Five Years, A Forged Vow

For five years, I was the devoted wife who helped Brandon build his tech empire.

But the moment his first love, Kristal, returned with a feigned injury, he handed her the diamond necklace meant for our anniversary and abandoned me in a torrential storm.

He knew my PTSD from a past kidnapping made storms terrifying, yet he drove away with her without a backward glance.

When I called him for help, terrified of the stranger driving my rideshare, it was Kristal who answered.

"Brandon is in the shower," she taunted. "Don't disturb our reunion."

I barely escaped an assault that night, only to return home and discover the ultimate betrayal: Brandon never filed our marriage license in the US.

Legally, I was never his wife. I was just a placeholder until she came back.

While he was busy comforting her, I didn't scream or fight.

I simply shredded the fake wedding certificate, packed my bags, and vanished.

By the time he realized his mistake and came begging on his knees, I was already gone.

Chapter 1

Audrey POV:

Every cheer for Brandon's victory was a hammer blow to my heart, especially when his eyes, usually so warm for me, fixed on her as he clutched the diamond necklace I believed was mine. The stadium lights blurred through the sudden film in my vision.

The crowd roared, a wave of adulation washing over Brandon Cervantes, the golf prodigy who had traded his clubs for a tech empire. They hoisted him onto their shoulders, a king crowned in the dazzling spotlight.

"What a comeback!" someone screamed.

"He's still got it!" another voice chimed in.

I stood at the edge of the celebration, a strange quiet in the roaring chaos. Five years I' d been his wife, his steady support as he built his business from the ground up, after he' d walked away from professional golf. He'd said he was done with the game, done with the heartache it brought.

But here he was, back on the green, winning, and for Kristal Gibson.

"Didn't he used to play with Kristal?" a woman next to me whispered to her friend.

"Oh, yes! They were inseparable. He practically raised her on the course."

My stomach clenched. I knew their story. Everyone in the golf world did. Brandon, the seasoned pro, and Kristal, his star pupil, his first love. They were a golden couple until she broke his heart.

"I remember their first match together," the woman continued, oblivious to my presence. "She was just a slip of a girl, barely sixteen. He taught her everything."

Suddenly, a group of his old golf buddies pushed Kristal forward. She stumbled, a theatrical flutter, and Brandon, still on the shoulders of the crowd, reached out instinctively. Their hands met, lingering. A spark, visible even from where I stood, jumped between them.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and innocent, a coy smile playing on her lips. He smiled back, a genuine, unburdened smile I hadn't