I kept scrolling until I reached her last post, from just yesterday.
Can't wait for the bidding conference the day after tomorrow. The Southgate project is his debut gift to me!
Every drop of warmth drained from my body. My breath stopped.
The Southgate project was a cornerstone venture my father had poured his heart into before he passed. It was supposed to be his gift to me for my twenty-eighth birthday.
And Asher was going to hand it over to his little secretary.
The front door clicked open.
Asher was home.
He walked straight to me, wrapped both arms around me, and rested his chin on the top of my head. His voice was soft and tender.
"Hey, babe. I missed you."
He still smelled like Winifred's cloying gardenia perfume.
I stood rigid in his arms, swallowing the nausea.
He didn't notice a thing. He took my hand and swung it lightly.
"There's an executive gathering at the office tonight. Come meet everyone. You should start dropping by the company more often, keep me company."
I looked at the flawless tenderness in his eyes and felt nothing but the absurdity of it.
Before I could refuse, he'd already pulled me out the door.