Chapter 2

For a moment, my mind went blank. I didn't know how to react. It took me a while to pull myself together and sit down.

"Hello, I'm Shannon Miles. What can I do for you?" I said.

Isabelle's lips curved slightly. She didn't answer my question, making small talk about unrelated things instead. After a while, she seemed to lose patience.

"Ms. Miles, I'm grateful you stayed by Simon's side all this time," Isabelle said. "But I'm back now."

She said it so gently, as if she had no idea how inappropriate it was.

"I'm Simon's girlfriend, Ms. Young. Of course I'd stay by his side," I replied, refusing to back down.

Isabelle's brows drew together, and she brushed past the subject. I had no intention of chatting with her, either, so I stood to leave.

"Ms. Miles," Isabelle called me back. Her voice held a note of urgency. "How do you know Simon really loves you instead of feeling grateful because you stayed with him through the hardest time of his life?"

I turned and looked at her for a long moment. "If you really knew Simon, you wouldn't ask that. He cares deeply about people, but he can tell gratitude from love."

Isabelle paused. "Even if what you have is love, so what?

"Three years ago, Simon gave me nearly 3 million dollars for my wedding, fulfilling the promise he made when we were together. He hadn't rebuilt his life yet. Do you think you matter more to him than I do?"

I didn't want to believe Isabelle. But I couldn't ignore the words three years ago.

When I found out I was pregnant, worry came before happiness. Simon was in the busiest stretch of his career, following projects every day and visiting construction sites constantly. I didn't want to distract him, so I kept my pregnancy a secret.

One night, he sat by the bed until morning.

The next day, when I got up, Simon pulled me into a tight embrace. "I've put all our money into the project, Shannon. We won't see a return for at least a year."

My heart sank.

"I'm sorry. You'll have to struggle with me for a while," Simon said. His arms tightened around me, squeezing hard enough to hurt. I simply raised my arms and hugged him back, never noticing the tremor in his voice.

Now, looking at the bank statement in my hands, I saw a transfer made at three in the morning three years ago: nearly 3 million dollars sent overseas.

I suddenly wasn't sure. I wondered, 'Had Simon spent that sleepless night because he was sorry I'd have to struggle with him, or because Isabelle was marrying someone else?'

"Shannon, Shannon..." Simon called.

I came back to myself. Simon stood in front of me, worry written across his face.

"Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling sick?" Simon asked.

I shook my head numbly, unable to speak.

"It's okay if you don't say yes. I can propose again. If you don't like white, next time I'll use red roses. How about that?" Simon said.

He took out his phone and tapped a few times. 3.3 million dollars arrived in my account.

When I saw the notification, my fingers curled slightly.

"That's more than 2.7 million dollars," Simon said.

I lowered my eyes and showed no reaction. I thought, 'If it were only about money, that would be easy.'

"Yeah, it's more than 2.7 million dollars," Ryan emphasized, giving me a pointed look from behind Simon.

After a long moment, I gave a small laugh and accepted the money. For four years, I'd lived with Simon at his office and chased down business partners for him. 3.3 million dollars wasn't a bad return.

But Simon...

His arms still felt the same. I simply didn't lift mine to hug him back anymore.

*****

Two weeks later, several groups of people came to the café. I wanted to sell it. Simon had bought it for me the year before, beneath the busiest commercial building in Rivergate.

His company had just started recovering, and he'd spent over 1.7 million dollars on the place. His office was upstairs.

"I know you don't want to work at the company. How about opening a café instead?" he'd said. "I'll drop you off on my way to work and take you home when I'm done."

After the renovations, Simon held me in the café for a long time, his voice soft and clingy. "This is wonderful. Now we can be together forever. If I miss you, I can just come downstairs."

I gave him a smack. "Less talking. I'm serious about making this the best café in town."

Simon rubbed his wrist as if it hurt. "With that kind of strength, you can definitely grind the best coffee," Simon teased.

I raised my hand again, but broke into a smile when he begged me to stop. We looked at each other and still couldn't keep from crying.

"Did you sneak a look at my diary?" I asked.

Simon didn't answer. He just pulled me back into his arms.