When she refused, he walked out and never looked back.
CHAPTER 3 — ROCK BOTTOM
Six months later, Janelle was living in a tiny studio apartment with peeling paint and neighbors who argued at 2 a.m. Her fridge held:
-
three eggs
-
half a gallon of milk
-
a little butter
And her bank account had $230.
She was six months pregnant, exhausted, alone, and scared.
So when she got a call offering $500 for one night of staff work at a luxury wedding?
She said yes.
Desperate people cannot afford pride.
But when the event details arrived…
When she saw the names…
When she saw the engagement photos…
Her heart stopped.
Cassian Holt was getting married.
And she had just been hired to serve drinks at his wedding.
This wasn’t an accident.
This wasn’t fate.
Cassian had requested her by name.
He wanted her there.
He wanted her to see what she “lost.”
He wanted her to serve him drinks while pregnant with the child he refused to acknowledge.
He wanted humiliation.
And he was going to get it — but not the way he expected.
CHAPTER 4 — THE WEDDING
Cassian approached her the moment he saw her in the ballroom.
“Nervous?” he whispered.
“You should be.”
He looked at her pregnant belly with disgust.