Chapter 32

I gripped the edge of my clothes, a wave of bitterness swelling in my chest. Isabella was right. I had always looked up to Alexander. When I first joined The Hawthorne Dynasty, I could only steal quick glances at him whenever he came back to Ashford Manor. I’d stand by his desk, watching him in secret, my heart swelling with a strange satisfaction. And back then, standing by his side, proud and open, was Isabella. “Later, because of certain things, I had no choice but to leave and break up with him. You probably didn’t expect it, but I was the one who ended things. He never wanted to. You must have noticed that he travels every July. The truth is, he goes to see me, because that’s the season we first met.” My breath hitched, my mind went blank, and my heart trembled. I didn’t want to believe what Isabella was saying, but I couldn’t deny it. Deep down, I knew she was telling the truth. From the very first year of our marriage, Alexander had traveled every July, and those trips wer