No Divorce? The Billionaire's Love Chase! novel Chapter 1

York Ferguson's first love, the one that got away six years ago, was suddenly back in the country.

And she'd brought him a five-year-old son.

He'd been using a business trip as an excuse, avoiding home for a month now.

Today was Claudia Watkins' third wedding anniversary with York.

She had prepared a candlelit dinner and a gift, and had sent him a text.

By nine o'clock, York hadn't come home. Instead, she got a call from her sister-in-law, Darleen Ferguson.

Darleen told her to check the messages she'd just sent.

Claudia Watkins hung up and opened her chat with Darleen.

The moment she looked, her smile died on her lips.

The plate in her hands slipped and smashed on the floor. A piece sliced her ankle, blood beginning to seep, but Claudia felt no sting, no ache—only a hollow numbness.

Darleen had sent her screenshots of her husband's social media. He had booked the entire Harbourfront Street to set off birthday fireworks for his old flame and their son.

Claudia bent down, picked up her phone, and swiped through the images: the beach, a yacht, fireworks, roses...

And there was her husband, holding a little boy of about four or five, his other hand—the one with his wedding ring—wrapped intimately around a woman's waist.

The photos were beautiful and romantic, with a caption that read: "A blueberry cake made with my own hands, for my favorite people."

Even through the screen, the love was palpable.

Claudia's mind went blank, all thought ceasing in an instant.

She scrambled to open York's social media profile.

It was empty.

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She had no idea when he had set his posts to be invisible to her.

Those screenshots shattered the last shred of hope she had clung to.

Desperate, Claudia called York. No answer. She called again.

Her mother had just had heart bypass surgery and was still recovering in the hospital. She couldn't fall apart now.

It was past midnight when Darleen finally left.

Like a ghost, Claudia drifted numbly through every corner of the house.

She and York had been childhood friends. Everyone in their circle knew she'd had a crush on him forever.

And everyone also knew about the one that got away, the woman he could never have.

York had married her only to fulfill a family alliance.

For three years, she had believed that if she just tried hard enough, she could eventually win his heart.

But instead of his love, she got the news of his epic reunion with his old flame.

Her childhood crush, her adult love—twenty-five years of her life, all wasted. It was time to end it.

Her mind calmly told her what to do next, but her heart was in so much pain she could barely breathe.