She Didn’t Fix Her Reputation. She Threw It Away. Chapter 18

She Didn’t Fix Her Reputation. She Threw It Away. Chapter 18

Beckett spent a fortune hiring the best private investigator in New York.

When the file labeled “Claire Novak” landed in his inbox, his hands were trembling.

Reed College.

Portland, Oregon.

He clicked open the first photo.

She’d cut her hair short. She was wearing a simple hoodie and jeans, sitting on a lawn with a group of students, laughing.

Her smile was so easy, so unguarded.

He hadn’t seen her smile like that in years.

It was a world away from the carefully composed woman who had stood by his side.

In New York, she was always a Wells, always conscious of the weight of her name.

It seemed that after leaving him, she could finally just be herself.

Beckett’s throat tightened as he scrolled.

His finger froze.

The photo was taken in a campus coffee shop.

A man with kind eyes and a scholarly air was handing her a cup of coffee. She was looking up at him, her smile soft and genuine.

The affection in the man’s eyes was unmistakable.

Crash.

The whiskey glass in Beckett’s hand shattered against the wall.

Shards of glass and amber liquid sprayed across the room.

He bent over, gasping for breath.

He had well and truly lost her.

Completely.