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…”

to the rest 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

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

Erin asked another friend for Tracy’s number. Then, she invited Tracy over under the guise of wanting her to come up with a design for their bathroom because she wanted to renovate it. Tracy had come over that afternoon, and Erin took the opportunity to peek at her phone while she was in the bathroom. It was locked, so she couldn’t see its contents, but the fact

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

…

leaving the

Green, had dragged her to the city’s most renowned private club when

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

driver turned to

a few

profusely, then watched as she stumbled into the

on the counter. “I

politely, “Welcome, miss. Are you referring

some wet wipes

slightly. “Miss, why don’t you take a seat at the lounge over there while I make a call? It’ll only be a short while.”

called the receptionist and growled, “What the hell? How dare you send me a photo of such an

couldn’t resist giving it a shot at the

was in 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 women, not the other way round!” He hung

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

legs made Erin’s blood rush to her head. The man