When he filled the city with love billboards, he’d said, “Angela, this is just the first step in winning your heart.”
When we traveled the world, he’d said, “Angela, I’ll show you everything the world has to offer.”
When he knelt by the seaside and proposed to me, he’d said, “I love you, Angela. Please marry me.”
Now, my vision blurred with tears. Reaching up to wipe my face, I realized I had already started crying.
A message popped up on my phone.
It was from a client recommended by a senior colleague, asking if I could go to Dubai to handle their asset planning. If this had been before, I would’ve turned them down without a second thought.
But now...
The voices in the office stopped. A deathly silence fell. I didn’t know whether to leave or stay when a flustered woman stepped out of the office.
It was Brian’s secretary.
“Miss Duncan, what a surprise. When did you get here?” she asked nervously.
I forced a smile and lifted the thermos in my hand. “Just now. I came to bring Brian some soup.”
She let out a relieved breath and opened the office door for me. When Brian saw me, he hurried over to take the thermos.
“It’s cold outside. What if you catch a chill?” he scolded gently.
The secretary handed him the remote and he turned up the heat, then fetched a blanket to drape over my shoulders.
I curled up in a corner of the couch, wrapped in warmth, yet I still felt an unbearable coldness seep into my bones.
Brian’s friends and secretary bid us farewell with polite smiles, but I finally understood what their smiles truly meant.
Every time they had smiled like that before, I thought they were teasing Brian for being humble and devoted to me, despite his towering status as a CEO.
Now I knew—they were laughing at me.
Brian looked at me anxiously.
“Are you cold?” he asked softly.
I shook my head softly. “I’m fine. You should have the soup first.”
Brian looked momentarily puzzled but obediently lifted the thermos, finishing the soup in one go. His amber eyes gleamed with a mixture of warmth and urgency and his lips, flushed pink from the warm broth, glistened in the soft light.
He held up the empty container with a boyish grin and said, “Finished it.”
Taking my hand, Brian led me into the private lounge connected to his office. His voice was tender, almost reverent.