No Second Chance For Us

For five years, I was tech billionaire Alden Maxwell' s secret. A pretty accessory on his arm, a deal I made to save my father' s life. I played my part, quietly planning my escape for the day our contract ended.

But then his first love, Amanda, came back.

At a lavish auction, he spent ten million dollars to outbid me for my own mother' s heirloom bangle, only to place it on Amanda' s wrist, calling it a "token of his undying affection."

Later, he told me I was just practice. A "little bird" he could use to learn how to be gentle before he went back to his true love.

That' s when the last of my foolish hope died. I was never a person to him, just a transaction he could buy and discard.

So I disappeared. I took a five-year, off-grid research position and cut all ties. When he finally tracked me down, begging me to name my price, I faced him through the sterile glass of the facility and gave him my final answer.

"We' re done."