Page 1 of The Billionaire's Betrayal
1.Don't wait up for me
EVA
TRISTAN:I have a file to finish.I don't know what time I'll be home.Don't wait up for me.
This was the second message I'd received from him this week, and my heart tightened as a quiet worry rose inside me.These delays, once rare, had become increasingly frequent since the arrival of his new assistant, Audrey Deprez.
Audrey.
A twenty-seven-year-old blonde with blue eyes, a goddess-like figure, and razor-sharp intelligence.Hired three months ago, she had made herself indispensable to Tristan in record time.Present at every meeting, omnipresent in his schedule.Always on the lookout, always too close, too smiley.
I had seen her in action.Her forced laughter, her lingering glances, her way of brushing against Tristan as if by accident...
And Tristan, blind or complacent, saw nothing.
After two unsuccessful hires, my partner now swore by her alone.He praised her efficiency and skills, dismissing my concerns with a wave of his hand whenever I suggested she was trying to seduce him.
Was he really so gullible or secretly flattered by her admiration?
Did he realize that his habits had radically changed since her arrival?
Before, he came home at six.Now, eight o'clock seemed to have become his new standard, when it wasn't even later.
At first, Tristan took the time to call, to apologize with that deep, reassuring voice that knew so well how to disarm me.Then, gradually, his calls became less frequent, replaced by simple text messages, increasingly cold and impersonal.Purely informative.
I trusted Tristan, but I wasn't naive.I knew that one can succumb to someone's charm without even realizing it.And Audrey had enough to turn any man's head.
I would worry less if Tristan took my doubts seriously.
The only way to resist temptation is to be aware of it and set boundaries from the start.But Tristan was too sure of himself.He believed, with an almost touching arrogance, that our love sheltered him from everything.He might be right, but I wasn't ready to take the risk.
I'd like to be able to insist more, but he might interpret my concerns as a lack of trust, and everything could backfire on me.No, I had to be careful.You don't catch flies with vinegar, and certainly not men.
I had tried to be understanding.I knew, better than anyone, how hard he worked.We were in the same company, after all.
He was the Chairman and CEO of Community Pilot, a multinational valued at over 32 billion euros; I was the managing director.I knew the workload, the responsibilities, the pressure.Yet I didn't agree with his way of increasingly putting work before our relationship.
A relationship is built day by day.
Each unexpected delay was a small crack in the foundations of our couple.A sign that our relationship was no longer his priority.
A relationship, if not maintained, empties of its substance.If we allow voids and silences to fill our life together, suffocation is guaranteed.Love doesn't die overnight.It slowly crumbles, through habits that settle in, priorities that change, silences that stretch.
So, with each laconic message Tristan sent me, it was an alarm bell ringing.
I had to act.
Wait, hope that everything would work itself out?
No way.
That wasn't me.I wasn't a woman who closed her eyes and prayed for things to go back to the way they were.I was going to fight, to win back Tristan's love and take back the place that was rightfully mine.
To strengthen our bond, I had decided to pull out all the stops.I had prepared dinner with the greatest care: seared scallops, served with a vegetable gratin and topped with a lemon butter sauce, his favorite dish.For dessert, a lemon meringue tart, a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity that he also loved.
Once the meal was prepared, I headed to my closet in search of the perfect weapon for my reconquest strategy.Two dresses presented themselves: one, a soft blue-gray silk chiffon with thin straps, elegantly hugging my figure; the other, a deep red, draped and slightly low-cut.
After a moment of reflection, I chose the red one and black stilettos, embellished with rhinestones.
