Chapter 1
My name is Joanna Ashford.
The night I went to the yacht banquet with my sister-in-law Vivienne Shaw, Dominic Hale, the man at the top of the business world fell for me at first sight.
I turned him down right away, telling him I was married.
He smiled warmly and said my husband and I must be very much in love.
Then he turned around and destroyed the Shaw family.
Their partners pulled out overnight, severing every deal without warning. The company collapsed the same day.
Vivienne blamed me for everything. My husband Cedric Shaw moved out of our bedroom.
Drowning in guilt, I threw myself into holding together what was left of the wreckage.
I went with him to every meeting, every dinner, taking drink after drink on his behalf so he wouldn't have to.
Slowly, he began to soften. He even talked about starting over together in a new city.
But on his deathbed, he touched my face and whispered, "Jo, I keep thinking—was all of this because of you? Maybe if you'd gone with Mr. Hale that night, I wouldn't have spent my whole life like this."
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day of the yacht banquet.
I took my time with my makeup, light foundation, a careful swipe of lip gloss.
Then I turned to Vivienne and said, "Vivi, let's go."
Her car was already waiting downstairs. I opened the back door and slid in.
She heard the door and looked up. Her eyes lit up instantly.
"Jo? You actually changed your mind! And you look so pretty today!"
"We're going out for once. It'd be a shame to waste a beautiful night."
I pulled the door shut and smiled at her.
Vivienne started the car, chattering away the entire ride, filling me in on the latest gossip from their circle with the kind of breathless excitement only a young woman could have.
Exactly the same as last time.
These private yacht banquets were supposed to be casual gatherings for the families in their circle. In reality, everyone had an agenda. The young men and women sized each other up, family backgrounds, looks, connections.
Cedric and Vivienne's father had died young. Their mother raised them both on her own. She passed away not long after, barely getting to enjoy any comfort in her later years. That left just the two of them.
When I married Cedric, I became the closest thing to a mother Vivienne had. Finding her a suitable match naturally fell to me.
That evening, the sea breeze was gentle.
I leaned back on the deck sofa, watching Vivienne laugh and joke with a group of girls.
Dominic Hale had come on a whim, with only a personal assistant and a bodyguard at his side. He wore a sharply tailored charcoal shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms. The watch on his wrist was so understated you couldn't guess its price. At first glance, he looked like just another low-key young investor.
Vivienne spotted him first. She sidled over and whispered to me that the man was gorgeous.
Back then, Cedric was the only man in my world. I had no interest in looking at anyone else. I barely glanced over before turning away.
"He's alright, I guess."
But that single glance was enough. Something seemed to strike him. He stood frozen by the railing, staring at me, the champagne in his hand untouched for what felt like forever.
I didn't learn until later that he was Dominic Hale. The kind of man that even the most powerful people in the room would approach first to raise a glass.
"Jo, what are you thinking about?"
Vivienne's voice pulled me out of my memories.
I blinked and smiled at her.
"Nothing. Just thinking tonight's party should be fun."
Vivienne lifted her chin with a little flash of pride.
"Obviously. You should see who put this whole thing together. Just wait. I'll get Nathan to set up more of these for us..."
She trailed off mid-sentence, her cheeks flushing pink.
She must have realized that things between her and Nathan weren't official yet, and she was getting ahead of herself.
I patted the back of her hand and played along.
"Well, it's a deal then. Tell Nathan to put in the effort. It'll give our families more chances to get together."
Silently, I made a wish.
'Please let Vivienne have a good life this time around. Not one where she becomes collateral damage for a marriage that looked perfect on the outside, her engagement broken off, never getting to live on her own terms.'
Just then, the sharp screech of brakes cut through the air from the end of the street.
"Nobody's going anywhere!"
