Chapter 1

I spent ten years with Simon Moore, from the days when he had nothing to his name to where he is now, thriving and successful.

On my thirtieth birthday, I looked him straight in the eye and asked, "When are you going to marry me?"

The smile on his face faded. "Give it a little more time."

I forced a small smile. "Alright."

In that moment, I made up my mind. I was done waiting.

*****

The private room was loud and full of energy.

It was my birthday, but Simon had clearly forgotten.

The company had done well this quarter, so he took everyone out to celebrate. He had just texted me, asking me to come pick him up.

As I reached the door, I could already hear the noise inside.

One of Simon's colleagues, Owen Brooks, said, "Lily, you're really going all out. Mr. Moore hasn't even said anything, and you're already stepping in to take his drinks?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Mr. Moore has a bad stomach. If anything comes up, I'll handle it," Lily replied. Her voice was bright and clear, and she sounded genuinely protective.

Owen laughed. "Oh, really? Mr. Moore, aren't you going to say something?"

Simon raised an eyebrow and smiled. "That's enough. Don't tease the girl."

The group burst into louder laughter. Owen kept it going on purpose. "Give it a little time, and we might have to start calling her Mrs. Moore, right?"

Lily's face turned red. She glanced at Simon, then quickly said, "Don't say that. Mr. Moore already has a girlfriend."

Owen froze. "What?"

"They've been together for ten years," Lily said.

Owen grinned at her. "How do you even know how long Mr. Moore has been dating someone?"

"Are you guys done?" Lily shot back with a laugh.

Owen waved it off. "Come on, she's just a girlfriend. They're not married. Who he ends up with is still up in the air."

His words hit me like a blow, and my mind went blank.

He was right. If no one had brought it up, I might have almost forgotten myself. Ten years, and we were still just dating.

"But it's been ten years. Shouldn't they be getting married by now?" someone else chimed in.

My chest tightened, like a heavy stone was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe.

I pushed the door open.

The room fell silent.

Owen still looked stunned, the expression frozen on his face.

Lily was the first to react. She called out, "Mrs. Moore is here!"

Simon looked up, a smile already on his face. "You made it?"

I went over to support him. As he turned back to the others, he said, "We're heading out. You guys keep going."

As we walked away, Lily stared after us and called out, "Mr. Moore, take it easy. Don't crush Mrs. Moore."

Simon still had that indulgent smile on his face. He glanced back at her. "You really do talk too much."

I paused for a second.

I could not remember the last time Simon had spoken to me like that, smiling like that.

We had just gotten into the car when Lily hurried out again. She slipped something into Simon's pocket, then bent slightly and smiled at me. "Mrs. Moore, drive safe."

I steadied myself. "You all should get some rest."

"Will do," Lily said with a bright smile, then turned to Simon. "Mr. Moore, don't go wearing Mrs. Moore out when you get home."

Simon raised an eyebrow, his tone lazy. "You're asking for trouble, aren't you?"

The car pulled into the night.

Simon always got carsick when he drank, so he never used his phone in the car.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, but from the corner of my eye, I saw him looking down at his screen, a faint smile on his lips.