CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Cassie George sat alone in the dimly lit study of her mother’s subtle house, a place that had always felt more like a prison than a home.

The house, though tidy, was filled with an oppressive sense of lost dreams and bitter memories.

Her fingers traced the edges of an old photograph, the edges worn from years of handling. It was a picture of her mother, Margaret George, and a man who had once promised her the world—Donald Wilton.

The story of Donald Wilton's betrayal was one Cassie had heard countless times, each retelling fueling the fire of resentment that burned within her.

Margaret, a beautiful and ambitious woman, had fallen in love with Donald when they were both young. They had dreams of building a future together, dreams that were shattered when Donald abandoned her for another woman—Marcelo’s mother.

Cassie’s mother had been left to pick up the pieces of her broken heart and shattered future.

Meeting Robert George who loved her, and he loved him too but her heart was far f