Betrayed By My Fiancée

Chapter 19: Interrupted Peace

My eyes stayed on the screen. My expression changed before I could stop it. The rooftop, the calm air, Mike sitting across from me—it all felt like it moved a little further away the second Dante’s name appeared.

“Excuse me…” I said quietly, my voice lower now, and just like that, I wasn’t fully here anymore. My fingers tightened around my phone as I stepped away, my heels clicking softly against the rooftop floor.

The air up there was cooler, quieter, but my thoughts didn’t calm down with it. If anything, they got louder. I turned slightly, putting some distance between me and Mike, then pressed the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” There was a pause before Dante spoke. “Where are you?” His voice was steady, but it didn’t feel warm. It felt… far. “I’m out with Clara,” I said, trying to keep my tone normal.

“She just got back, so we went out.” Silence.

That long kind that makes you wonder if the call is still connected. “You didn’t tell me,” he said. I looked out over the city lights.

Everything looked beautiful from up there, like nothing messy ever existed down below. “You’ve been busy,” I said quietly. “I didn’t think it would matter.”

Another pause stretched between us. Longer this time.

“It matters,” he said. But it didn’t sound like it did. That was the problem. My throat tightened slightly, and I swallowed it down. Something about the conversation felt off, like we were repeating roles instead of actually talking.

“I’ll be home later,” I added, even though I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to explain myself. “Alright,” he said. “Take care of yourself.”

Then the call ended.

I stayed still for a second, staring at the screen before lowering my hand slowly. The quiet around me felt heavier now, like the call hadn’t solved anything—it had only added something else I didn’t know how to name yet.

I took a breath and turned back.

Mike was still sitting where I left him. His eyes lifted the second I came back, calm and steady, like he had been waiting without making it obvious. He didn’t speak right away.

He just watched me in that quiet way of his. “You good?” he asked. I slipped my phone back into my purse. “Yeah. Just checking in,” I said. His gaze didn’t move. “Didn’t sound like ‘just checking,’” he replied. I let out a small breath and sat down again, forcing my shoulders to relax.

“It’s nothing,” I said, like that would make it true. He didn’t push. Instead, he leaned back slightly, giving me space without making it feel like he was stepping away. That alone made me notice him differently.

The silence came back softer this time. Not uncomfortable. Just there. I reached for my glass and took a slow sip, trying to reset my thoughts. The rooftop was calm, but my head wasn’t following it.

“You always do that?” Mike asked after a moment. I looked at him. “Do what?” “Hold things in,” he said simply. I looked away almost immediately. “I don’t know what you mean,” I replied, even though I did.

He didn’t answer right away. He just watched me for a second longer, then nodded once. “Fair enough.” That was it. No pushing. No digging. I glanced back at him, slightly thrown off that he left it there so easily.

Most people didn’t.

The silence settled again, but it felt different now. Less empty. More aware. My fingers moved without thinking, brushing against my ring. The metal caught a bit of rooftop light. I stared at it longer than I meant to. Mike noticed.

His eyes dropped for a second, then came back to my face. “He’s lucky,” he said. I looked up at him. The words weren’t heavy, but they didn’t sit light either. I held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. “He is,” I said quietly.

Mike gave a small nod, like that confirmed something for him. I looked away first. “Let’s go back,” I said, standing up and smoothing my dress like I needed something to do with my hands.

“Clara’s probably wondering where I am.” “Yeah,” he said, standing too. We walked back together in silence, the rooftop quiet slowly fading behind us as the music got louder again.

The second we stepped inside, everything hit at once—lights, voices, movement. Clara spotted me instantly. “Jay!” she called, pushing through the crowd. “Where did you go? I’ve been looking everywhere.” I smiled faintly. “I got lost for a second,” I said.

Her eyes shifted past me—and landed on Mike. Her whole expression changed. “Goodness, Jay!” she said, grabbing her chest dramatically. “You got lost… and found him? The prince himself?” I shook my head slightly. “He just showed me the way,” I said.

Mike gave a small nod, completely calm again, like none of it meant anything.

Clara looked between us like she was trying to connect something she hadn’t been told yet, but she didn’t say it out loud. Not there. Instead, she grabbed my arm.

“Alright, come on then, we’re going closer,” she said, already pulling me toward the VIP section.

I followed her, but halfway there, something made me glance back. Mike was still standing there. Watching. Not in a way anyone else would notice. Just enough for me to feel it. And this time… I didn’t turn away immediately.

Clara dragged me forward until we finally squeezed into a spot where I could actually see past people’s shoulders.

The air up there felt different—heavier somehow, like everyone was trying too hard to be noticed at once. Lights flashed across faces while the music throbbed through the floor, and I could feel it in my chest more than my ears.

Clara was basically vibrating beside me.

“OMG Jay, you missed out!” she said, gripping my arm like she was scared I’d disappear.

“I got one guy’s attention, aaah! You should too—maybe the prince? See if he notices you.”

I turned to look at her properly. That’s when I noticed it. Her smile was a little too loose, her eyes a little too bright. She wasn’t just excited—she was off. Like there was a delay between what she felt and what she said.

“Girl, how many glasses of wine did you have when I was gone?” I asked, half laughing, half concerned. “Three… or four,” she said with a shrug like it was nothing. “They kept giving them out while we were taking pictures of the guys in VIP.”

That didn’t sit right with me.

I studied her for a second longer, my smile fading. That was fast. “Okay,” I said slowly. “I’ll do what you asked… then we go home after, right?” She nodded immediately, already looking past me again like I wasn’t even part of the conversation anymore.

I took a breath and turned forward, trying to focus on the crowd instead of her. It was harder than I expected. Bodies pressed in from every side as I tried to move closer.

Girls weren’t moving for anyone, leaning forward, holding their ground like the whole night depended on it. Every step felt like I was being pushed back half a step. Still, I kept going.

My eyes scanned through the crowd, not even sure what I was looking for at first. Then my chest tightened slightly. I found him. Mike stood in the VIP section like he belonged there more than anyone else. Calm. Still. Like the noise around him didn’t even touch him.

And the strangest part was, I swear he was already looking in my direction. Like he knew I was there before I even saw him. My steps slowed without me meaning to.

Everything else blurred for a second. Then a woman walked into the VIP area. She didn’t hesitate. Didn’t look around. Just moved straight to him and sat beside him like it was normal.

My stomach dropped slightly.

“Leondra?” I muttered under my breath before I could stop myself.

My eyes snapped back to Mike immediately.

But he wasn’t looking at me anymore. His attention had shifted completely. To her. Something in me tightened.

Not jealousy exactly. Not confusion either. It was sharper than that. More frustrating. Like no matter where I went, I kept bumping into her name, her presence, her shadow. Leondra again. Always there. I turned away quickly. The noise rushed back in like it had been waiting for me. Music, laughter, flashing lights—everything hit at once.

I didn’t think. I just moved. Pushing through people. Slipping through gaps. Leaving the crowd behind before I even knew where I was going. Behind me, I felt it—Mike looking again.

But I didn’t turn back.

Clara’s voice broke through the noise as she finally caught up. “Jay? What’s up? You didn’t—” She stopped when she realized I wasn’t there anymore. A few seconds later, she found me near the wine table.

I already had a glass in my hand.

Then another.

“Hey, take it easy, Jay,” Clara said, stepping closer, her voice less excited now and more careful. “Do you know that woman?” I didn’t answer right away. I took a sip. Then another.

“Yes,” I said finally.

“She’s the one the Thorne family wants as their daughter-in-law.” Clara blinked like she wasn’t following. I exhaled slowly, tightening my grip on the glass. “Now it feels like everywhere I go to relax… she’s there to interrupt my peace.”

I didn’t mean to say it out loud like that.

But once it came out, I couldn’t take it back. Clara softened instantly and reached for my arm. “We can go home,” she said gently. “We can just call it a day, yeah?” I nodded after a second.

“Okay… then call Dante. He should come pick us up.” She handed me my phone without hesitation. I took it. Scrolled. Dante. Call. It rang. No answer. I tried again. Nothing. A third time. Still nothing. My chest tightened a little, but my face stayed steady.

I lowered the phone slowly. “It goes straight to voicemail,” I said quietly. Clara frowned immediately.

“Oh my goodness, Jay… how are we going to get home?” She hugged herself like she was already cold, already over it. “I just want to be in bed already, in warm blankets.”

I looked around the crowd again, but it didn’t feel like before anymore. The noise was still there, but it wasn’t reaching me properly now.

“I… I don’t know,” I said softly. And for the first time that night, I actually meant it.