Chapter 3

Adaline Myers POV:

The drive to Serenity Peaks was a blur of asphalt and memories. I remembered Julian proposing in a park, his eyes shining with what I thought was adoration. I remembered signing the loan documents that put my family' s legacy on the line for his dream. I remembered the countless nights I' d worked alongside him, fueled by coffee and a shared vision, building Nexus from a garage startup into a billion-dollar empire.

He was the charismatic face, the visionary. I was the engine, the architect, the one who turned his grand ideas into functional, profitable reality. He got the magazine covers. I got the satisfaction of a balanced sheet. I' d told myself it was enough.

Serenity Peaks Glamping was an oasis of rustic luxury nestled in a sprawling national forest. Kenneth had designed it himself, a series of high-end, canvas-walled villas surrounding a pristine, emerald-green lake. He met me at the private entrance, his face etched with concern.

"Carolyne is on her way," he said, referring to his girlfriend. "She' s bringing supplies. And by supplies, I mean tequila."

I managed a weak smile. Kenneth, ever practical.

He led me to a villa on the far side of the lake, partially obscured by a thick grove of pine trees. It offered a perfect, unobstructed view of the main bonfire pit and the cluster of villas where The Crew was staying. I was a ghost at my own husband' s party.

From my perch on the deck, I watched them. They were a tableau of careless joy. Laughing, drinking, playing lawn games. And at the center of it all, Julian and Jade. They were magnetic, a gravitational force pulling everyone into their orbit.

As dusk settled, they started a game. Jade, ever the center of attention, volunteered to be blindfolded for a game of Marco Polo, but on land.

"I' m gonna find you, Julian!" she squealed, her arms outstretched as she stumbled around, the blindfold askew.

The Crew howled with laughter, deliberately giving her bad directions. But her internal compass seemed locked on one target. She moved with an unerring, almost supernatural accuracy, straight towards my husband.

She lunged, her hands finding his chest. "Got you!"

"Alright, alright, you found me," Julian laughed, trying to untangle himself.

"Truth or Dare, lover boy!" Mark yelled from the sidelines.

"Truth!" Julian shouted back, a decision I knew he' d instantly regret.

Mark' s grin was wolfish. "Do you have feelings for Jade?"

The question hung in the air, heavy and sharp. The casual party atmosphere evaporated, replaced by a thick, expectant silence.

Jade, still clinging to Julian, giggled and hooked her arm around his neck. "Mark, you asshole! Don' t put him on the spot like that!" Her words were a scolding, but her eyes, which I could see clearly from my vantage point, were gleaming with anticipation.

"Oh, come on," another of the bros chimed in. "It' s the worst-kept secret in the world. Just admit it, man!"

Jade buried her face in Julian' s neck, a theatrical gesture of embarrassment. "You guys are terrible."

Then, she pulled back, her eyes locking with Julian' s. The space between them shimmered with a private, unspoken language. It was a look I had seen a thousand times, a look I had always tried to ignore. The look of two people who shared a world I wasn't invited into.

"I dare you to kiss the scar again!" someone yelled, and the crowd erupted in agreement.

Jade' s eyes danced with mischief. "Well, a dare is a dare," she murmured, her voice a seductive whisper meant only for him. Her gaze dropped to his waist, and her hand moved from his neck, slowly, deliberately, down his chest.

Her fingers fumbled with the clasp of his belt.

Julian laughed, a nervous, breathless sound. He caught her hand, but there was no force in his grip. He was playing along. He was enjoying it.

In the midst of their flirty struggle, Jade' s foot slipped on a loose patch of gravel. She cried out, stumbling backward. Julian, ever the hero, lunged to catch her. They went down in a tangle of limbs, landing on the soft grass with Julian half-on-top of her.

The fall had hiked up Jade' s short sundress, exposing the long, tanned expanse of her thighs. Without missing a beat, Julian' s hand moved to cover her, his arm wrapped protectively, possessively, around her waist. He smoothed her dress down with a tenderness he hadn' t shown me in years.

They lay there, frozen, staring into each other' s eyes. The bonfire cast a warm, romantic glow on their faces. They were a perfect portrait of passion, a scene from a movie. And I was the audience, watching from the cold, dark shadows.

The Crew went wild.

"TOGETHER! TOGETHER! TOGETHER!"

The chant was a physical force, a tidal wave of sound that crashed over me, leaving me gasping for air. It felt like my heart was being torn from my chest, the raw, bleeding muscle exposed to the cold night air. I was a thief, hiding in the shadows, spying on a happiness that should have been mine.

Beside me, Kenneth' s face was a thundercloud. His hands were clenched into white-knuckled fists. "That son of a bitch," he seethed, starting to stand up.

"No," I whispered, my hand shooting out to grab his arm. "Don' t. Not yet."

My own hand was shaking so badly I could barely hold my phone. With trembling fingers, I found Julian' s contact and pressed call. I needed to hear it. I needed to see his final choice.

Across the lake, I saw him stir. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. The screen cast a blue light on his face. I saw him read my name.

He ignored it.

The phone continued to ring, a desperate, unanswered plea in the night. I watched as he pressed the red button, silencing me. He didn' t even look up.

He did it again. And again. On the fourth ring, he looked at the screen, an expression of pure annoyance on his face. He was still lying on top of her, his hand still resting on her hip.

Jade propped herself up on her elbows. "Who is it? Your mom checking in?" she teased.

Then, she did something that made the last bit of air leave my lungs. She reached over, took the phone from his hand, and with a flick of her thumb, declined my call and then powered the phone completely off.

She tossed it onto the grass beside them.

"No wives allowed this weekend, remember?" she said, tapping the end of his nose with her finger. "It' s about brothers. And you know the rule."

Julian smiled, a slow, lazy smile that was full of adoration. He tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her closer.

"I know the rule," he said, his voice low and intimate, carrying across the still water. "Brothers before anyone else."

He chose her. In the most public, most definitive way possible, he chose her.

I felt a tremor run through my entire body. It was over. The denial, the hope, the desperate bargaining-it all evaporated in that single, brutal moment.

My gaze, cold and sharp as a shard of ice, met Kenneth' s.

"Do you have security cameras here?" I asked, my voice devoid of all emotion.

He understood immediately. "Everywhere. High-definition. Audio and video. They' re motion-activated and save directly to a cloud server."

"Good," I said, my eyes still locked on the two figures entwined by the fire. "Save it. Save all of it."

My heart was a gaping wound, a cavern of pain. But beneath the pain, something new was beginning to form. Something cold and hard and sharp.

He wanted to play by the rule of "brothers before anyone else." Fine.

I would teach him what happens when he makes an enemy of his wife.

I would burn his entire world to the ground.

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