Chapter 2

The first time I met Alex Whitmore, he wasn't the dazzling man he was today.

That year, I was twelve years old.

He sat alone on a bench behind the school, holding a broken pocket watch in his hand.

He didn't say a single word the entire day.

At that time, Alex had just experienced the lowest point of his life.

His father had gone bankrupt.

The family business had collapsed.

And the people who once surrounded him disappeared overnight.

Everyone believed the Whitmore family's young heir would never recover.

But I still remembered that day clearly.

That boy was obviously hurting, yet he stubbornly told me,

"One day, I'll make everyone regret looking down on me."

After that, I stayed by his side for many years.

When his first startup failed, the company's account was almost empty.

That night, he sat inside a tiny rented apartment, staring at the failed numbers on his computer screen without saying a word.

I took out my scholarship money.

I secretly worked several part-time jobs and placed the money I earned in front of him.

He looked at me.

"Evelyn, do you know what this means?"

I smiled.

"It means you can try again."

He didn't say anything.

He simply pulled me into his arms and held me tightly.

Back then, we were both young.

Young enough to believe that as long as two people worked hard together, there was nothing they couldn't overcome.

And later, he really did succeed.

After one failure came the second.

After the second came the third.

He went from a boy nobody believed in to a business genius everyone wanted to know.

And I went from the girl who always stood beside him to becoming his wife.

But now, Alex hadn't come home for dinner for an entire month.

Every day, I asked the kitchen to prepare his favorite meals.

In the end, I could only sit alone at the dining table, watching the food slowly turn cold.

He said he was busy.

The company had new projects.

Investors needed to meet with him.

The team needed to be managed.

I understood.

Because that was how I had always understood him in the past.

But I didn't know when it started.

His busy life no longer had a place for me.

At the same time, Vivienne Laurent appeared in his world more and more frequently.

She attended his business meetings.

Accompanied him to important events.

And even helped him secure a massive partnership.

News reports constantly mentioned their names together.

Whitmore Group and Laurent Foundation reach strategic partnership.

Alex Whitmore and Vivienne Laurent become the most talked-about pair in the business world.

Every time I saw those headlines, I told myself:

It's fine.

She's only his business partner.

But I couldn't fool myself.

The man who once came to me first whenever he faced difficulties...

Now thought of Vivienne Laurent before me.

That night, Alex finally came home.

He stood in the living room and froze slightly when he saw the dinner waiting on the table.

"You haven't eaten yet?"

I shook my head.

"I was waiting for you."

He was silent for a few seconds before taking off his coat.

"Don't wait for me anymore."

I looked at him.

"Alex, we've been married for three years."

"Do you know how people outside see me?"

He frowned.

"You don't need to care about what other people think. You never used to care about these things."

I gave a bitter smile, tears gathering in my eyes.

"Then why haven't you made our marriage public after all this time?"

I finally asked the question I had been afraid to ask.

For three years, I had avoided it.

Because I was afraid of hearing the answer.

Alex hesitated.

"Now isn't the right time."

"Why?"

I pressed him.

He looked away.

"Evelyn, you know what stage the company is in right now."

"Making my private relationship public could affect how the outside world views the company."

I laughed quietly.

"So my existence will have a major impact on you and the company?"

"That's not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean?"

Alex rubbed his forehead.

"I know you're trying to talk about Vivienne."

"Vivienne can help me handle business matters. She understands the environment I'm in now."

He paused.

Then added,

"You two are different."

I finally understood what he meant by different.

That night, he slept in the study.

And I returned to the bedroom alone.

The old pocket watch sat on the bedside table.

I picked it up and listened to the faint ticking inside.

It could still keep moving.

But had the time between Alex and me already stopped?