My husband and my best friend stood in front of me, hand in hand, and Leo didn’t even flinch when he said her name. Aaliyah, my so-called best friend, looked at me like I was dirt on her shoe. “Best friends? Your only value as a friend was for Aaliyah to be your inheritance.
Who would want a friend like you? ” she spat. Then Leo turned to me with ice in his eyes. “Hannah, I want a divorce.
”
I couldn’t breathe. “Why are you doing this to me? I gave you everything I have. ”
“Because I’ll give Leo everything he’s ever wanted.
You’re just a stupid woman that can peek. ” Aaliyah smirked and touched her stomach. “Oops. Also, I’m pregnant with Leo’s child.
”
In one day, I lost my husband, my best friend, and my father’s entire company. Leo had convinced me to hand everything over to him, promising to protect me for the rest of my life. Instead, he took it all and left me with nothing. No friends.
No family. No career. No one wanted me. That night, I drowned my sorrows in a bar, glass after glass, until the world went blurry.
The last glass must have been spiked because I woke up on a stranger’s sidewalk with no memory of what had happened. A kind woman found me and brought me home. She introduced herself as Monica McKenzie, CEO of the McKenzie Group. She told me I looked exactly like her daughter, who never got the chance to enjoy anything in life.
She offered me a deal: a new identity, legal protection, and half of her fortune, if I agreed to start over and punish those who had hurt me. I signed without hesitation. From that day on, I was Aurora McKenzie, a wealthy businesswoman with a fresh start. I moved to the US, built a new life, and told myself the past was dead.
My twins, a boy and a girl, were my whole world, and I swore I’d never let anyone hurt us again. Five years later, I walked into a high society party and came face to face with Hannah. Only now, I wasn’t the broken woman she’d destroyed. I was Aurora McKenzie, the newcomer from Switzerland, and she had no idea who I was.
“Looks like you found yourself a new sugar daddy,” she sneered. “I have no idea who you are. You’re nuts,” I said coolly. Leo came up behind me, and the old anger flared.
“You think by changing your name you can find some prince charming? You can’t fool me by covering yourself with some new perfume. You’re still the same old Hannah. ”
But I didn’t break.
I walked away and into the arms of Bryce Colby, the most eligible bachelor in Atlanta, and the man my adoptive mother wanted me to partner with. Bryce proposed a marriage of convenience. “Marrying her and joining forces with the McKenzies will really benefit us,” he told his associate, unaware I could hear. I accepted.
It was the perfect way to get close to him and take back everything Leo and Aaliyah had stolen from me. We moved in together, and the twins immediately adored him. They climbed on his lap and called him daddy, and something in my chest ached at how natural it felt. But I reminded myself it was a contract, nothing more.
Aaliyah wasn’t done with me, though. She found me at an event and tried to manipulate me, playing the old best friend card. “You’ve changed, Hannah. You’ve forgotten your best friend.
”
I had her escorted out, and this time, I made sure she knew she’d never touch me again. But then Leo came to see me. He claimed he missed me, that the last five years without me had made him realize I was the one he loved. He begged for another chance.
“In your dreams,” I said. “And if you come any closer, I’ll call the cops. ”
He laughed. “You hate me so much you’d rather see me in jail?
”
“No questions asked,” I said coldly, and walked away. Bryce noticed my behavior around Leo and confronted me. “Don’t cross the line. I don’t want to see any scandals about my wife being unfaithful during our marriage.
”
“What do you mean? ”
He ignored my question. “Let’s just stick to the contract. ”
Fine.
I’d keep my distance. But his scent, his presence, the way he looked at me, it was all beginning to feel far too real. At a business party, I uncovered something significant. Richard Green, the host, was hiding serious financial discrepancies.
Bryce introduced me as his wife, and I spotted the irregularities immediately. “According to your financial report, your cash flow isn’t even close to covering such significant expenses,” I said. Richard scoffed. “Are you seriously going to take a woman’s advice over a man’s deal?
”
Bryce didn’t hesitate. “She’s my wife. I trust her over such a significant deal. ”
We walked away from a deal that would have been a disaster, and Bryce, impressed, offered me the position of COO.
I accepted. My plan was working. But the closer Bryce and I got, the more complicated things became. He started coming home early, bringing flowers, and looking at me like I was the only woman in the room.
I reminded myself it was just a contract. I couldn’t afford to feel anything. Then Linda appeared. She was Bryce’s assistant, or so I thought.
She was actually Aaliyah’s accomplice, and she was impersonating me, claiming to be the woman Bryce had spent a mysterious night with five years ago. One night, I overheard Bryce talking to her. “You smell so good,” he said, and my blood ran cold. I confronted him.
“What’s with you and Linda? ”
He tried to explain. “I owe her, okay? It’s because of my attraction to her five years ago that we even got to this point.
But I promise I’m not going to let her hurt you again. ”
“What are you talking about? ”
“Five years ago, I had a one night stand with a woman at a bar. I was heavily intoxicated.
I don’t really remember anything besides her distinctive scent and a tiny heart-shaped birthmark on her neck. That memory has followed me for five years until Linda showed up. ”
I stared at him, and something shifted inside me. I had a heart-shaped birthmark on my neck.
But before I could say anything, Linda arrived at the house, playing the victim. She fell and accused me of pushing her, and Bryce, to my fury, took her to the hospital. “Should I tell Aurora what happened five years ago? ” he muttered, but I heard him.
I stopped trusting him. I packed my things and told him I needed space. Bryce kept trying to win me back. He left an envelope on our bed, and when I opened it, I saw photos of him with Linda from years ago.
I confronted him again, and he begged me to listen. “Look, I promised you there was nothing between Linda and I. She sprained her ankle. I took her to the hospital.
That’s all. ”
“Save it,” I said. “We’re only married by contract after all. ”
But despite everything, I couldn’t ignore the pull between us.
One night, he kissed me, and I kissed him back before I could stop myself. “I’m your husband. I have every right to kiss you. And I know you liked it.
Admit it. ”
I didn’t answer. I was too busy wondering what was wrong with me. Was I falling for this man?
Then the truth finally came out. I told him everything, that I was the woman from that night, that the twins were his children. “Oh my god. It’s really you.
No wonder I haven’t had another migraine since we’ve been married. So the twins, they’re mine. ”
“I’m so sorry about Linda,” I said. “It’s not your fault.
”
“I was so scared to face my past that I kept missing the chance to make things right. ”
He pulled me into his arms. “I love you, Aurora. ”
“I love you, too.
”
Linda, however, wasn’t finished. She showed up at our house, trying to play the victim again, claiming she was the woman Bryce had met five years ago. I exposed her lie in front of everyone, and Bryce finally saw the truth. “Stay away from me and my wife.
I won’t go easy on you if you try and hurt her again,” he warned her. Linda was banned from ever approaching us again, but her hatred of me only grew. She blamed me for everything, and soon, she found an ally. Richard Green, the businessman Bryce had publicly humiliated, was furious about losing his deal and his public shame.
He was also deeply connected to my past. Richard was Leah’s father, the woman who had once been a friend until she betrayed me, and he was determined to destroy Bryce for what he saw as an unforgivable insult. “You ruined my daughter’s life,” Richard hissed at Bryce one day. “You made her leave the country.
That’s all your fault. ”
Bryce stood his ground. “I’m sorry about what happened. But I won’t let you hurt my family.
”
Richard’s eyes flickered to me. “Then I’ll make you watch as I destroy everything you love. ”
The threat wasn’t empty. A week later, Dania returned.
She was Richard’s daughter, Bryce’s ex-girlfriend, the woman who had quietly disappeared after their breakup years ago. She came to our house, asking for forgiveness for her father. “Please, for the sake of our baby, please forgive my father,” she begged, revealing that they had once lost a child together. Bryce, overwhelmed, promised to drop the charges against Richard.
I watched the exchange, and the betrayal cut deeper than anything before. “You once told me that we should be honest with each other,” I said coldly. “If Dania didn’t show up, I would have never known about your marvelous past. Is that your definition of honesty?
”
He tried to explain, but I refused to listen. I went to my room, packed my things, and told Bryce I was moving out. “Please don’t go,” he said, his voice breaking. “Bryce, every time I see you, it hurts a little bit more.
I can’t take this any longer. ”
“Then I’ll leave,” he said quietly. “You and the kids can stay here. They need somewhere they feel settled.
They love it here. ”
I didn’t answer. I just let him walk out the door. The kids were heartbroken.
They tried to arrange a school event to get their parents back together, but it was just a trick. Audrey begged him to come home, and Bryce, unable to resist, showed up anyway. He told me he missed me, that he wanted to win me back. “Promise me you won’t lie to me again,” I said.
“I promise. ”
Slowly, I let him back in. He took care of me when I was sick, fed me soup, and held my hand. I told him I didn’t want to leave anymore, and he vowed to make things right.
But Richard wasn’t finished. He orchestrated the kidnapping of our children to force Bryce to sign over his shares. Liam, our head of security, raced against time and found Jasper and Audrey. I was terrified, but Bryce stayed calm.
“I’ve signed the contract. All of my shares in the Colby group are yours, as long as you don’t hurt Aurora,” Bryce offered. But Richard wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to watch Bryce suffer.
He set the building on fire and locked us inside. “Enjoy your trip to hell, Bryce. This place will be ashes in five minutes. ”
But Richard had made a mistake.
The email he opened from Bryce contained a location pin, telling the police exactly where to find us. “That email you opened led the police right to us,” Bryce said, pulling me out of the burning building. “Have fun spending the rest of your life in prison. ”
Richard was arrested.
Leo and Aaliyah were exposed as his accomplices and faced justice for their crimes. I was finally free. Monica, my adoptive mother, had been battling terminal brain cancer. She had kept it hidden from me, but now she was getting the best care.
She wanted to see me marry the man I loved. “Seeing you and Bryce and the kids so happy together, I don’t have any more regrets,” she said before her surgery. I stood by her side, holding her hand. “Mom, our family wouldn’t be complete without you.
Please stay strong for us. ”
She made it through the surgery, and the doctor said she was recovering well. At our real wedding, surrounded by the people who loved us, Bryce looked into my eyes and said his vows. I said mine.
The twins walked down the aisle, carrying the rings. “I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” the officiant announced. Bryce leaned in, and I felt his lips on mine.
For the first time in years, I was no longer running. I was home.
