Rising From Ashes: The Betrayed Fiancée's Comeback

Chapter 3 No.3

Word Count: 790 | Released on: Today at 19:09

iller

tical bracelets-one on my screen, one on my wrist-sent a wave of nausea t

frontation without absolute proof would just be another opportunit

plan began to form, cold and sharp in my mind. I needed

omposure. It was a skill my mother had taught me, a woman who had navigated her own unhappy marriage with impeccable style. "Ava," she

f independence that felt monumental. The driver dropped me at the cor

helped us before, greeted me with a warm smile. "Ms

eld up my wrist. "I was hoping to find a necklace to match this b

viewing area and carefully unclasped the bracelet, placing it unde

rom our 'L'Étoile Solitaire' collection. It was a ver

ted?" I asked, forcing a casual curiosity int

el, with the custom-cut sapphire. There were only five available in all of North America.

ear a buzzing in my ears. "Two?" I managed to

. "Well, we can't discuss our clients' private purchases," she said, quickly recovering.

ortant person

ed joke, and I was the punchline. Two bracelets. He had bought two.

aceful, betraying none of the turmoil inside me. "I don't see a necklace th

into the Fifth Avenue sunshine,

was the wreckage of the last eight years. A life built on a carefully constructed lie. And in

arks & Ashes," the lifestyle blog I'd started five years ago. It had a million fol

t, then typed out the title of a new series. *Gilded Cage.* The title f

nst a worn business card tucked away at the bottom of a desk drawer. The pa

Wal

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Rising From Ashes: The Betrayed Fiancée's Comeback

Ai Chi Romance

“For eight years, I played the role of the perfect, submissive fiancée to New York billionaire Ethan Hayes, giving up my jewelry design career to be the graceful ornament on his arm. That was until I found a receipt for a romantic dinner and a custom sapphire bracelet-identical to my engagement gift-meant for Chloe, a younger socialite. When Chloe deliberately spilled red wine on my white gown at the Met Gala, Ethan didn't defend me. Instead, he shielded his mistress from the cameras and glared at me. "Ava, apologize to Chloe. Now." My humiliation didn't end there. I soon discovered his mother had sanctioned the affair all along just to protect their corporate alliances, telling me my job was simply to learn tolerance. To the Hayes dynasty, I was nothing but a compliant broodmare. Even worse, Ethan was secretly plotting to merge our assets after the wedding so he could fully control and eventually discard me. I had sacrificed my youth, my talent, and my identity for a man who viewed our entire relationship as a calculated business transaction. The sheer, naked cruelty of it left me feeling completely dehumanized and suffocated in a gilded cage. But I didn't cry, and I didn't confront him. Instead, I smiled, pretended to forgive his "minor indiscretions," and threw myself into planning the most lavish, highly-publicized engagement party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They wanted a show, so I was going to give them a spectacular execution.”