Chapter 8: False Affection
Lately, everyone in my circle couldn’t shut up. The whispers were everywhere.N
And the story?”
Russell Fraizer, golden boy of the Fraizer Group, had apparently tossed his responsibilities aside just to follow Claudia James around the globe like a love–struck idiot.
People loved it. They shared it with that smug little grin, like passing around a dirty secret they didn’t want to admit they were obsessed with.”
The truth was, Claudia and I had been all over the place. Rome for those overhyped gladiator reenactments, Iceland chasing the Northern Lights, Australia for the reef, Santorini for the postcard views, and Switzerland to freeze our asses off in style. Every destination was another headline. Wherever we landed, the gossip followed.N
Everyone knew I was married. Hell, everyone also knew Claudia was engaged. But that kind of detail didn’t mean much where we came from.§
In our world, it was all about appearances. And nothing sold better than a man throwing everything away for love. It played like a goddamn fairytale.}]
And the story they loved most?
Russell Fraizer was hopelessly in love with Claudia.N
There was this one story that stuck around like it was proof of everything. We were diving somewhere tropical–can’t even remember where. Claudia’s oxygen tank ran low, and she lost it–total panic. I didn’t even think. Just gave her mine, even though I barely had anything left in it.
Then a shark came out of nowhere. I pushed her out of the way and caught the hit. My arm got torn up badly. The water around me turned blood red. Claudia got away without a scratch.N
I still remember the look on her face when she turned back. She was pale, eyes wide. Her mouth opened in a scream, but all that came out was seawater. She reached for me, hand shaking like hell.
“I’m fine.” I gave her the best smile I could manage through the pain, shook my head to tell her I was fine, and then everything went black. When I woke up, the sterile sting of disinfectant was the first thing I noticed. The smell was sharp, and my body felt like it had been crushed. I groaned and turned my head, still haunted by the dream I had just come out of.N
In it, Nadine had left me.
She filed for divorce and ran off with another man. I ran after her, pushing through the crowd. But I couldn’t reach her. And when I finally did, she was already holding onto someone else’s arm, staring at me with a cold smile.
“Russell, we’ve long been divorced.”
That sentence rattled me awake. I was drenched in sweat.
Once i pulled myself together, I couldn’t help but shake my head. It was ridiculous.
Nadine divorcing me? No chance.
She needed me. She needed my money.
Our marriage had been business from day one. And ever since Claudia came back as the rightful James’s heiress, Nadine had been struggling to hold on, always borrowing from me, always grasping at something.
She wouldn’t walk away. I was sure of it.
“Russell! You’re finally awake!” Claudia’s voice jolted me from my thoughts.
She was already by my bedside. The second I opened my eyes, she threw herself into my arms, face wet with tears, voice shaking with guilt.
“Russell, the doctor said if you’d been a minute later, you would’ve drowned. And the shark… You got hurt because you saved me.”
“It’s alright, Claudia,” I said, keeping my tone gentle. “I’d
do it ag
“But I’m engaged,” she said, voice breaking. “To someone I don’t
love. I can’t give you the love you deserve.“M
Her tears kept falling. “You’ve done everything for me. You even stood up to your wife, bought me a million–dollar wedding dress, made meals for me every day, and gave up your company to take me around the world. And now you nearly died. Do I deserve all this?” “You do,” I said, my voice strained. “You’re worth it.“}
But as the words left my mouth, I felt something sharp twist in my chest.
Just a month ago, I was buried in meetings, scrambling to stop Fraizer Group from falling apart.
I walked away from all of it without hesitation, the moment she asked.
I remembered how I used to hate tattoos.
When Nadine once jokingly gave me a fake one, I’d scrubbed it off like it was poison, peeled the skin raw to make it disappear.N But for Claudia, I got a permanent one.!!
That had to mean something. I told myself it did.
Now, staring at her face, I wasn’t so sure.
“If you’re worried about your engagement,” I started, the thought half–formed, “then we should just–“#
I didn’t finish. Claudia cut me off and stood quickly, her expression snapping into something unreadable.}}
1/2
4418
.
“I’ll go get the doctor,” she said, and disappeared before I could say more.“}]
I looked down at the shark bite on my arm. It hurt, sure, but what really got me was the old scar beneath it.” That scar came from a long time ago, right after Nadine and I got married.“]
She had wanted to go to Florence to see a musical, something to help us feel more like a couple.
I’d scoffed at it, thought it was a waste of time, but she’d lit up over it.”
I remembered sitting in that dark theater beside her, how she softly hummed along to the music.
Her voice had this way of cutting through the noise in my head. Clean. Pure.}]
I thought she sang better than the performers.
That was the first time I realized art could actually mean something.
Then the theater exploded into chaos.
Gunfire. Screaming.”
People stampeding toward the exits.
I threw myself over Nadine. Took two bullets.
One in the arm. One near my heart.”
When I woke up, she didn’t cry.}
She slapped me and even yelled, “You think you’re a hero? That was stupid. If the doctors hadn’t been fast, you’d be dead. I don’t need you dying for me. I would’ve made it. If you ever throw your life away like that again, we’re done!“}
Her words hit hard, but something about them felt warm.
There was something raw and honest about the way she said it.
She cared. She just didn’t dress it up.
I smiled to myself until I caught sight of her again on a news segment playing on the hospital TV. She was at some international art gala. Confident. Poised. That same small smile on her face.
My smile faded.}
I told myself I loved Claudia.}
So why did my mind keep going back to Nadine?!
What the hell was wrong with me?
Nadine had left Harborview.
I should feel free. I should feel like I’d finally gotten what I wanted.
But didn’t.
After a little more time abroad, Claudia and I came home.
instead of returning to Fraizer Group, I decided to build something lasting for her. An underwater world. A full–scale hotel beside it. The ultimate love letter.}
No woman could ignore something that grand.
For the entire week, I was buried in blueprints, pulling long nights in my study. Crews came in with equipment and materials.
One of the workers spoke up. “Mr. Fraizer, a project like this can’t be finished in a month. And the funding-”
I didn’t let him finish.
I kicked his chair, eyes locked on his. “Get lost. If it’s not done in a month, I’ll have you feeding the fish.“}
He left. Fast.}
I rubbed my temples, head pounding. My arm brushed a stack of papers, and it toppled off the desk.
One thick folder hit the floor.”
I bent down to grab it. i stopped cold when I saw the cover.
It was the last contract Nadine had begged me to sign.
