Chapter 2

Eric grabbed my wrist hard, his fingers squeezing like he wanted to break my bones. His eyes were wild.

He was losing it. "You're thirty years old. Can you stop being so childish?"

He looked me up and down, disgust plain on his face. "You think you're still some young girl?"

He smirked. "Fine. You're pretty, I'll give you that. And you've got some skill."

He crossed his arms. "But the Reed family? You really think you're good enough for them? A woman who runs away and has no manners?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Seven years away and you've lost your mind."

The Reed family is the biggest shipping dynasty in Seaview. Lately, they'd been moving their business to Southmere because of national policies. Their arrival was so big and loud that even the Grant family had to step carefully.

And me? I was only the "gold digger" Andrew Grant had publicly trashed.

I was still staring at him when Eric suddenly softened his voice. He started trying to reason with me.

He said, "I admit it. Andrew was wrong seven years ago. But he's a man. He waited for you for seven years. Isn't that enough?"

I stayed quiet. Eric kept going.

"Okay, so he didn't apologize. He didn't chase after you.

"But look—even though he still likes Jenny, he never married her. Right?

"Claire. Don't be ungrateful."

Eric sighed and pulled a business card out of his pocket.

He said, "This is Andrew's contact info.

"He's taken over Grant Enterprises now. He's a big deal in Southmere.

"Young, handsome, and rich. Half the women in Southmere want to marry him. Think about it."

He clearly expected me to grab the card like it was a winning lottery ticket. Then call Andrew immediately, say I was sorry, and beg him to take me back so we could be a happy family again.

Instead, I took the card, glanced at it for a second, and tore it into tiny pieces.

"It's too late," I said coldly.

*****

Seven years ago. My wedding to Andrew.

My mom was so happy.

She couldn't sleep the night before. She tossed and turned, muttering about the wedding.

My dad didn't say much.

But on the morning I left, I saw him turn away and wipe his eyes quickly.

My grandparents. They were old and not in great health.

But they'd traveled all the way from our small town, exhausted but smiling, just so they wouldn't miss their granddaughter's wedding.

They'd arrived early and helped with everything.

I thought that day would be the happiest of my life.

I wore my white dress, dreaming about my new life.

Everything was going according to plan.

Then came the bride's entrance.

Andrew yelled for everyone to stop.

His voice exploded through the hall. Everyone froze.

Then he pulled a girl in a white dress up from the front row. She was pretty, with a smug look in her eyes.

Andrew led her to the center of the stage. In front of all our friends and family. And confessed his feelings to her.

"Jenny was my first love," he said, his voice dripping with sentiment. "I promised her I'd walk down the aisle with her, just once."

The guests started whispering. The noise grew.

"After today, I'll be someone else's husband," Andrew continued, looking at her like he didn't want to let her go.

"This is my last chance." He turned to me. "Claire, you don't mind, do you?"

I clutched my bouquet until my knuckles went white.

I looked around the room, feeling like my heart had been ripped out.

"Why?" My voice shook. "Why are you humiliating me at our own wedding?"

Andrew smiled.

He pointed at my parents and my grandparents sitting at their tables. "Nothing personal. I think your relatives are pretty good at taking advantage of a situation."

His voice dripped with sarcasm. "I figured, since I'm marrying you anyway, you wouldn't mind if I added one more bride."

The room erupted.

Everyone stared at my family. They pointed and whispered.

My grandfather was a small-town teacher. He'd lived his whole life by the rules. He had a heart attack right there on the spot.

My grandmother was so embarrassed that her face turned purple. She tried to explain, but one of Andrew's relatives threw a drink in her face.

I looked down at my white dress. The one that was supposed to mean love.

For a few seconds, I just stood there. Then I grabbed my dress hem and walked out of that hotel with my family. I never looked back.

*****

From the wedding to the day I decided to leave the city, seven days passed.

In those seven days, Andrew never once came to apologize.

Instead, his first love, Jenny, came with his mother to "talk."

We met at a coffee shop under the hotel.

They walked in arm in arm, looking like the best mother-daughter duo in the world.

But when they saw me, both their smiles faded.

Jenny spoke first, all slow and sweet.

"Claire, I'm so sorry about the wedding. I never thought Andrew would still remember that old promise after all this time. I'm sorry you were embarrassed."

Andrew's mother patted Jenny's hand, half-scolding, half-sweet. "Don't apologize, sweetie. That promise was made to you. You were first. The ones who come later just have to accept that."

Then she turned to me with a smile. "Oh, Claire, I'm just talking. Don't overthink it."

I took a sip of my coffee. It was so bitter.

Then Andrew's mother pulled a credit card out of her purse and slid it across the table.

"One million," she said. "Take it. Move your family out of town."

I stared at the card. "Did he tell you to give me this?"

"Of course," she said, a strange smile curling her lips. She tilted her chin up. "You made a scene at the wedding. What do you expect my son to do?"

She paused, her eyes full of disdain. "Do you know who Jenny is? Her father is one of our oldest business partners."

Her eyes traveled from my head to my feet, slow and deliberate. "As for you..."

She sighed dramatically. "A small-town girl who got one glimpse of high society. You should be grateful for that, don't you think?"

I pressed my lips together and didn't say a word. I took the card. I don't know what I felt.

I told myself that money was just numbers now.

So I put the card in my bag. Later, I donated every penny to the elementary school back in my hometown.

Then I turned around, got on a plane, and left the city.

I was gone for seven years.

Now my son was seven years old.