Chapter 2

I stood still, fists clenched, meeting his gaze without a word.

We had met in university, in the same class.

The first time I saw him, I fell for him.

But I kept my feelings hidden.

Back then, the whole campus knew about his relationship with Raven Moonbane.

When she left the country for her studies, she broke up with him.

Devastated, he drowned himself in alcohol.

His friends stayed by his side, afraid he’d do something reckless.

He kept going to the same bar—the one where I worked part-time.

Every time he got drunk, I would bring him a cup of honey water.

That was how we moved from being mere classmates to something more.

I knew, deep down, he never let go of Raven Moonbane.

So I did everything I could to love him enough for the both of us.

But five years later, my devotion still couldn’t compare to his precious first love.

The slam of the door jolted me back to reality.

He had stormed out.

Tears streamed down my face.

For five years, I had given up everything just to win his love.

I turned down a scholarship to study abroad.

I rejected an offer from a Fortune 500 company.

I stood by him as he built his business from the ground up.

To secure deals, I drank until I vomited blood.

When the company struggled, I accompanied him, begging for loans.

As his health declined, I cooked every meal for him.

I did it all, willingly—just to make him see my worth.

Just last week, when we received news that the company had met all the criteria for going public,

He lifted me off the ground, spun me around, and said,

"Susu, we did it! Thank you for everything you've done for me."

At that moment, I thought I had won.

I thought he had finally fallen for me.

It was the first time in five years that he had shown such genuine passion.

Now, I realized—he had just been acting.

And no matter what I did, I could never replace Raven Moonbane.

A deep, suffocating despair settled in my heart.

I walked from the hotel back home—a full hour.

And in that time, I made the most important decision of my life.

The next morning, before Kieran Blackwood woke up, I went to the office.

Even though I had helped build the company and led the sales division for years,

I had no shares. I was just an employee.

Leaving wasn’t complicated.

I spent the entire day organizing files and handing off my responsibilities.

By the time I was done, it was already 8 PM.

I rushed home.

As soon as I stepped inside, Kieran Blackwood frowned.

"Why are you home so late? You didn’t have any meetings tonight."