Betrayed by Love, Hunted by Lies
Description
"I thought I knew my life-until everything shattered." My fiance, Mark, betrayed me with my best friend, Sophie, and now I'm trapped in a web of lies. "You won't get to her," Jasper warned, but as I join forces with this brooding stranger, I discover Mark's ties to a dangerous criminal underworld. "Nothing is what it seems," Jasper says, and he's right. As secrets unravel and loyalties shift, I find myself in a deadly game of seduction and revenge. Just when I think I'm in control, an unexpected twist forces me to confront the truth: Who can I trust? Now, with betrayal lurking at every turn, I must fight to reclaim my life. Will I uncover the truth before it consumes me, or will I lose everything I hold dear?
Chapter 1
Nov 19, 2025
The bar was suffocating, its dim light and thick air pressing in on me like a cage. I hadn’t planned to come here—definitely not tonight, not when everything felt like it was crumbling around me. But something about the anonymity of it, the noise that drowned out my thoughts, was comforting. It gave me space to breathe, even if the air felt poisoned with betrayal.
I swirled the half-empty glass in front of me, watching the amber liquid catch the light before I downed it in one gulp. It did nothing to dull the sharp edge of the knife twisting inside me. Sophie. My best friend, my sister in all but blood—how long had she been lying to me? Laughing with me during our girls’ nights, all while keeping this secret tangled in her heart?
And Mark. The man I’d imagined spending my life with. His face still haunted me, the words in those texts between him and Sophie burned into my brain. It’s time. I want you. He wanted her.
The betrayal felt like a slow burn, creeping through my veins until every nerve in my body was alight with anger, hurt, and humiliation. How could I have been so blind?
My phone buzzed on the table, and for a brief second, I thought it might be him—some weak apology or pitiful excuse. But no. It was just another meaningless notification. I let it sit there, ignored, as the weight of everything pressed down harder on my chest.
I didn’t know what I was going to do. The thought of revenge had flickered in my mind all night, each possibility darker and more dangerous than the last. But I didn’t know if I had it in me. I wasn’t that kind of person, was I?
I had come here to clear my head, but it only seemed to make things worse. The hum of voices around me turned to static, and suddenly, I couldn’t stand the sound of people laughing, talking, living, while I sat here, drowning in my own misery. I needed air.
I stood up too quickly, the room spinning slightly as I steadied myself on the edge of the table. The door was only a few steps away, but it felt like miles as I pushed through the crowd. The cool night air hit my face like a slap, and for the first time in hours, I exhaled fully. But the relief was short-lived.
“You seem a little out of place.”
The voice was smooth, low, with an edge I couldn’t quite place. I turned, my pulse quickening, and found myself face-to-face with a man I had never seen before. He was leaning against the wall just outside the bar, a cigarette dangling loosely from his fingers. His eyes were dark, assessing, as if he had already sized me up in the few seconds it took for me to look at him.
“Excuse me?” I said, my tone sharper than I intended.
“You don’t look like someone who belongs in a place like this,” he replied, flicking ash from his cigarette without taking his eyes off me. “Too polished. Too… broken.”
I narrowed my eyes, instinctively pulling my jacket tighter around myself. “And you can tell all that just by looking at me?”
The man’s lips curled into a half-smile. “I’ve seen that look before. The one that says you’ve been knocked down and you’re trying to figure out whether you’re going to get back up or stay down.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding in my ears. There was something about him that set me on edge. He was dangerous, but not in the way most people were. No, this man was dangerous because he could see me, see the mess I was trying to hide beneath my cold exterior.
“Who are you?” I asked, my voice quieter now, but no less sharp.
He took a drag from his cigarette before flicking it away, stepping closer. “Jasper,” he said. “And judging by the look on your face, you’re about to do something you might regret.”
I clenched my jaw, feeling the sting of his words hit closer than they should. “You don’t know anything about me.”
Jasper chuckled, the sound low and almost mocking. “Maybe. Or maybe I know exactly what’s going through your head right now. You want to hurt someone, don’t you? You want to make them pay for what they did.”
His words sent a shiver down my spine, and I hated that he was right. I had spent the last hour drinking away the pain, but it hadn’t dulled the anger that burned just beneath the surface. I did want to hurt them. Both of them.
“What’s it to you?” I asked, crossing my arms defensively. “Why do you care?”
Jasper’s eyes flickered with something I couldn’t read—something dark, something dangerous. “Let’s just say I’ve got a little experience in matters of revenge.”
I let out a hollow laugh, shaking my head. “You think I need help with this?”
“I think,” he said, stepping closer, “that you’re not the type to get your hands dirty. And if you want to hurt someone—really hurt them—you’re going to need help.”
I stared at him, my mind racing. This was insane. I didn’t know this man, and yet here he was, offering me exactly what I wanted. The chance to make Mark and Sophie pay. But at what cost?
Jasper’s gaze softened, just enough to make me pause. “I’m not saying you have to trust me, Elena. But if you’re serious about getting even, you’re going to need someone who knows how to play the game.”
“How do you know my name?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it.
A slow, dangerous smile spread across his lips. “I know a lot more than you think.”
The cold air suddenly felt suffocating again. My pulse quickened, my mind spinning with the weight of everything. Jasper wasn’t just some stranger offering me a lifeline—he was already entangled in my life, somehow, some way. And as much as I wanted to walk away, the pull was too strong.
The phone in my pocket buzzed again. I pulled it out, glancing at the screen.
“You’re not the only one watching, Elena.”
My breath caught in my throat, the world tilting on its axis. How many people knew? How deep did this go? I looked up at Jasper, but he was already watching me with that same knowing smirk.
“You’re in deeper than you think,” he said, his voice low. “And it’s only going to get worse from here.”
Betrayed by Love, Hunted by Lies
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