Clarifying

PROLOGUE

The night was supposed to be perfect.

Soft golden lights bathed the garden in a warm glow, laughter and music mingled in the air, and the scent of fresh roses intertwined with the crisp evening breeze. Cress stood beside her husband, Deon, smiling as their families toasted to their first wedding anniversary. She should have felt nothing but joy, nothing but gratitude for this life she had chosen.

And yet—her heart stilled the moment she saw him.

Gab.

His presence was a shock she hadn’t been prepared for, but it was the way his eyes locked onto hers that sent a current through her veins. It wasn’t just surprise. It wasn’t just the awkwardness of running into an ex. It was something else—something she couldn’t name.

His expression mirrored her own confusion. He shouldn’t be here. She shouldn’t feel this way.

Then, as if fate had more to unravel, the truth unfolded like a cruel joke.

Her husband. His half-brother.

His wife. Her friend.

The world they thought they had left behind crashed into the one they had built.

But the most dangerous revelation wasn’t the tangled web of relationships—it was the unspoken truth that neither of them could ignore.

Because in that single, stolen moment, Cress knew.

Gab still had a hold on her. And she wasn’t sure if she wanted to let go.