Betrayed by Love

I stood in Seattle International Airport's arrivals terminal, my heart pounding so hard I could feel it in my fingertips. Six years. Six long years of waiting, of dreaming, of planning our future together while Jaxson was away handling his father's East Coast business dealings. Today was finally the day he would come home to me.

"You look like you might faint," Elena whispered, squeezing my hand. My best friend had been my rock through all the waiting, all the lonely nights.

"I'm fine," I said, touching the pearl necklace at my throat, a nervous habit I'd inherited along with the jewelry from my mother. "Just... it's been so long."

My father, Richard Davis, stood beside us, checking his watch with the impatience of a man who ran one of Seattle's largest business empires. "Flight's landed. Should be any minute now."

I smoothed down my cream silk dress for the twentieth time. I'd chosen it carefully, wanting to look perfect for this moment. The moment when Jaxson would see me and remember why he'd promised to marry me, why he'd asked me to wait.

The doors slid open and passengers began streaming through. I rose on my tiptoes, scanning each face. And then I saw him—taller than I remembered, his dark hair shorter, his shoulders broader. My Jaxson. My heart leapt.

But something was wrong.

His arm was wrapped protectively around a woman I'd never seen before. She was beautiful in an effortless way, with long auburn hair and delicate features. They moved as one unit, his body angled toward hers, protective, intimate.

I felt Elena's hand tighten around mine. "Maya," she whispered, but I couldn't respond. The world had tilted sideways, reality cracking beneath my feet.

"Richard!" Jaxson called out, his face lighting up as he spotted my father. Not me. My father.

I forced my face into the composed mask I'd perfected as the Davis heiress, even as something inside me began to fracture.

"Jaxson," my father stepped forward, embracing him like the son he'd never had. "Good to have you back."

Jaxson's eyes finally found mine, and for a brief moment, I saw something flicker there—regret? Guilt? It vanished so quickly I might have imagined it.

"Maya," he said, his voice softer. "You look beautiful."

Six years of waiting, and that was all I got. Not the passionate reunion I'd dreamed of. Not the immediate explanation I deserved.

"Who's your friend?" My father asked the question I couldn't force past my lips.

"This is Alisson Campbell," Jaxson said, his hand moving to the small of her back. "Alisson, this is Richard Davis, my mentor and partner. And his daughter, Maya."

The way he said my name—like an afterthought, like I wasn't the woman who'd waited faithfully for six years—made my stomach twist.

"It's so wonderful to finally meet you all," Alisson said, her voice sweet and melodic. "Jaxson has told me so much about you."

I felt Elena's arm slip around my waist, steadying me. "We've prepared