Chapter 2

Yvonne wiped away her tears, took a deep breath, and dialed her mother's number. "Mom, I've decided to come home and take over the family business."

Emily Warren, Yvonne's mother, was overjoyed to hear that her daughter, who had been away for three years, was finally coming back. "That's wonderful. It's time to hand the Warren family over to you.

"By the way, a few days ago, you told your dad and me you wanted to introduce someone to us. Is he your boyfriend? Will he be coming back with you this time?"

When Yvonne found out that Nathan's company was about to go public, she had planned to reveal her true identity to him on the big day and then introduce him to her parents. But now things had changed.

Yvonne tightened her grip on her phone, struggling to keep her emotions in check. "There's no boyfriend, Mom. It was a misunderstanding."

There was a pause on the other end. Emily didn't press further. She only let out a sigh. "Alright then. The company has a press conference in five days back home.

"Yvonne, you should attend on behalf of the company, and after that, come back. It'll be the perfect time to announce to everyone that you're the heir."

Yvonne responded with a soft "Mm," exchanged a few more words with Emily, then finally hung up the call.

Just then, someone happened to push open the private room door, catching sight of Yvonne and asking in surprise, "Yvonne, when did you get here?"

All at once, the noisy chatter in the room died down.

Yvonne could feel someone's intense, nervous gaze fixed right on her.

She pursed her lips briefly, forcing down the sour feeling, and steadied her voice to sound normal. "I just arrived."

Inside the private room, Nathan let out a quiet sigh of relief and smiled at her. "Come on in. This celebration wouldn't be the same without you."

As soon as he finished, his friends all chimed in.

"That's right. If Yvonne hadn't been by Nathan's side all this time, the new company probably wouldn't have gone public so fast."

"Look at Yvonne, closing deals for Nathan and looking after him at home. Makes us all so jealous. You better not take her for granted, Nathan."

These were Nathan's friends, the ones who helped him build the company from scratch. They'd watched Yvonne always stick by his side for the past three years, never wavering in her support.

Yvonne knew exactly what they were up to. They wanted Nathan to let go of Sophia, the one who left him behind.

But Nathan didn't respond. He picked up his glass and took a slow sip.

With such blatant avoidance staring her in the face, how could Yvonne fail to see through it?

She gave a small smile, pretending to be oblivious, and took her seat. "Congratulations."

Hearing her congratulations, Nathan turned to her, his gaze soft, like he wasn't the one who'd just said those harsh words. "Yvonne, these past three years wouldn't have been possible without you by my side. Without you, I..."

But before he could finish, a woman's voice rang out from the doorway, interrupting him. "Nathan, I'm back."

Sophia stood there, her eyes red as she stared right at Nathan in the center.

Nathan's grip on his glass tightened until his knuckles turned white, his expression instantly turning cold and hard. He spoke each word slowly, his voice icy. "Sophia Summers, you dare show your face here?"

Watching Nathan put on that frosty front, Yvonne dropped her gaze, the sarcasm practically dripping from her expression.

If she hadn't caught him outside admitting he still couldn't let go of Sophia, she might've been fooled by his cold attitude.

Sophia bit her lip, looking like she could barely stand. "I-I know you blame me for walking away back then, but I..."

She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes rimmed with tears. "I heard your company went public. I wanted to offer my congratulations in person.

"Now that I've said it, I know I'm only intruding. I'll leave right away."

With that, she shot one last, miserable look at Nathan, who showed no emotion, then covered her face and left.

The room was dead silent, all eyes locked on Nathan.

After a long pause, Nathan chuckled and set his glass down. "Why are you all staring at me? It's a celebration. Don't let someone irrelevant kill the vibe. Let's keep the party rolling."

With that, the room finally came back to life.

For the rest of the evening, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning Sophia, as if she had never been there.

Yvonne was the only one who noticed that, even as Nathan laughed and celebrated with his friends, his gaze kept drifting toward the door.

She looked away, feeling a wave of self-mockery, and finished her drink in one gulp.