Goodbye Ex, Your Uncle Is mine

CHAPTER 1: Betrayal

Allison's POV

I should have known better the moment I saw my name on the invitation.

Jayden Darlington didn’t make mistakes. Not with business. Not with image. And certainly not with me.

So when a gold-trimmed email landed in my inbox, addressed to me personally, inviting me to the biggest event in the city — and signed by my billionaire husband — I did the one thing I hadn’t done in a long time.

I hoped. I thought maybe… just maybe… after four years of hiding, he was finally ready to show the world I was his.

It felt like a step forward. A crack in the glass walls he’d built around our marriage. For four years, I’d been the secret wife. No Instagram posts. No date nights in public. No +1s. Jayden always said it was to protect me.

“Ally,” he told me once, cupping my cheek, “the world is ruthless. I don’t want to see them chew you up and spit you out. You deserve peace, not paparazzi.”

And I believed him.

Because when Jayden looked at me like that — all serious and soft — it was easy to believe anything he said.

I didn’t grow up with money. I wasn’t used to the spotlight. I met Jayden in college and crushed on him for years—until Cecilia gave me the courage to walk up to him and say how I felt.

If she hadn’t pushed me, Jayden would’ve never looked my way. And we wouldn’t be married for four years now.

But the second I stepped into the venue, heels clicking against polished marble and eyes wide with nerves, something shifted. The joy I felt earlier started to rot into something sharp and uneasy.

My chest tightened. My heart pounded.

I was nervous, sure, but this… this felt different. It felt wrong. Like I wasn’t meant to be here.

I told myself to breathe. To relax. That everything would be fine.

The hall was stunning, drenched in warm lights and elegance. Giant canvases filled the space, artwork bursting with color and texture. The kind of world I’d only ever seen in magazines. The kind of crowd Jayden belonged to — polished, poised, perfect.

I stuck out like a smudge on glass.

Still, I held my head high, clutching my silver purse as I moved through the crowd. I smiled. Nodded. Pretended I belonged.

And then I saw them.

Jayden.

And Cecilia.

The air whooshed right out of my lungs.

They stood near one of the sculpture displays, laughing like nothing else in the world mattered. His arm was draped around her waist. Her hand rested lightly on his chest, fingers tracing the edge of his lapel.

I froze. My brain didn’t catch up right away. I just stared.

My husband. And my best friend. Together. Like… that.

At first, I didn’t want to assume things until Jayden bent his head and kissed her cheek.

And it wasn’t some polite peck. It was intimate. Familiar. Like he’d done it a hundred times before.

I took a shaky breath and forced my legs to move, each step heavier than the last. My mind was screaming that this couldn’t be happening. That there had to be an explanation.

Maybe she was helping him plan something for our anniversary. Maybe it was just business. Maybe—

Then I saw it.

The dress.

Cecilia was wearing the same red gown I was wearing. The exact same one. Fitted, elegant, with that signature Vervine cut I’d admired online but never imagined owning. Jayden had left it for me with a note. I thought it was romantic.

“Wear this for me so I can rip it off later.”

Signed, “C.”

I thought C stood for Cupcake. His old nickname for me.

But now I knew better. It was never about me.

Red wasn’t even my color. It was hers. It always had been.

I wanted to vomit. My chest burned. My fingers clenched the purse until the leather groaned.

But everything around me kept confirming that it was.

My heart trembled violently in my chest as I watched my husband and my supposed best friend act lovingly in front of everyone—while I stood on the sidelines like an afterthought.

I clutched the gown I was wearing, the fabric biting into my skin like it knew I didn’t belong in it.

Cecilia’s laugh rang out, smooth and effortless. Her hand brushed Jayden’s shoulder as she leaned into him, whispering something that made him smile wider.

Someone in the group of men standing with them chuckled. “So… when’s the wedding?” he asked, eyes flicking between the two of them.

Jayden didn’t miss a beat. He reached for Cecilia’s hand and laced their fingers together.

“We’re taking it slow,” he said, still smiling. “But it’s been, what… four years now?” He looked at her then, like she was the only person in the room. “She’s the love of my life. Ring or not.”

Four years?

My knees almost gave out. “Jayden?” My voice was barely audible. Shaky. Choked.

Every head turned toward me.

Even his.

He blinked. Just once. Then his expression hardened — like he was trying to figure out how I’d gotten in here, or rather, how I had ruined his perfect moment with Cecilia.

Cecilia turned too, slowly, like she already knew who I was. Her gaze slid down my body, stopping at the gown. She raised one perfectly shaped brow.

My mouth was dry. I couldn’t feel my hands. My entire body was trembling. “How could you do this to me?” I managed, eyes burning, voice rough.

Cecilia didn’t even flinch. She tilted her head slightly and smirked, like I was an annoying stranger at the wrong table.

“Who’s this woman, Mr. Jayden?” one of the suited men asked, confused. Cameras started flashing — I hadn’t even noticed the press nearby.

Jayden looked me dead in the eye. Then, without a blink, he turned to Cecilia, kissed the back of her hand, and said loud enough for everyone to hear:

“Ignore her. She’s just a jealous side chick.”