Love's New Bloom by Simone Hastings

Chapter 1 Heartbroken

It was 10 pm on a summer night. A beautiful woman in a body-hugging dress and exquisite makeup sat in a hotel room at one of the city’s five-star hotels. A cigarette wisping pungent smoke dangled from her trembling fingers, showing how unstable her emotions were at the moment. She was eavesdropping on a conversation going on in another hotel room that she’d bugged, and it made her heart twist painfully.

The conversation was between a man and a woman. The woman said, “Ian, you’ve been coming to me so frequently that I’m on the verge of collapse…”

The man said, “Don’t tell me you’re unhappy about this.”

The woman giggled. “I’m ecstatic!”

“She’s going on a business trip tomorrow, so you can come over.”

“Ian, I’m curious about something. Back then, Erin was known as the belle of our university. Don’t you love her anymore?”

Ian said, “She’s worse than a sex doll. We’ve been married for a year, but I haven’t even laid a finger on her. That’s what she deserves for acting all high and mighty and leading me on! I’m not even interested in her anymore.”

The woman gasped. “That’s terrible. What’s the point of your marriage, then?”

“Who cares? It’s all she deserves. Alright, let’s stop talking about her…”

of their conversation. She removed the earbud and stared blankly at the floor as she recalled how her husband, Ian Sloan, had mumbled another woman’s name in his sleep. “Tracy, you’re

talking about Tracy Brown, her classmate from university? They’d lost contact after graduation, though. How

come over that afternoon, and Erin took the opportunity to peek at her phone while she was

sent Tracy on her way, but she recalled how she’d scoured Ian’s bank statements. Over six months, he’d gone to the same hotel 86 times…Now that Erin had a location, she

…

after leaving the hotel.

moment, she recalled how her best friend, Holly Green, had dragged her to the city’s most renowned private club when she was drunk out of her mind. “Take me to

surprised. Erin returned his surprised look with a level gaze. Her heart felt like it had been soaked in acid; she was in so much pain she could barely breathe, and her chest felt unbearably heavy. She pressed a hand to her chest hoping it would help soothe the

an hour later, the driver turned to look at her.

senses and dazedly tugged a few hundred-dollar bills from her purse.

her profusely, then watched as she stumbled into the club. “What a pity. Such a pretty woman,

for the front desk, and slapped a debit card on the counter. “I have five million dollars here. Get me

her up and said politely, “Welcome, miss.

wet wipes from her bag

only be a short while.” As Erin turned to leave, the receptionist secretly snapped a photo of her

“What the hell? How dare you send me a photo of such an ugly woman! You’ll be out of a job the next time you pull something like

couldn’t resist giving it a shot at the thought

his office. His tone turned frosty as he said, “I heard from Jamie that you’re new. I’ll give you one more chance instead of firing you, and I’m warning you: I’m the one picking the

Erin when she saw Erin stand up and walk toward a man walking out of the nearby

broad shoulders, toned waist, and long legs made Erin’s blood rush to her head. The man was also unbelievably handsome. She gulped and trained her gaze on him, but her question was directed at the receptionist. “This is the most handsome man in