Chapter 5

The engagement party was a glittering affair.

The ballroom was filled with the city's elite, their laughter and chatter echoing off the crystal chandeliers. Peonies were everywhere, their sweet scent thick in the air. It was a perfect fantasy.

For Cayla, it was a wake.

She stood in a corner, wearing a simple black dress, a ghost at the feast. She watched Grafton and Cherrelle move through the crowd, the perfect couple, accepting congratulations and compliments.

This was her final act as his shadow. A farewell to the role she had played for so long.

She slipped out onto a deserted balcony, needing a moment of quiet. The night air was cool against her skin.

She didn't notice someone had followed her until Brooks Corbett, Grafton's lawyer and oldest friend, spoke from the doorway.

"I heard you're leaving,"he said, his voice gentle.

Cayla nodded, not turning around. "My contract is up."

"It was more than a contract, Cayla. We both know that."Brooks came to stand beside her, leaning on the railing. He was the only one in Grafton's circle who had always treated her with kindness, his eyes holding a knowing sympathy.

"He doesn't see it,"Brooks said quietly. "He's blind. But I see it. I saw what you did for him. For his company. For his life."

A sliver of warmth touched the icy landscape of her heart. "Thank you, Brooks."

"Where will you go?"

"Somewhere far away,"she said.

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of Grafton's voice, drifting from the ballroom. He was giving a speech.

Cayla felt a morbid curiosity pull her back to the doorway. She stood in the shadows, listening.

"...and I want to thank everyone for coming to celebrate with us,"Grafton was saying, his arm wrapped tightly around Cherrelle's waist. "As many of you know, the past five years have been a period of... transition for me. Since my brother, Justen, passed away."

His voice caught slightly on his brother's name. It was the first time she'd heard him show any emotion about it in years.

"I've had to grow up fast,"he continued, his gaze sweeping the room. "And I've made decisions about what's important. About who is important."

His eyes met Cherrelle's, and he smiled. "Cherrelle is my future. Everything I do, I do for her. To build a life with her."

Then, his gaze moved, scanning the crowd as if searching for someone. It passed right over Cayla in the shadows, unseeing.

"As for my old obligations,"he said, his voice turning cold and decisive, "they are fulfilled. That chapter is closed. From now on, my focus is singular."He was talking about her, reducing her five years of service-of propping him up, of managing his life and his company-to a mere obligation. A duty he was glad to be rid of. He believed she loved him too much to leave, so he felt free to humiliate her publicly, twisting the knife just for the sport of it. He thought he was closing a chapter, but he was really just confirming that his new life could never include a woman from her world, no matter how he might feel about her in moments of weakness.

Then he did something that shattered the last bit of her resolve. He leaned down and whispered something to Cherrelle. She giggled, and then, in front of everyone, he recreated the exact pose from a photograph Cayla kept hidden. A photo of him and Justen from years ago, where Justen was playfully lifting him onto his back. But now, it was Cherrelle he lifted, her legs wrapping around his waist as she squealed with delight.

It was a deliberate corruption of a precious memory. A final, brutal message.

The last flicker of warmth in Cayla's chest died.

A sudden downpour started outside, rain lashing against the balcony doors. People gasped and moved away from the windows.

Cayla didn't move. She stepped out from the shadows and walked directly out onto the balcony, into the storm.

The cold rain soaked her dress, her hair, plastering it to her skin. It felt like a cleansing.

She didn't need his protection. She didn't need his world. She didn't need him.

She was finally, blessedly, on her own.

For ten years, she had loved Justen. For five years, she had served his memory by protecting his brother. She had been Justen's girlfriend, then Grafton's keeper.

Now, she would just be Cayla.

And that was enough.