Chapter 1

The VIP lounge fell into a strange, suffocating silence the moment Kaelan Vance walked in, his arm slung casually around Bianca Cole.

Every eye in the room darted to Sienna North.

Everyone in their circle knew the story. Sienna and Kaelan, five years of a love so intense he’d once nearly died for her. They were supposed to be untouchable.

But now, Kaelan loved someone else.

He settled Bianca into the plush sofa, pulling her into his lap as if he owned the world. Then, he spoke, his voice void of all warmth.

“Sienna, we’re done. I’m bored.”

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Bianca Cole.”

Kaelan’s love was a wildfire, a blazing inferno. He couldn’t stand to see the person he loved suffer the slightest discomfort.

When he loved someone, the whole world had to know.

It used to be Sienna. Now, it was Bianca.

Kaelan’s gaze fell on Sienna, and his eyes were cold, empty pools.

“If you need anything, you can still call me. We can still be friends after the breakup.”

Just like that, with a few careless words, he drew a neat, clean line between them.

It was the same way he’d always kept a sharp distance from all other women when he was with Sienna.

Now, she was just one of them, pushed into the territory he kept at arm’s length.

After a moment of silence, he added another line, a chilling finality to his tone.

“Bianca is timid. If you have a problem, you come to me. She’s a good girl, and I want to give her a future.”

His eyes held a clear, sharp warning.

Sienna forced a smile, a brittle thing that barely held together.

“Don’t worry. I won’t cause her any trouble. If it’s over, let’s make it a clean break.”

Kaelan didn’t seem to believe her, but he merely said, “It’s for the best if you can think that way.”

Bianca snuggled deeper into Kaelan’s arms. “Kael, I need to use the restroom.”

Kaelan pressed a tender, cherished kiss to her hair.

A thousand tiny needles pricked at Sienna’s heart.

As the door closed behind them, someone in the lounge finally broke the silence.

“Kaelan, are you serious?”

“Man, this is too much. What about you and Sienna…”

Kaelan’s voice cut through the air, sharp and severe.

“I’m only saying this once. My girlfriend is Bianca. I love Bianca. Sienna and I are in the past. Anyone who gives Bianca a hard time is giving me a hard time.”

The room fell silent again. They all understood. This was real.

Kaelan had never once gotten angry with them. Now, for Bianca Cole, he was threatening to cut them all off.

Sympathetic glances, veiled and hesitant, landed on Sienna.

Beneath the sleeves of her dress, her hands trembled uncontrollably.

In the five years since she had gotten together with Kaelan, she had never imagined a day would come when they would look at each other with such cold indifference.

The passionate vows of his youth still echoed in her ears.

“Sienna, I swear I’ll marry you. I’ll never let you suffer.”

Her nails dug into her palms, but she felt nothing, just a spreading numbness as she downed the glass of whiskey on the table.

For the last year, they had been a whirlwind of fighting, breaking up, and getting back together more times than she could count.

Kaelan had been with other women. Sienna never cared.

Because he always, always came back to her.

But this time, with Bianca, a chill had settled deep in her bones.

Kaelan’s executive assistant had always been a man. Until a month ago, when Bianca took the job.

Bianca was completely incompetent, making one mistake after another.

But Kaelan, in a rare display of patience, never got angry. He was endlessly tolerant of her.

It all came to a head when Bianca sent a text to Sienna by “mistake.”

[Mr. Vance, which one of these looks better?] Two photos of her in revealing, sexy outfits were attached.

Sienna had confronted Kaelan.

He had pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice laced with an exhaustion he didn't even try to hide.

“She’s my assistant. Her style represents the company. It represents me. What’s the big deal if she asks for my advice on her clothes?”

“Sienna, are you blowing this out of proportion? When did you become like this?”

Sienna’s eyes were red, her voice cracking as she screamed, “So the silk stockings she left on your passenger seat were an accident too? And the power going out in her apartment in the middle of the night, her calling you to come over, was that me blowing things out of proportion too?!”

Kaelan just stared at her, at her unhinged rage. After a long, heavy silence, his voice was like ice.

“Maybe we should break up. For real this time.”

“She’s not like you, Sienna. She’s kind and timid. She doesn’t have all these schemes and tricks.”

Every word was a knife, carving away at her heart.

Bianca’s thinly veiled ambition, her constant pushing of boundaries… it had all been sanctioned by Kaelan.

That night, her hysteria, the ugly crying, the complete loss of control—it was a horrifying sight.

So horrifying that even Sienna herself was repulsed by the memory.

She refused to even think about it. That version of her was hideous.

And so this time, Sienna was truly tired.

She decided to let him go.