Davina’s POV
Chapter 7
“You’re a blessing, Davina. Our family’s good luck charm!”
Grandpa gripped my hand, his fingers trembling, his eyes wet with gratitude.
They had already written Humphrey off. The doctors said he’d never wake up again–called it a miracle he was even breathing on his own.
Then that night, he and I stood side by side, broadcast across every screen in the world. Twenty–four hours of footage, looping nonstop. Our marriage, our faces, our names.
By morning, my phone had melted down from the inside out.
The name flashing on the screen over and over again: Daxon.
[Davina, please. Come back to me. I’ll give you whatever you want.]
[Don’t you
you remember? We said forever. You told me I was your only love.]
Once, I had believed that. God, I had built my world around that.
And what did I get in return?
Nothing but betrayal after betrayal, abandonment after abandonment.
And now that I was standing beside Humphrey, wearing a name that rattled the stock. market, Daxon showed his teeth.
[You’re just like your parents–gold–digging and pathetic.]
[You left me because I wasn’t rich enough, didn’t you? Admit it. You’ve been sleeping with him this whole time. You disgust me!]
I sneered coldly, unwilling to respond to his barking any longer.
But I didn’t expect that soon, the internet would be flooded with all my so–called “dark history.”
Insults came pouring in like a tidal wave.
[This is who the Ashbournes is marrying? What a shame!]
[Dumped by her boyfriend, so she crawls her way into a rich marriage. Shameless!]
[Acts all pitiful, but she’s just another gold–digger in disguise. Yikes.]
[The Ashbournes must be crazy. I mean, picking up trash like her???]
When I checked the trending topics, I realized that all my “dark history” was from when I was with Daxon.
They had evidence.
Me, stumbling through cold dawn light, hair a mess, picking up Daxon after another blackout bender.
Me, doubled over a trash bin, retching during early pregnancy.
Me, abandoned at the altar–forced to smile through apologies to guests while he
Chapter 6
11:10 Tue, 20 May
answered a call from Cleo.
Me, limping into the hospital on a fractured leg. Alone.
Me, holding back tears during prenatal checkups. Alone.
Me, signing paperwork for an abortion. Alone.
Every photo screamed the truth: he never loved me.
1
But I never imagined that the way I loved someone so desperately and pathetically would be turned into weapons to attack me.
‘This world is just so absurd…
With all those photos, they saw a desperate, delusional woman clinging to scraps.
And worst of all?
Ashbourne Estates’s stock nosedived the second they confirmed our engagement.
All because of me.
“Grandpa… I’m sorry.” My voice cracked. I couldn’t even look him in the eye.
But to my surprise, he waved it off. “Let them talk. We don’t bend for ants. I can’t even be bothered to deal with these things. But if this noise is weighing on you, say the word–I’ll silence every single one of them.”
His calm was a wall I leaned against without meaning to. My chest tightened. I’d spent years begging for scraps of love, but here he was–offering shelter without conditions.
Even my own parents…
The last time I saw them, all they could talk about was packaging me off to some wrinkled billionaire in exchange for a business deal.
And Daxon? Whatever love he had for me died the second Cleo wrinkled her brow.
“Darling, it’s okay. Whatever happens,” Grandpa said softly, “whether you marry Humphrey or not, I’ll protect you. Always.”
His words gave me the courage to face everything again. That was the first time I truly felt it–I wasn’t standing alone anymore.
-Then, over the phone, came her voice.
“Davina, if you’re willing to come back to Daxon, I’ll take down all the trending posts.”
Hearing Cleo’s fake sweet voice made me sick to my stomach. If she was behind all the internet hate, well, it made perfect sense.
“Didn’t you want to steal him from me? Now you got what you wanted. Congrats.”
She fake–gasped. “Davina, you’ve got it all wrong. Daxon was heartbroken without you. I just wanted to ease his pain. We’re all waiting for you to come home.”
I sneered and hung up the phone–but deep down, I wondered, over and over. ‘What’s she going to do next?‘
11:10 Tue, 20 May
Davina’s POV
