Chapter 3: The Girl They Couldn’t Let Go

It seems every man has a first love he can’t let go of—a truth that fills country songs and late-night confessions. For Derek and Marcus, that was Anna.

Anna, the brothers’ childhood friend and the one they never quite let go of, was sent away years ago for a political marriage. Derek’s mother, the former First Lady, had two sons and a frail little daughter, Lily, born after a difficult pregnancy.

Lily was the kind of child you wanted to wrap up and protect. I’d watch the brothers sneak her extra dessert, hover over her when she so much as coughed.

They cherished Lily as if she were their whole world.

She was the center of every family photo—grinning between her brothers, ‘sweet pea’ on their lips.

But the late governor needed to cement an alliance with a powerful Montana family. In the end, he picked Lily to be married off.

Politics, again—girls traded for influence. It made me sick, but I was powerless to stop it.

She was already weak, and the journey was too much for her.

After she left, the house fell silent. The kind of quiet that presses on your chest and won’t let go.

Anna, just a teenager herself, went to the governor and offered to go in Lily’s place.

She packed her bags, spine straight, and didn’t look back. Even at sixteen, she was tougher than most men I’d met.

Still, Lily didn’t make it through that winter.

It broke everyone. The brothers wore black for weeks. At dinner, nobody dared mention her name.

Their guilt for losing Lily doubled and shifted onto Anna, who’d taken her place in that marriage.

They couldn’t save Lily, so they swore to protect Anna, turning every kindness into a burden.

Now, Anna was back—untouchable, escorted by the two most powerful men in the capital.

She swept in like a heroine from a Lifetime movie. Elegant, aloof, everyone rushing to make her comfortable.

At first, Derek kept his distance in public.

He played it cool, but if you looked closely, you could see the way his eyes tracked her every move.

Marcus was the first to lose it.

He’d always been the golden boy—smooth, smiling, never raising his voice. Anna’s return cracked him wide open.

The gala was supposed to be Anna’s welcome-back party.

The Capitol’s ballroom glittered in white and gold. Reporters everywhere. Chloe and I hovered by the punch bowl, trying to keep our faces neutral.

But someone had to dredge up old wounds, mentioning Lily and how by tradition she should have married the new ranch owner but was sent back—how unusual.

The words hit Anna right as she entered, eyes wide, lip trembling. She could turn on the waterworks like a pro, and everyone fell for it.

Marcus lost it.

He vaulted over the buffet table, fists flying. Security scrambled, but not before he’d bloodied a donor’s nose. The morning news loved it.

There was blood on pressed collars, the crowd gasping, Chloe’s horrified cry. The governor’s wife snatched a silk napkin to mop up the mess.

He could’ve handled it quietly, but he wanted everyone to see whose side he was on.

He acted like a high school kid in love, making it clear: even though Anna had been married and widowed, she was still the one Marcus cherished most.

That day, everyone saw it: the senator who was supposed to dote on his wife shoved Chloe aside to defend Anna.

I felt the air go out of the room. Chloe went pale, clutching her stomach as her abdomen struck the corner of the buffet. Blood pooled immediately, glass shards cutting her palm. She stared at Marcus—the man who’d promised her forever—as she lost her first child in stunned silence.

Red spread across her dress, glass sparkling in her hand. She didn’t scream, just stared, eyes huge and empty.

"The senator’s wife is bleeding!" someone yelled, but Marcus didn’t hear, too busy clutching Anna’s hand.

The crowd gasped, someone dialed 911. Marcus just glared, refusing to let go of Anna.

Compared to his wife, who’d stood by him through everything, he cared more about Anna being gossiped about.

His priorities couldn’t have been clearer. It was humiliating—unforgivable.

He shielded Anna in front of everyone, announcing, "From now on, anyone who dares gossip about Anna is my enemy."

His words rang through the ballroom, slicing through the stunned silence.

I stood and ordered my housekeeper to get Chloe out and call an ambulance.

"Mrs. Greene, get her to the car now!" I pressed napkins into Chloe’s shaking hand. The housekeeper hustled her out, blood trailing behind.

As Marcus finished his speech, I walked up behind him.

"Marcus," I called softly, then slapped him across the face.

The crack echoed through the room. For a heartbeat, no one breathed.

A sharp sting shot up my arm, my hand tingling. For a second, I almost regretted it—but the shock on his face steadied me. He needed to feel this.