Chapter 2 It Had Always Been Claire

Alec didn't spare it another thought.

In his eyes, Rylee remained a sheltered doll who couldn't fend for herself, forever pretending to push him away in some childish bid for attention-an act that bored him to the bone.

Without hesitation, he turned on his heel and walked off.

Rylee stayed rooted in place, watching his cold, retreating figure dissolve into the corridor. His earlier phone call with Claire flashed through her mind, and a faint, brittle smile curved at her lips. Her own husband had already fallen for her childhood friend; holding on any longer would only deepen the shame.

Unsteady on her feet, she headed downstairs to catch a cab back to the villa.

She needed the truth-one final blow that would shatter whatever remained of her heart.

...

Outside the hotel entrance, Jaycob Hall spotted his boss approaching and rushed over, hurriedly pulling open the car door. "Mr. Bradley, about what happened last night between you and your wife..."

Alec's voice sliced through the moment, flat and icy. "She didn't realize that man was me. There's nothing to discuss."

During the previous night's chaos, he had stormed into the hotel room, dragged the intruder out, and found Rylee clinging to him in a drug-hazed daze.

Under the influence, she had been sinfully warm and shockingly bold-nothing like the quiet, forgettable woman she usually showed him.

His restraint had snapped, and in the end, he'd slept with her without thinking twice.

Now that the heat had burned off, only a cold sense of absurdity gnawed at him.

That woman was nothing but a blemish on his spotless reputation.

He had no intention of letting her cling to even a scrap of hope. Whatever happened last night would stay buried.

The sharpness in Alec's voice caught Jaycob off guard, leaving him blinking in confusion. "So Mrs. Bradley has no idea? Then... won't she assume she slept with Saul Smith?"

Alec cut him a sharp, warning look that made Jaycob snap his mouth shut before steering the conversation elsewhere. "We've traced everything. The one who slipped her the drug was... your sister. Saul only dared make a move because Miss Bradley pushed him to."

Alec pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, irritation tightening his expression.

What on earth was Bryanna thinking this time?

He drew out his phone, tapped across the screen with cool precision, and froze Bryanna Bradley's secondary card without a second thought.

Afterward, he fired off a message. "Jaycob will arrange your departure tomorrow. You're studying abroad for six months. Don't return until you finish your coursework."

Her call came through instantly, her voice shrill over the car's Bluetooth. "Alec, why are you cutting off my card? Why are you sending me overseas?"

Alec let a frosty smile tug at his mouth. "Bryanna, are you seriously pretending you don't know what you've done?"

Bryanna stiffened the instant she realized her scheme had been uncovered.

With barely restrained fury, she burst out, "Alec, Rylee was the one who drugged you back then-if not for that, you would've married Claire! I only wanted her to taste what it's like to be drugged!"

Alec answered with a low, cutting edge to his voice, "Shut your damn mouth! Forget tomorrow-you're leaving tonight."

Bryanna dissolved into frantic sobs. "No way I'm leaving the country! I'll tell Grandma myself if I have to!"

A chill swept across Alec's face, tightening the air in the car. "Bryanna, I already helped you cover up what you did. If you insist on dragging this out, you'd better be ready for the fallout. And you're done causing trouble. Do you understand?"

Cowed by her brother's icy warning, Bryanna hung up, still crying.

A heavy quiet settled between the seats before Alec finally pressed, his tone flat and unreadable. "Who told Rylee where I'd be this morning?"

He flicked a cold glance toward the front. "Don't say another word. I'll let it slide this time."

Jaycob froze, utterly confused, unable to recall a single moment when he had ever leaked Alec's schedule.

Back at the villa, Rylee slipped past the servants' greetings without slowing, her mind locked on the study upstairs.

She pushed inside and crossed to the bookshelf, crouching before the lowest cabinet until the hidden safe came into view.

Her fingers tapped in Claire's birthday.

A soft click signaled the correct code, and the door eased open.

Warm tears blurred her vision as she dug through the contents-layers of neatly arranged documents, investment files, and contracts Alec deemed important. Beneath them sat a thick photo album.

As she lifted it out, the weight of it pulled at her chest. Page after page revealed Claire frozen in time-laughing, studying, smiling shyly at the camera-captured in moments Alec had cherished and preserved like sacred relics.

Only now did it become clear that Alec's heart had been chasing someone else all along-it had always been Claire.

That realization hollowed her out-had he truly never felt anything for her at all?

Rylee caught her lower lip between her teeth, a dull ache spreading through her chest like a bruise.

If that incident years ago had never happened, would Alec have walked down the aisle with Claire instead?

A soft vibration cut through the stillness of the room. Her phone lit up with a call from Skyline Productions.

Rylee stared at the screen for a long beat before forcing herself to answer. Claire's calm, professional voice carried through the line. "Ms. Cooper, this is Claire Murray from Skyline Productions. We were scheduled to meet this morning at the hotel to discuss the adaptation of your work. Has something changed on your end?"

The fact that Claire called her personally made the urgency unmistakable.

Rylee steadied her grip on the phone, her knuckles pale. After a quiet breath, she responded in a muted, controlled voice, "I'm sorry. I've decided not to sell the rights."