His to Cherish (Carmel Springs Book 3)

Prologue

The reason that betrayal hurt so much was because it never came in the form of your enemies. I mean, who in their right minds trusted their enemies enough to end up feeling betrayed by them? So, in my opinion, there was no greater wrath than a woman scorned because that wrath was warranted.

There also wasn't one woman on earth that hadn't had that 'what would I do if I was cheated on' conversation with their friends. It was easy to play out a scenario of what you would do when emotions were involved. It was easy to act strong, tough, and unforgiving when you were just talking about it. It was easy to act dignified and claim that you would never let a man get away with humiliating you like that when you had an audience for your story. However, the reality was never like the scenarios that you'd sworn would play out if it happened to you.

Nevertheless, I couldn't deny the wave of relief that I'd found out the truth before the wedding and not after. I'd rather be known for being the foolish girlfriend and not the foolish wife. While it might seem like a small thing, I was happy to say that I'd manage to escape having a cheating ex-husband in my life forever.

Another thing? That cheating asshole had been rich, which hadn't mattered to me before, but it sure as hell mattered now. For three years, I hadn't had to pay a dime towards bills or any household expenses. When I had agreed to move in with Mitchell, he had insisted on taking care of me. He'd just started making really good money with his realty company, and I had been swooning left and right with how he had wanted to support me. So, with hearts in my eyes, I had taken advantage of his chivalry, and even though I'd had a job, I had allowed Mitchell to pay for everything.

When Mitchell had proposed last year, I'd been over the moon. Mitchell Graham was an up-and-coming property investor and real estate mogul, and I'd been in love enough to envision nothing but perfection for the rest of our lives.

Starting my car, I let out a deep, regretful, foolish sigh. I'd seen the signs months ago, but I'd been too...in love to admit it to myself. I'd been so wrapped up in my future of perfection that I had squeezed my eyes shut to the truth. However, there'd been no squeezing my eyes shut to Mitchell's side piece showing up to our condo, ranting and raving about how he couldn't just cast her aside while pregnant with his child.

After I had exhausted all my pain and wrath on the sonofabitch, I had taken every dime that I'd had and had made an impulsive decision to start a new life somewhere else. I could have easily run back home, but that wasn't what I'd wanted to be known for. I hadn't wanted Mitchell, our mutual friends, his girlfriend, or even his family to know me as the woman that had run back home to her parents. I'd wanted to be the woman that hadn't given a flying fuck.

So, with every dime invested in my new future, I pulled away from the curb, then started making my way towards Carmel Springs. Sure, I could have flown, but I wasn't in the mood for the rudeness of fellow passengers. I didn't want to make small talk with a stranger or listen to babies crying. I also didn't want to hear passengers complaining about those crying babies because they were babies, for Christ's sakes. They were supposed to cry when they were miserable.

Luckily, I had parents that were incredibly supportive and an older brother that was also incredibly supportive but also my financial advisor. Benji was part of the reason that I'd been able to make all this happen, and I was incredibly thankful. While I'd made decent money working as a pastry chef in one of the most coveted restaurants in the city, Benji had turned my salary into the perfect nest egg for my escape. Granted, my nest egg had originally been for my retirement or a rainy day, but it was definitely working in my favor now.

As for Mitchell, hours of begging hadn't done anything but make me hate him more. It was one thing to have a one-night stand because shit happened, it was quite another to have a full-blown affair with someone for months. Now, would I have been able to forgive a one-night stand? I honestly had no idea. However, I knew that there'd be no forgiving an affair, especially when a child was involved.

Wrapping my hands tightly around the steering wheel, I didn't look back once as I drove out of the city. Mitchell had no idea that I was leaving, but I didn't feel bad about that. The news of his affair and his girlfriend's pregnancy had already hit the social media airwaves, and I had no desire to stick around and be a part of the aftermath.

I had chosen to leave and save myself. I had chosen to leave and save myself because, sometimes, you had to be your own goddamn hero.