My Ex-Fiancé Stole My Dreams

For ten years, I was the indispensable right hand and fiancée to star architect Declan Sharp. I poured my life into his career, sacrificing my own ambitions for us. Our wedding was just weeks away.

But my world shattered when I saw him with the new intern, Kisha. He was showing her my design, the one he called "competent," and proudly saying, "This is Kisha's idea."

It got worse. He stole my groundbreaking research paper for her, then publicly dismissed me as a mere "drafting assistant." My own family attacked me, furious I had lost their meal ticket.

I was just a tool. A convenient machine he used to build his empire. He never loved me; he loved what I did for him.

So when he tried to kiss me to shut me up, I slapped him. I deleted every file, every blueprint, every trace of my work from his life. Then I blocked his number and bought a one-way ticket to Detroit. This time, I was building a life for myself.

Chapter 1

My ten years with Declan Sharp, the man I loved, ended not with a bang, but with his careless disregard for my heart, exposed by an intern.

For a decade, I was Cayla Norris, the junior architect, but more importantly, Declan Sharp's indispensable right hand. I' d poured my life into his career, into us, sacrificing my own ambitions to be his partner, his fiancée. We were supposed to get married. The wedding invitations were already printed, elegant script on heavy cardstock. My future, once so clear, was a shimmering mirage, about to dissolve.

I sat in my small, sterile office, the fluorescent lights humming above, the air thick with unspoken truths. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, a simple form awaiting my confirmation. A transfer request. Detroit. It was a challenging, underfunded community revitalization project. A world away from the gleaming skyscrapers and high-stakes competitions of our firm in New York. My escape route.

"Cayla? Is everything alright?" Marcus, my direct superior, leaned against the doorframe, his brow furrowed with concern. "I saw your transfer request come through. Detroit? That's… a big change. Especially with the wedding so close."

My throat tightened. I swallowed past the sudden lump. "Everything' s fine, Marcus. I just need a change of pace. New challenges." The words tasted like ash. I forced a smile that felt brittle, like old glass.

He didn't look convinced. "Declan will be… surprised. Shocked, even. You two are inseparable. Everyone knows that." His voice was gentle, laced with genuine confusion.

Inseparable. That was the story we told. The story I told myself, every single day. The lie I clung to, even as it stripped away pieces of who I was. The truth was, I wasn't inseparable from Declan. I was attached to him, like a shadow. A shadow that faded when the light shifted.

I' d spent my entire adult life in his orbit. My talent, my resilience, my unwavering loyalty – all channeled