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

Chapter 93

Gloria knew nothing about any of this.

She stood before a rack of formal dresses, caught in that familiar first-date anxiety. Though her father had arranged this engagement, she still hadn't met her fiancé since arriving in London. Her recovery had kept her homebound for weeks.

He'd sent thoughtful gifts during her convalescence, but this would be their actual first meeting. A photo could only tell you so much about a person.

Given the stakes, Gloria wasn't taking any chances. After trying on half her wardrobe, she settled on an elegant off-shoulder A-line dress in soft pink that hit just below the knee. She pinned her long hair up with a simple jade clip her grandmother had given her.

When she entered the private dining room, she immediately spotted him standing by the tall windows overlooking the Thames.

Where Elijah had been winter frost, Lucas Hayes radiated spring warmth.

days, especially in a family as complicated as the Hayes clan? Her pre-date

Lucas's direct line supposedly valued fidelity, the extended family was a tabloid writer's dream— affairs, love children, the works. With

Today proved her wrong.

she sat down, Lucas introduced himself without pretension, then handed her a folder addressing all her concerns with surprising transparency. Throughout their conversation, he showed genuine attentiveness-making sure her water was filled, checking if

left Gloria feeling unexpectedly comfortable. As she studied him —yes, also ten years her senior-she realized that a life with

home himself rather than sending

up in their conversation, Gloria missed the dark sedan parked among the trees across from her family estate. Behind tinted windows, intense eyes tracked

of searching,

the truth, he'd needed a full week just to process it all. The woman he'd

his childhood sweetheart-his