hing with disbelief. "I grew up here, Elizabeth.

, dismissive smile. "Now you've grown up," she replied,

cked from the room. She felt the world tilt beneath her, confusion swirling in her mind. This couldn't be happ

voice barely a whisper

ke a blade slicing through Cloe's h

ightning had struck her to the core. Her body stiffened, her eyes wide, h

a cruel smile, her voice dripping with satisfacti

ms, and she staggered backward as if physically struck. Her knees buckled, her hands

al. This had to be some cruel joke. Ethan would never-he couldn't-betray her like thi

ef. "It's been five years since you left, Cloe. My son

ds sank in. Five years. Ethan had moved on. With Sofia. The woman who had always ha

r body shaking uncontrollably. She tried to breathe, but the air felt thick

e faces around her only mirrored her devastation, the silent shock of the m

able to form the words. "H

verything she had known, everything she had believed in, had be