed with anger and embarrassment. "I was just waiting for my husband."

"Wait for him in the public lounge," Mr. Harrison snapped, before turning his attention back to me. His expression softened slightly, though still wary. "Ma'am, I'm sorry for my employee's behavior. Are you in need of assistance?"

Before I could answer, Seraphina, having regained her composure, stepped forward.

"Oh, it's nothing, sir," she said, her voice now filled with a syrupy concern. She shot me a look, a silent warning mixed with triumph. She thought Mr. Harrison's arrival had saved me from being fired on the spot by Brandon.

Her jealousy was a living thing, radiating off her in waves. "This is just my cousin, Abigail. She's... fallen on hard times. My husband was just offering her a job."

I looked at Seraphina. "A job?" I asked, my voice dangerously quiet.

Brandon, seeing an opportunity to look both authoritative and magnanimous in front of his boss, stepped in.

"Yes, Abby. I was being generous," he said, his voice loud and firm. He was performing now, for his boss's benefit. "But you're causing a scene. It's not appropriate."

Seraphina moved closer to Brandon, clinging to his arm and looking up at him with doe-eyed adoration. It was a practiced, manipulative gesture I had seen her use a hundred times before.

"Don't be too hard on her, darling," she cooed. "It must be so difficult for her, seeing us so happy and successful."

Brandon puffed out his chest. "I know. But business is business. Seraphina, I had no choice back then. It was my duty to your family."

He was now loudly proclaiming his twisted version of the past for everyone to hear.

"I had to make a sacrifice," he declared, his voice ringing with false nobility. "I had to marry Seraphina to save her family from a terrible fate. It was a burden I had to bear."

Liam nodded vigorously. "A true hero, Mr. Harrison. He gave up his own happiness for the sake of others."

I stared at them, a trio of fools spinning a web of lies. They were so convinced of their own story, they couldn't see the truth even as it stood right in front of them.