Chapter 3

William Francis, the boss from the Francis Group, sat next to Nicholas. His eyes, behind those gold-rimmed glasses, were both beautiful and deep. After listening to everything, he simply took an unhurried sip of his coffee, without making any comment.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd seen him somewhere before.

Lexi's beautiful face stiffened for a moment at his uncooperative attitude. But she quickly regained her composure and slowly walked back to her seat.

As she sat down, she suddenly turned to look at me, her eyes flashing with that familiar challenge.

She said politely, "Francisco, could you get me some coffee?"

She put extra emphasis on the word "assistant."

I was stunned for a second.

People all around turned to stare at me.

The Francis Group crew looked puzzled and curious, while the Roberts Group folks wore sly grins, clearly ready for a show.

But out of all those stares, one stood out.

It was William, checking me out with obvious curiosity.

In a flash, it hit me why he looked so familiar.

He looked exactly like that legendary fiancé I was supposedly betrothed to as a kid.

Three years ago, I arrived in this city all alone, clutching nothing but a mediocre degree, and no matter where I tried, I kept hitting dead ends.

Everything changed the day I went to interview at the Roberts Group and met Nicholas.

It was raining lightly that day. As I hurried out of the Roberts Group building, braving the downpour, an umbrella suddenly appeared over me. I glanced up and found a young man dressed to the nines standing there.

Later, when Nicholas reminisced about our first meeting, he told me, "Do you remember that day three years ago? You were standing in the rain, wearing a white dress, with this air of quiet sadness about you. You looked stunning."

When he said that, his gaze was soft and full of tenderness.

That day, he really fell for me.

After our first encounter, he dug into my background and discovered I was an orphan, completely alone in the world. Whether it was out of sympathy or that instant spark, he broke the rules and brought me into the Roberts Group himself.

But the truth was, I wasn't really an orphan.

My dad was Francisco Mason, and he'd been living in Orlandia for years. Even someone like Nicholas, born into old money, would have to be all polite and call him "Mr. Mason."

Dad loved me, but he was always searching for traces of my late mom in me.

Mom was a genius with a paintbrush, so he forced me into art classes. She loved the piano, so he shipped me off to piano lessons.

I was attending a prestigious art school in Orlandia.

But to stick it to my dad, I just quit and came back home, finishing my degree at some random second-rate college.

The first time I met William was at an art exhibition in Orlandia.

My dad insisted I attend, all because my painting had been selected for the show.

I stood in front of my own piece, taking it all in. The canvas was filled with a wild storm, winds howling, whipping against the mast of a lone sailboat.

"Is this your painting?" That deep voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw William standing right next to my dad.

He was rocking a perfectly tailored suit, his features chiseled and refined, eyeing me with obvious curiosity.

He had the vibe of a master hunter, locking onto his target.

My dad introduced him, "This is William, your fiancé."

I said, "Wait, what?"

Dad said Mom set up this engagement with the Francis family before she died.

"Anything else, we could talk about. But this? Off the table," he insisted.

So he got to pick my hobbies, and now he wanted to run my whole life too.

This was the last straw.

I ran away back home that very night, telling my dad straight up that I was never coming back. He'd finally had enough of our constant battles. All he said over the phone was, "If you leave, don't ever come back. From now on, you're not my daughter."

He meant every word. After that, no matter who tried to look into my past, all they'd find was that I was a genuine orphan.

I never contacted him again. I survived on my own for three years.

Lately, I feel like I'm about to fall apart.

I thought Nicholas would be the comfort I needed in my messed-up life, but reality hit me hard. Suddenly, I missed my dad so much. I couldn't help but wonder, 'If he knew how miserable I am, would he come after Nicholas with a stick?'

Never in a million years did I think I'd come face-to-face with William, the infamous childhood fiancé everyone always talked about, in the middle of Lexi's power trip.

That was awkward.

The cringe was so real that I barely even registered the sting of being bossed around by Lexi. I just handed her the coffee like a robot, sat back down, and wondered how my life got to this point.

After the meeting, Lexi cozied up to me, her smile all sunshine but her words dripping poison. "See? Mr. Roberts doesn't give a damn about you. You're just here for me to walk all over."

Nicholas was trying to make conversation with William, but he shot us a quick glance. The second he saw Lexi grinning, he let out a breath and went right back to giving William his full attention.

Lexi looked even more smug. "Maisie, in love, the one who isn't loved is just the extra. You might as well quit now."