After the Last Tear: Rising from the Ashes of a Broken Marriage By Cassila K

Chapter 1

The third year of their marriage, Elaine Faerwyn gazed at the woman sitting across from her and released a soft.

This was the ninety-ninth mistress of Alistair Chase's that she had handled-and unquestionably the most difficult of the lot.

No matter how substantial the settlement Elaine offered, this woman remained immovable, stubbornly insisting on staying by Alistair's side.

Elaine took a deliberate sip of her espresso, the bitter liquid matching her mood perfectly as her lips curved into a self-deprecating smile. "You really should name your price," she said, setting down the porcelain cup with a soft clink against the saucer. "He's a wanderer who's never found his star. Surely you can see that in him? I'm his wife, yet my primary function seems to be disposing of lovers he's grown bored with as you see now."

Despite Elaine's candid counsel, Vivian Turner showed not the slightest glimmer of comprehension. Instead, she tilted her chin upward with unmistakable defiance, her manicured hand sliding provocatively over her stomach with a smugness that made Elaine's skin crawl.

"I'm different," Vivian declared, eyes flashing with triumph. "You simply lack what it takes to hold his interest. Alistair loves me. He made sex with me day and day, can't bear to look away from my face, and his has practically memorized all my preferences."

"Besides," she added with calculated timing, "I just found out I'm carrying his baby..."

A child?

Elaine's gaze fixed on the woman's still-flat abdomen, her mind momentarily short-circuiting.

He had promised that he would never father a child to humiliate her publicly or privately.Alistair, you couldn't even keep the only pathetically small promise you made to me.

Her painted lips parted to respond, but before she could articulate the acid rising in her throat, the villa's doors swung open with theatrical timing.

an active call, his deep, whiskey-smooth voice

to recognize the tell-tale signs, he'd already marked

signature devil-may-care expression. Leaning against a nearby table with

I'm pregnant, don't cast me aside,

Elaine could answer, rushing to his side with the desperation of a gambler placing her final bet, her expression

mask of indifference slipped from his aristocratic

Vivian, his hand brushing over her stomach. Something cold and calculating flickered across

chuckled softly, the sound lacking any real warmth. "Since you're carrying my child, we'll maintain our arrangement. Go home

the Chase mansion with undisguised triumph radiating from her carefully contoured

Elaine asked once the front door closed with a decisive click, her voice

qualities. As he walked toward his state-of-the-art bathroom, loosening his tie, he

with practiced efficiency. "Once the baby is born, I'll send her packing with an NDA. Your position as Mrs. Chase- and all the privileges that accompany it—will

words confirmed he had no genuine feelings for Vivian, a sharp

of

the same place.But his heart belonged only to Sophia, his golden-haired first love, taken tragically young in that devastating car accident

Sophia's death, Alistair transformed from devoted romantic to Manhattan's most notorious

pool. Every eligible socialite except Elaine. She remained the only untouched

nervous investors. Seeking a solution to both problems, he would leverage

She agreed.

to silence his board and secure his inheritance. She couldn't interfere with his extramarital pursuits, but in return, he would ensure her position as Mrs. Chase remained unassailable. Most importantly,