Terri denied it.
Valerie’s eyes were filled with undisguised disdain.
She let out a sneer and tossed the phone over.
On the screen, only Blayne’s back was visible, but Terri’s legs were clearly wrapped around his waist.
The way their lower bodies overlapped made it look like she was begging for him.
In the world of adults, some things don’t need to be spelled out.
Terri’s expression tightened. “It’s not what you think—”
Before she could finish, Valerie’s slap landed hard across Terri’s face.
“A stray raised under someone else’s roof, and you actually think you’re a real Darton?”
Five distinct finger marks instantly appeared on Terri’s pale skin.
She wasn’t the type to just take it. Clenching her teeth, she wanted to slap back.
Her fingers curled, but then, they loosened. In the end, she held back.
Valerie sat at an angle, looking down at her, her gaze sharp with warning.
“I’ll arrange a match for you. You and Blayne aren’t legally married, so when I tell you to leave, you leave.
“Terri, be smart. Don’t covet things that aren’t yours.”
With that, Valerie stepped out of the car.
Terri froze. Her skin was fair, making the slap mark stand out even more, both in color and in pain.
Yet, as if determined to rub salt in the wound, she turned her head to look outside.
In the side mirror, she saw Valerie stepping out—and Blayne immediately following, reaching for her hand.
From beginning to end, through it all…
Despite Terri being right there, Blayne didn’t spare her a single glance.
One was a handsome, accomplished man. The other, a beautiful, elegant woman.
They were a perfect match.
Blayne could feel someone’s gaze lingering behind him. He knew it was Terri.
A voice in his head told him to turn around and look at her.
But he didn’t.
His steps hesitated for a second—just one second.
Then, he tightened his grip on Valerie’s hand and walked away without looking back.
Terri stared blankly, memories suddenly flooding back.
Everyone said Valerie and Blayne were childhood sweethearts, a match made in heaven.
But after Valerie became an adult, she left the country without informing anyone—disappearing completely.
The Holzmans were powerful.
When word got out that Blayne was single, Terri’s mother forced her into his life, pushing her to seduce him.
She refused.
Clarissa, her mother, slapped her face and used her own life to threaten her, forcing Terri to comply.
Trying to change the family’s fate through her.
But Terri wasn’t cheap. She had no interest in being a replacement, in scheming her way into power as some pathetic mistress.
Yet when Clarissa pressed a shard of glass to her own wrist, Terri gave in.
She understood her place.
Valerie was the one Blayne truly cared about. She had neither the status nor the history to compare.
Even if Valerie openly said she only saw Blayne as a backup plan, even if she never intended to marry him…
Being sent to his bed was still a humiliation.
At worst, she’d just be thrown out.
Terri was used to being humiliated. If it could fulfill her mother’s dream of climbing the social ladder, so be it.
That night, Blayne had been drinking.
He pinned her against the stairwell wall, tearing her clothes, gripping her shoulders, ready to take her.
She had no experience—she broke down crying.
Her tears dripped onto his skin, scalding hot.
Maybe he pitied her. Maybe he just found it troublesome.
Either way, Blayne let go.
In the end, all he did was hold her through the night.
After that, wherever he went, Terri followed.
He was gentle with her. Attentive.
Terri loved steamers. So this high-born, privileged young master peeled them for her by hand.
He knew she had a hard time in the Dartons, so he directed a few lucrative projects their way—making it clear they had to treat her well.
