Bait for a Gentleman novel Chapter 1

Audrina Monroe was being cheated on. Zachary Sutton, her fiancé of three years, was keeping a mistress behind her back.

When she received this news, she finished her studies in the US six months early and booked a flight back. But she didn't tell a soul.

The night her flight landed in Kingshire, Audrina headed straight to The Vantachi, standing outside the door of VIP Room 999, staring through the small window for half a minute.

The lighting inside was dim and suggestive, and her fiancé, Zachary, had his arm wrapped around another woman's waist. His fingers rested on her hip in a posture that was relaxed and incredibly intimate. The woman leaned into Zachary affectionately, her cheeks flushed pink and her delicate features resembling a flawless doll as she smiled sweetly up at him.

The woman in the photos from that anonymous email a month ago had this exact face. She was also the principal dancer of a fairly well-known local ballet company, Vera Yates.

Inside the private room, a circle of people surrounded them, laughing and joking.

Someone raised a glass and said something; Vera smiled, took it, and nestled closer into Zachary's embrace.

A few people nearby started cheering, "The future Mrs. Sutton has to drink this!"

Vera pursed her lips and actually took a small sip, tilting the bottom of the glass toward the person to show she had drank it.

The future Mrs. Sutton? Audrina's lips twitched in a cold smirk.

Zachary might be shameless, but she wasn't. Even if the engagement was off, she wanted a dignified split. She wasn't about to make an ugly scene in front of his friends.

She gripped the door handle, adjusted her expression, and pushed the door open.

The roaring laughter in the room was instantly snuffed out.

Audrina stood in the doorway, hand still on the handle. She tilted her head, her gaze sweeping past the circle of stunned faces to land dead on Zachary.

His hand was still resting on Vera's waist; he hadn't had time to pull it away.

"Darling," she smiled, her eyes curving sweetly. "I'm back!"

The entire room fell dead silent. The few people huddled together on the sofa froze, their eyes darting everywhere, none daring to meet her gaze. Everyone knew she was the only granddaughter-in-law acknowledged by Zachary's grandfather, Waldo Sutton.

Every eye in the room was on her. She spoke in a voice so soft and sweet, acting exactly like a fiancée who had merely come to deliver a surprise.

Audrina stood rooted in the doorway, letting the overhead spotlight hit her face. She knew she looked gorgeous from this angle; her long lashes fluttered, making her eyes look bright and luminous.

Zachary looked at her, his brows furrowing.

"This is Vera Yates," he said in a monotone voice. "My business partner."

A business partner in bed?

So, a bedmate?

Audrina beamed and walked toward Vera.

"Ms. Yates, the lead dancer of Aether Ballet. I've heard so much about you." She extended a hand, her posture perfectly poised and graceful. "Audrina Monroe. I'm Zachary's fiancée."