Iris woke up with a heavy heart. She couldn't forget the image of the previous night at the gala from her mind. Bella, Ryan's ex-fiancée, so she was told, had been there, her behavior more than inappropriate.
She had clung to Ryan, touching him with a familiarity that stung Iris deeply. Iris didn't understand why it bothered her so much after all, her marriage to Ryan was one on condition not love.
Still, the sight of Bella's hand lingering on Ryan's arm, the way she whispered in his ear, and the smirk she had sent Iris's way made her feel something she hadn't expected: jealousy.
Sitting alone at the long dining table, Iris pushed her food around her plate. The mansion felt so empty, the silence heavy and choking. Sarah, the head housekeeper and her personal maid, noticed her di
