From Workhorse To Queen: My Reign

For seven years, I was the secret weapon behind my fiancé Josh Palmer's political career. I was the ghostwriter, the strategist, the one who used my family's hidden resources to make him a star.

On my way to our engagement party, a news alert flashed across my phone. Josh was on live TV, announcing his engagement to a famous anchor, Kassandra Dixon.

When I confronted them, Kassandra mocked me, calling me a "useful workhorse" before her bodyguards beat me to the floor.

But her true cruelty was finding my late mother's journal.

She ripped it to shreds and ground the pieces into the marble with her stiletto.

In that moment, staring at the tattered remains of my mother's memory, the naive girl who loved him died.

They made a fatal mistake. They thought they had broken a powerless girl, but they had just awakened a queen. My name is Aurora Tyler, and my reign was just beginning.

Chapter 1

AURORA BRUCE POV:

The limo glided through the city streets, a luxurious cocoon separating me from the buzzing world outside. I traced the condensation on the window with my fingertip, a nervous habit. My heart pounded a rhythm against my ribs, a mixture of excitement and disbelief. Seven years. Seven long years, and tonight was finally it. I smoothed the fabric of my dress, a sleek emerald green that shimmered under the faint interior lights. It was a dress chosen for an engagement party, our engagement party.

My phone, lying forgotten on the plush leather seat beside me, suddenly vibrated. The screen lit up with a news alert. It was a breaking story from WBN, a major national network. I usually ignored these things when I was on my way to something important, but something, a cold premonition, made me pick it up.

The headline flashed, stark white against a crimson background: "Palmer Poised for Senate Run: Confirms Engagement to WBN' s Kassandra Dixon."

My breath hitched. The words blurred, then sharpened, stabbing into my mind. Palmer. Josh Palmer. My Josh.

A featured video autoplayed below the headline. The face of the WBN news anchor, Kassandra Dixon, filled the screen, her smile dazzling, almost predatory. Then, Josh appeared beside her, his arm wrapped possessively around her waist. His eyes, usually so warm when they looked at me, were alight with a calculating ambition I' d never seen directed my way.

"Congressman Palmer, congratulations on your impending Senate campaign and, of course, your engagement!" the reporter gushed.

Josh leaned into the microphone, his voice smooth, confident. "Thank you. It' s an exciting time. Kassandra' s support, both personally and professionally, will be invaluable as we embark on this journey." He smiled at her, a possessive, public display, and she returned it with an equally manufactured adoration.

My world tilted. The luxurious car, the excited anticipation, the emerald dress – it all felt like a cruel joke. Ice water poured through my veins. It wasn't just a headline; it was a public execution.