CHAPTER TWO:
The champagne sparkled under the dim deck lights, casting a shimmering glow on Prestige Belle's cheekbones as she tilted her head back in laughter. Everything felt like a low sweet dream.
Dan Alexander steered at her, a subtle smile playing on his lips.
"Yooh…You know..!," he said, his voice velvet-smooth, "I never imagined you would finally say a big YES to tonight."
Prestige smiled. "Because you thought I was still in love with my ex? Or because you're probably in love with yours?"
Dan smiley took a sip of his drink, then reached for her hand. "Neither. I just didn't think someone as beautiful as you would want to spend her night with someone just like me."
She laughed again, softer and gentle this time. "You always say things like that. Makes it hard to know if I'm falling for your charm or just the fantasy of you."
"Does it matter?" he murmured, leaning closer. His lips brushed against hers, slow, romantic and intentional. "Either way, I'm falling too."
His lips found her lower lip and sipped it slowly,then her upper lips. Her body, vibrating in love,She gently crossed her left hand across his neck,making Dan perceive her feelings.
She rubbed his back romantically, he found her neck and poured his kisses on her like roses,then her chest to her fairy boobs,with his hands already pressing her left soft b**bs,his tongue his arousing the right nipple and by then, his d**k was up and grateful for that moment in time.
The kiss was dangerous for the night but warm for the feelings.
And Prestige felt it. Even in the sweetness, there was an aftertaste of something bitter.
Across the city, in a penthouse built with glass, Kate Monroe stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the same skyline glimmer with possibility. Only hers was filled with dread.
The red wine in her glass had long gone stale. She hadn't sipped it in hours.
Her phone buzzed on the table. She didn't need to check to know what it was.
Another photo.
Another update.
She picked it up anyway, because masochism was now second nature.
Dan and Prestige. Arms wrapped around each other on the deck of her yacht. The same yacht Dan had bought for their two-year anniversary. The same yacht where he had said, "Let's run away from the world, just YOU & ME."
Kate blinked. The tears didn't fall. They hadn't in weeks.
Instead, a smile flipped at her lips, sharp, calculating.
She downed the wine in one gulp and reached for her laptop. The world believed she was broken. But heartbreak had never made Kate weaker.
It made her smarter.
One year ago.
Prestige tucked her legs beneath her on Kate's pristine white couch, the scent of lavender candles curling around them.
"I think I'm in love," she whispered, cheeks flushed.
Kate paused from uncorking the second bottle of wine. "Already? You only moved back to Manhattan three weeks ago."
Prestige giggled. "He's different. Tall. Quietly intense. He listens to me like I matter. Like I'm not just another spoiled rich girl trying to matter in a world that doesn't need me."
Kate raised a brow. "Sounds like someone we both know."
Prestige smiled. "His name is Dan. Dan Alexander."
Kate's fingers still went around the cork.
THE NAME cracked through her chest like thunder,still echoing on her head. She pretentiously covered it with a practiced smile.
"Dan Alexander?" she said lightly. "The billionaire tech guy?"
"Yes! Oh my God, you know him?"
"I've read about him," Kate sharply lied.
Prestige beamed. "We met at that art gala you told me to attend. I was standing alone by the Monet, and he just walked up and started talking about brushstrokes and loneliness. Like he saw me."
Kate's heart was a war drum. He used to say the same thing to me.
"He kissed me that night, Kate," Prestige continued, oblivious. "It wasn't like any kiss I've ever had. It was… like a promise."
The world tumbled at Kate's sight,she felt goose pimples on her skin.
He kissed you? That soon? Kate wanted to scream. But instead, she poured more wine. "I'm happy for you."
Another lie.
Present Day.
Prestige twirled in the wind as the yacht gently glided toward the bay.
"This night is perfect," she said, stretching her arms. "Dan, why do you always know exactly what I need?"
Dan smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
She walked to him, cupping his face. "What are you thinking?"
He hesitated. Then: "Do you ever think about the past? The people we used to be?"
Prestige laughed. "I used to be a mess. A ghost in designer heels. You saved me."
Dan said nothing. Because in his memory, another woman's laugh still echoed in that same space.
Kate clicked through her saved photos. Memories and receipts. Every secret kiss, every note Dan had left her, every time stamped photo from their hidden affair.
But one stood out.
A blurry image from exactly two years ago.
Dan and Kate. Kissing on the yacht.
The same yacht.
She uploaded it anonymously to a fresh Instagram page titled: @TruthUnmasked
Caption: Yachts hold secrets. Ask Dan who he kissed under the stars.
She hit the post.
Then she picked up her phone and sent a message directly to Prestige:
*"Ask Dan who he first kissed on the Belle yacht. It wasn't you."
Prestige froze when her phone buzzed.
The wind had calmed, but something in the air turned cold.
She read the message twice.
Then slowly turned to Dan.
"Dan," she said carefully, "How long have you had this yacht?"
Dan blinked. "What?"
"Just an..swer."
He hesitated. "Three years. Why?"
Her voice cracked like glass. "Then who did you kiss on it the first time?"
Silence hitted.
Prestige stepped back, eyes wide. "Oh my God. It was her. Wasn't it? Kate."
Dan looked away.
Prestige's lips trembled. "You told me this place was ours. That you bought it for me."
"I never said I bought it for you," Dan murmured.
"But you let me believe it!" she snapped. "You let me fall for you, while you were still tangled in her shadow."
Dan ran a hand through his hair. "It's not like that."
"Then explain it," she whispered. "Because right now, I feel like the other woman in someone else's love story."
Kate watched it unfold from her phone.
She had someone filming. An insider. The moment Prestige's expression shattered was now digital gold.
But she wasn't done.
She printed the original deed of the yacht purchase. Her name and Dan's were both on it. The yacht had been named K. Belle, a blend of Kate and Belle. Dan had claimed he renamed it after Prestige. Another lie.
Kate smirked.
She packaged the document and scheduled a delivery.
Recipient: Prestige Belle.
Attached was a note:
*"You never really knew him. But I did. And I still do."
Dan sat alone on the yacht hours later, Prestige having left in a flurry of tears and betrayal.
He stared at the waves.
Then his phone buzzed.
A single text from Kate:
You can lie to her. But you can't lie to me. We both know whose name you whispered that night.
His hand clenched around the phone.
Because she was right.
And now the past wasn't just haunting them only, it was back to claim everything.
The next morning, tabloids exploded with headlines:
"Dan Alexander: Billionaire Love Triangle Exposed?"
"Ex-Girlfriend Drops Receipts on Yacht Affair!"
But the one headline that shook Prestige most wasn't public. It was in the envelope Kate sen
t:
Prenuptial Agreement Found: Kate Monroe Still Legally Married to Dan Alexander?
Prestige gasped.
She wasn't the girlfriend.
She was the mistress.
And Kate? Kate was still his wife.
To Be Continued… .