Prologue
The real Sherwood heiress, Maisie, announced she was pregnant.
Trevor Foster — my live-in fiancé, the man who'd married into the family on my name — shot me one panicked look. Then, as the cheers swelled around the room, he dropped to his knees in front of Maisie.
"Maisie. Marry me. I'll hold you in the palm of my hand for the rest of my life."
I walked out, gutted. He chased me down and pulled me aside, voice low.
"She came onto me the day she got back. I was drunk. I had no idea one time would do it."
"You're not the heiress anymore, baby. I can't afford to cross the Sherwoods. Let me get you an apartment. When Maisie's away, I'll come see you, okay?"
"I'll still hold you in the palm of my hand for the rest of my life."
Trevor's palm really was big. Big enough to hold two women at once.
But my palm? My palm was small.
I turned and looped my arm through the seafood delivery guy who'd wandered into the venue by mistake.
"Hey, handsome. You looking to get married? I'll make you richer than the Sherwoods."
Chapter 1
The fish delivery guy went bright red.
A few minutes ticked by before he blurted out the words, like he was scared I'd change my mind.
"Okay! I'll finish the delivery and head home to get ready. We'll get the license in three days."
I frowned without thinking — then my breath caught the moment I actually looked at him.
God, those eyes. Bright as stars.
He noticed me staring and scratched the back of his head, sheepish.
"Um… I'll be good to you. Don't worry."
A laugh slipped out of me.
Trevor's brow knitted, and he yanked me hard against his side.
"Noelle, don't throw your life away like this!"
"I told you, her getting pregnant was an accident. You're the only one I love."
"Just be my mistress on the side. Things can be exactly like they were before — what's wrong with that?"
I couldn't believe it. The same Trevor who'd cradled me in his palms for ten years was saying this with a straight face.
Something bitter twisted inside me. But my pride wouldn't let me cave for a single second.
I took a deep breath and forced the words out through gritted teeth. "Trev. We're done."
His face went cold. "Noelle, stop being childish. Everything I'm doing is for our future!"
Trevor used to be a brilliant lawyer. But the day I brought him home, the Sherwood elders told him the weight of the family rested on my shoulders — if he wanted me, he'd have to take the Sherwood name and marry in.
He thought about it for three full days. Then he swallowed every ounce of male pride he had and dropped to his knees in front of them. "If it means being with Noelle, I'll take her name. Gladly."
But now… what future was there left?
A flare of rage shot up through me. "Future? The only ones with a future now are you, Maisie, and that baby of yours!"
The second the words were out, the tears started falling again, fast and cheap.
Trevor's expression turned uglier. "You really have to pick now to make a scene? You—"
"What are you two doing?!"
Maisie's shrill voice cut him off. A crowd had circled us, and she made a show of looking around, faking a dramatic shiver.
Trevor's arms were around her almost instantly. "Maisie, baby, you're carrying our child. You have to stay warm."
Then he glanced around, and in one sharp motion he tore off my blazer and draped it carefully over her shoulders.
With the jacket gone, I was standing there in nothing but a little bandeau top.
Trevor didn't even glance at me. He just kept her tucked against him like she was some priceless treasure he had to shield.
One second he was begging me back. The next, I didn't exist — because of Maisie.
The rage shot straight to my head. My hand flew up, ready to slap him. "Trevor, how dare you—"
A Sherwood elder caught my wrist in an iron grip. "Look at yourself! You crawled into this family like a cuckoo in another bird's nest, and after all these years you still have no shame. I think it's time you got out of this house."
No shame.
For years, I'd worn myself out at business dinners to keep them living the lifestyle they wanted. I'd come home with stomach bleeds from drinking too much.
And they'd called me a slut who didn't deserve the Sherwood name. The minute Maisie came back, they couldn't hand the shares over to her fast enough.
Now they were finally throwing me out for good.
The head of the family had spoken, and the rest of the crowd jumped in.
"Both girls lost their parents young, sure — but you can tell the real heiress from some stray off the street!"
"I heard they were even classmates. The fake one, though? All she knows how to do is throw back drinks with men."
The whispers got uglier by the second.
Trevor shoved me to the ground. His voice was ice. "Get out. Stop embarrassing yourself."
The words had barely left his mouth before Maisie upended her glass of red wine over my head. "Bye-bye, Miss High-and-Mighty."
The wine stung my eyes. My whole world dissolved into a blur of sneering laughter.
I never thought the day Maisie officially came home would be the day I lost the man I'd loved for ten years, got thrown out of my own family, and ended up with absolutely no one.
The thought broke me. The tears came again, traitorous, refusing to stop.
"Hey… I'm Sterling Grant. We're getting married and all — wanna add me on socials?"
The fish delivery guy poked my arm and pulled me back to reality.
