Chapter 45
~CHASE
75 voucher
I sat in the car outside the practice facility long after the lot had emptied, the same thought repeating in my head.
I had lost Blair through arrogance and a lie I had been eager to believe. I was not going to lose her permanently now that I finally understood what she was-and what she had done for me. There were so many things I didn’t know about still. Since the start of our relationship, she has been helping me in ways I was too blind to see.
She was a Monroe. A billionaire. The quiet reason behind doors I had walked through thinking they opened on my skills alone. She had sacrificed years of her life supporting me and I’d done the worst thing possible. Married someone else without even talking to her first.
Why did I do it? Why did I ruin something good? She’d been there for me from the start. Blair never asked for diamonds or designer purses. Those things were never important to her. Now, the wife I’d chosen to replace her was the complete opposite.
She did everything for me. Everything.
That kind of loyalty didn’t just disappear because I had been too stupid to value it. We were meant to be together. I had thrown it away. I could still get it back.
I knew Blair.
She had loved me. Yes she was guarded now after what I’d done but that could be fixed. I refused to believe this thing between us was over because of one mistake.
She was hurt. She was married to Grayson now but I knew they weren’t serious. She would leave him for me. I knew she would.
Blair had always been loyal. She wouldn’t forget about us that quickly. She would be willing to try once I proved how sorry I was.
All it would take was effort. Consistent, targeted effort. Enough pressure in the right places to remind her
who she loved.
I pulled up the calendar on my phone and scrolled until I found it.
The annual Harbor Light Benefit.
A formal charity gala for sports medicine research, held every year. Monroe Athletics always took a table. I’ d done my research and knew she would be there.
Alone, or close enough to it. Grayson should be busy that day. The scheduling was public. She would walk into that ballroom without him.
Perfect.
I would go with Sophie and my mother.
Once my mother and wife were busy eating and drinking, I would find Blair. I would get her away from the crowd long enough for us to have a special moment together. I would remind her of the romantic nights, the plans for our future, the version of us that existed before Sophie entered my life. It hadn’t been that long
ago.
Ideas started lining up.
I would approach her carefully. Maybe with a rose. Something small at first. I would not go all out on the first attempt to get her back.
Successfully unlocked!
Then an apology that acknowledged her sacrifice without making her feel like I only cared now that I knew her net worth. I had to be smart about that part. Blair was sharp. If she smelled a lie, she would shut down
Chapter 45
completely.
Tcould work around it.
75 voucher
What I could not do was let Sophie find out. She would be there with me. I would not be able stop her from attending. She would never allow it.
I sighed. She was so hard to please these days. I never had to work this hard with Blair. She was always happy to care and provide for me without expecting anything in return. I’d been stupid to throw it all away. Sophie was still the coach’s daughter. The marriage still tied me to a man who could make my life hell if he wanted to. I needed her happy and distracted while I tried to fix things with Blair.
Harbor Light Benefit.
Arrive with Sophie and Mom.
Locate Blair early.
Do not approach in front of cameras.
Get her alone.
Remind her of what we once had before I ruined everything.
The plan wasn’t clean. It wasn’t noble. But sitting in the quiet car with the full weight of what Blair had done for me and what I had traded her for, I didn’t care about clean or noble. I cared about the fact that she had once chosen me without asking for credit, and I had been too blind to hold on to it.
She could tell herself she was done.
I knew better.
Blair had loved me through years of struggle. When I had nothing. Now I had everything and I could have even more with her by my side.
A forced marriage to Grayson Shaw and a few weeks of her hating me weren’t going to erase that. I just had to get close enough, long enough, for the loyalty I knew she still carried to surface again.
I started the car and pulled out of the lot, already counting the days until the benefit.
This time I wasn’t going to walk away.
This time I was going to take back what I had thrown away-before someone else got comfortable holding
Dex Morgan
Dex works to elevate each story with clean writing, emotional balance, and thoughtful flow for readers.