Chapter 3

Estella walked over, her heels clicking on the pavement. She picked up the file that had fallen next to Kenia.

"Thank you for delivering this, Kenia," she said, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "It's the deed to a villa in France. A little wedding present from Holden to me."

Holden appeared, rushing to Estella's side. He wrapped his arm around her, his face full of concern.

"Are you okay, darling? Did they scare you?" he asked, completely ignoring Kenia on the ground.

"I'm fine, Holden. It was just a little scary," Estella said, leaning into him.

Holden kissed her forehead. "Let's get you home. I'll have my doctor check on you."

He led Estella away without a single glance back at Kenia. His friends followed, still laughing.

Kenia was left alone in the darkness, the cold seeping into her bones.

She slowly pushed herself up. Her passport and ID were lying on the ground nearby. He had kept his promise, in the cruelest way possible.

She picked them up and pulled out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts until she found a number she hadn't called in a long time. A number she had gotten after a bet half a year ago.

The phone rang once before a deep, calm voice answered. "Gael Simpson."

Tears streamed down Kenia's face. "Gael," she choked out. "I lost the bet. I'm ready to leave."

"I'll get the visa sorted," he said, his voice warm and steady. "I'll come get you in a week."

There was a sound of a smile in his voice. "I knew you'd call."

After she hung up, Holden's secretary, a woman named Sarah, appeared. She helped Kenia up, her face full of pity.

"Mr. Dalton asked me to take you home, Miss Hayes," she said softly. She handed Kenia a warm pastry from a familiar bakery. It was Kenia's favorite.

The sight of it, a small token of a love that was never real, broke her. The tears she had been holding back finally came, hot and fast.

The stress, the fall, and the cold finally took their toll. Kenia collapsed, her fever spiking. She woke up in a hospital bed.

Holden was sitting by her side, carefully peeling an apple. He looked like the perfect, caring fiancé.

"You're awake," he said, his voice soft. He took her hand. "You scared me. Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

Kenia stared at his face, the handsome face she had loved so much. She remembered all the times he had taken care of her, all the grand gestures. She once thought he was her guardian angel. Now she knew he was her personal demon.

"The incident this morning is all over the news," he said, his voice turning serious. "Don't say anything to the press. I'll handle it."

She saw a flicker of something in his eyes. He was hiding something.

When he left to talk to the doctor, she grabbed her phone.

The headlines were brutal. "Holden Dalton's Fiancée in Fake Kidnapping Stunt." But the articles weren't about her. They were about Estella. The media was painting Estella as a victim of a cruel prank, and Kenia as the jealous, unstable other woman who might have orchestrated it.

Then she saw it. A post from Holden's official social media account.

"Estella is the most important woman in my life. I will not let anyone harm her. The pranks have gone too far. I will protect her, always."

Below it, Estella had replied, "Some people will do anything for attention. So pathetic."

The comments were a flood of hate, all directed at Kenia. "Gold-digger." "Psycho." "Leave Holden and Estella alone."

He had thrown her to the wolves to make Estella look like a saint. He was using her, one last time.

Holden came back into the room, a gentle smile on his face.

"The doctor said you just need some rest," he said. "What were you going to say to me, back at the villa, before you... fell?"

He was still playing the game.

"Nothing," Kenia said, her voice dead.

His phone rang. It was Estella. He turned his back to her to answer it, his voice dropping to an intimate whisper.

"I'll be right there, darling." He hung up and turned back to Kenia. "You stay here and get better. The charity gala for your arts center is in three days. I'll have a car pick you up."

He walked out of the room without looking back.

Kenia stared at the apple he had peeled for her. He had even cut it into little star shapes, just like she liked.

Then she remembered. She was allergic to apples. It was Estella who loved them.

Even in this small, intimate gesture, he had confused them. Or maybe, he had never really seen her at all.