Chapter 2

As I slipped the blue ignition card into the folder, Charles came out of the bathroom.

His hair was still damp, and he'd changed into loungewear. His tone was casual, as if the earlier tension had never happened. "Still organizing stuff this late? Just leave it for tomorrow."

I didn't look up. "Did you tell them to change the credit on the fireworks plan?"

He paused for a moment, then continued drying his hair. "Susan's been involved with this project, and she's familiar with the client. Having both your names as joint credit makes communication smoother."

"Joint credit?" I pushed my phone toward him. "She said it was changed to her name."

Charles glanced at the screen, his brow furrowing slightly. "She's young, not very precise with her words. Are you really going to nitpick over this? This plan belongs to the company, not just you."

I looked at him.

I spent over twenty nights revising that fireworks plan. To make the first blue-gold burst form a ship in the river reflection, I worked with tech until 2 a.m. and burned my hand on a cold firework sample.

Charles had put ointment on my hand himself, leaned down and blew on it softly, smiling as he said, "Eve, you're going to be half the soul of Rivers Leisure & Culture someday."

Seeing me stay silent, he softened his tone. "Eve, don't overthink this. You're about to be Mrs. Rivers. Why get hung up on a name with an assistant? The things that really matter are all yours."

The first time he delayed the wedding, he said we mattered more than a license. The second, he said marriage mattered more than the dress. The third, he turned the engagement party into a project dinner and said the future mattered more than ceremony.

His "what really matters" always made the things I was losing seem insignificant.

I sealed the folder. "Then I'll go to the office tomorrow and bring back the original draft."

Charles's expression changed just a bit, and he pressed his hand down on the folder. "No need. Project files aren't supposed to leave the office."

"The original draft is on my computer," I said.

"The company computer," he corrected me, his voice flat. "Eve, don't be stubborn. If you're upset, I'll have Susan mention you at the press conference."

I pulled my hand back from the folder and just let it go. There was no point arguing with him anymore.

He thought I'd backed down, and his expression relaxed. He reached out to touch the back of my hand. "Come to the press conference tomorrow. Wear that white dress, look presentable. Grandpa will be there. Don't make him worry."

I pulled my hand away. "I'm meeting the wedding planner tomorrow."

"Cancel it," he said casually. "The press conference is more important than these trivial things."

I looked up. "Is my wedding just a trivial thing to you?"

Charles paused, then frowned. "If that's how you want to take it, there's nothing I can do. The wedding can be rescheduled, but the press conference can't afford any mistakes."

At that moment, I suddenly remembered the riverside from three years ago.

He had landed his first plot for Rivers Leisure & Culture. He was a bit tipsy, and pulled me down to sit on the steps, watching the scattered lights across the river.

He said, "When the project's finished, I'll marry you right here, and every firework.

The river wind was freezing, so I slipped my hand into his palm, and I believed him for a long, long time.

But in the end, even he forgot what he'd promised.

My phone buzzed again.

Susan had just posted a new photo on her social media. She was wearing the necklace that was supposed to be his way of making it up to me, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window in Charles's office, with a breezy little caption.

Susan's caption read: [They say what's meant for you will always find its way back.]

One of our mutual friends commented: [Mr. Rivers really has an eye for things.]

Susan replied: [It's not about taste. He just remembers I love the moon.]

The pendant on that necklace really was a crescent moon.

Turns out, the crescent moon necklace I got for my birthday was just something Susan had casually mentioned she liked.

Charles saw it too. He picked up his phone, paused for a few seconds, but didn't comment or ask her to take it down.

I asked, "Aren't you going to explain?"

He turned off the screen. "Explain what? It's just a necklace, nothing more. Explaining just makes it look suspicious. Give it a couple days, no one will even remember."

In a couple of days, everyone would forget.

I let out a quiet laugh, lowered my head, pulled the blue ignition card from the folder, and tucked it into my own bag.

Charles saw it and frowned. "Leave the card, we'll need it for tomorrow's press conference."

I clicked my bag closed and said quietly, "Didn't you say the things that really matter are all mine?"

His face darkened, and he held out his hand. "Evelyn, give me the card."

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Susan's voice came through the door, a little shaky. "Mr. Rivers, I think I left the tag from my necklace here. Is Eve here?"

Charles glanced at me, then reached out and opened the door.