Chapter 1
Chapter 1
When Byron Luwelton’s first love returned, her first act was to make a wager with his wife, Adele DelaSalle.
Nine times, If Byron drops everything for Scarlett nine times, she would have surrender her position as Mrs. Luwelton.
Adele accepted the challenge.
By the ninth time, it took just one phone call from Scarlett for Byron to leave Aele stranded on the road.
“Adele, I need to handle an emergency. Could you go home by yourself?” Byro asked.
Without waiting for her response–ignoring the pouring rain, disregarding that she was having her period–he shoved an umbrella into her hands, his mind already mapping the quickest route to Scarlett’s place.
“Text when you’re home,” he called out, fingers flying across his GPS screen, entering that all–too–familiar address.
Adele felt something crack inside her chest as she watched him do it.
The taillights disappeared into the storm, leaving her soaked within seconds. The wind cut through her thin dress, sending violent shivers down her spine.
She walked. Her heels sliced into her skin, leaving bloody footprints on the pavement. Five agonizing hours later, she stumbled up the driveway to their Lakeside Manor.
Her cream dress now stained crimson, she collapsed onto the gravel, clutching her stomach.
Through the rain–blurred haze, Adele made out Scarlett’s silhouette approaching, lips curled in triumph.
“Hurts like hell, doesn’t it?” Scarlett’s voice was honeyed poison. “Regretting that bet we made now? Did you really think after all this time, Byron would choose you? You’ve forgotten one important thing–he’s always been in love with me. The affection he gave you? It doesn’t mean anything compared to what we’ve shared..”
Adele pulled herself to her feet, swaying slightly. Her face, drained of all color betrayed nothing but calm.
“Nine times,” she whispered. “You win. The divorce papers will be ready tomorrow.”
She staggered toward the house as the past crashed over her like the relentless rain.
Scarlett’s birthday bash freshman year. her heart do backflips.
That first glimpse of Byron across the drowded room–tall, elegant, exuding old money confidence that made
That night, Scarlett had introduced him as Childhood sweetheart, then introduced a tattooed bad boy,her boyfriend she’d just made.
The look on Byron’s face, Adele could still picture it. Pure devastation barely contained behind that aristocratic mask. One glance told her everything: Byron Luwelton was in love with Scarlett.
But Scarlett was into messy relationships. She wanted motorcycle joyrides and bathroom hookups, not uptight, silver–spoon type. She found Byron’s protective nature suffocating.
So when she caught Adele staring at him across the dining hall, the wheels started turning. “Accidentally” inviting them to the same parties. Canceling at the last minute so they’d be alone. Practically gift–wrapping Byron to get him off her back.
Adele had watched his initial coldness, the humiliation, the resignation, and finally, acceptance..
Junior year, they made it official. Two years later, he slid a three–carat diamond onto her finger.
Three years of marriage followed–polite conversations over breakfast, separate bedrooms connected by a shared balcony, occasional companionable dinners. Not exactly a fairytale, but Adele had settled into it. Had even begun to believe they might find their way to something genuine.
Until Scarlett came back,she arranged to meet her, proposing the bet.
“I made a mistake,” she’d confessed, looking straight into Adele’s eyes. “I want him back. So here’s the deal–nine chances.So here’s the deal: nine chances. If Byron chooses me over you nine times, you’ll let him go.”
Haart The Love That Never Been Chosen
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Chapter 1
Something agreed. Maybe she wanted to know whether he loves her.
Apparently, the results had been brutal.
The first time,their third anniversary–she’d planned an intimate stargazing nic, knowing his secret astronomy obsession. One text from Scarlett about a “crisis” and he was gone, leaving Adele alone on a mountain all night,elescope gathering dew beside her untouched champagne.
The second time, she was about to have an appendectomy. As they prepped her for surgery, he vanished–supposedly rescuing Scarlett from some thugs. He disappeared for a week while Adele stay at home alone…
The final insult? He walked out during her grandmother’s funeral because Scarlett needed someone to have dinner with her.
enough anymore.
Adele had tried to hold on, but each time he left her made it clear that her love for him war
Back in their bathroom, she peeled off her ruined clothes and stood under scaling sipping it slowly until the warmth spread through her frozen heart.
Then she retrieved the divorce papers she’d had drawn up the day of the bet,igned her name,
“Give these to him.”
Scarlett’s perfectly shaped eyebrow arched. “Why should I do this?”
skin turned pink. She slipped into soft pajama,
and handed them to Scarlett.
“Because he’ll sign anything you put in front of him without reading it. Saves me the conversation.”
Scarlett pocketed the papers with a smirk.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. Once the dust settles, I’ll set you up with someone new. Someone even richer.”
“Well.”
Scarlett’s smug expression faltered at Adele’s easy agreement. “That’s it? You’re just… over him? Just like that?”
Adele laughed. “I poured nine years down the drain for a man who couldn’t even look at me. He had nine chances to choose me. Nine. But he didn’t.” She shook her head. “I’d have to hate myself to hold on after that. From here on out, I’m the only one who matters in my life.”
The door swung open, cutting through the tension.
Byron froze in the doorway, his gaze fixed on Scarlett. ““Wait–what? I just dropped you off at the ER. How did you get here?”
Scarlett didn’t bother explaining her miraculous recovery from a nonexistent ankle sprain. She simply sauntered over, papers extended.
“Just need your signature, darling. Right here.”
Byron never even glanced at the document, eyes never leaving Scarlett’s face as he scrawled his name where she pointed.
Only after the pen left the paper did he think to ask, “What exactly did I just sign?”
Scarlett’s lips parted to tell him, then curled into a secretive smile instead.
“A little surprise from Adele and me. You’ll find out in thirty days.” She patted his cheek. “Trust me–you will be surprised when you see it!”
Chapter 2
