Chapter 1

Five years later, I returned to Harbor City.

The invitation to Mrs. Shaw's birthday gala had arrived at my hotel three days prior—cream-colored card stock, the Shaw family crest pressed into the seal. I almost threw it away. But Julian had raised an eyebrow when he saw the name, and something in his expression told me he already knew I'd go.

Because can not hide forever.

But also not for Adrian Shaw's shameless love acting.

So I went.

---

The Shaw estate hadn't changed. Crystal chandeliers, white roses, the same old money perfume that clung to the drapes.Every major family in Harbor City was in attendance.

I stood near the terrace doors, a glass of champagne in my hand. I recognized most of the faces. They recognized mine.

The whispers started before I'd made it past the foyer.

I ignored them.

Then Adrian Shaw walked toward me.

He was still handsome. He wore a charcoal suit that fit him like a second skin. His jaw was sharper than I remembered.

In his hands, he held a garment bag. And even before he unzipped it, I knew what was inside.

The wedding suit.

The one I had designed for him with my own hands, twenty years of love stitched into every seam. The one he had ripped off and ground beneath his heel on our wedding day—in front of cameras, in front of reporters, in front of every person who had ever watched me love him.

The room went quiet.

"Elara." His voice was low. Controlled. The voice of a man who'd rehearsed this. "I know I have no right to stand here. But I've carried this with me for five years, and I need you to hear what I have to say."

He held the suit out like an offering.

"Marry me."

A gasp rippled through the crowd. Then whispers.

I looked at the suit. At his face. At the tremor in his hands.

And I felt—nothing.

“Oh my God. He’s proposing. Adrian Shaw is proposing to Elara Su.”

“After everything that happened? After the scandal? He must be losing her mind right now.”

“Are you kidding? She loved him for twenty years. She’ll say yes. Of course she’ll say yes.”

They remembered. Everyone remembered.

This is the woman who spent ninety million dollars on a fireworks proposal over Harbor Bridge.

The drones that spelled his name across the night sky.

The LED screens on every building in the financial district—*I love Adrian Shaw*—for an entire month.

Twenty-five-year-old Elara had loved with her whole chest.

I had wanted the entire world to witness our love story.

And the entire world had watched it burn.

I set down my champagne glass. The clink echoed in the sudden silence.

“Thank you for the kind gesture, Mr. Shaw,” I said. My voice was calm. Almost bored. “But I was young and foolish back then. I don’t have those feelings anymore.”

The crowd went absolutely still.

Adrian’s face flickered—shock, then disbelief, then something that looked almost like panic. “Elara, don’t joke with me. I know you’re still angry about what happened, but I can explain—”

“There’s nothing to explain.” I smiled. Not warmly. “Five years is a long time. People will change. And I don't have a habit of recycling trash.”

He stepped closer, the wedding dress still hanging from his hand. ““You don’t mean that. You loved me. You followed me everywhere. You—”

“I also forgave you once for wearing my wedding dress on someone else,” I cut in.

“And I forgave your sister calling me a fraud. And I forgave you choosing her over me on our wedding day.”

His jaw tightened. “Lily was my family. I had to protect her.”

“You had to protect her from what? The truth?”

The whispers turned sharper.

“She’s really saying no. Elara Su is saying no to Adrian Shaw.”

“After all that?”

“Maybe she may has love another man.”

Adrian’s expression hardened. He lowered the dress. “You’re still angry. I understand. But Elara, we had something real. You can’t just—”

“I can,” I said. “And I did.”

He stared at me for a long moment. Then, slowly, he lowered himself to one knee.

The room gasped again.

“Elara Su,” he said, loud enough for everyone to hear, “I love you. Five years I've regretted what I did. I know I don't deserve a second chance. But I'm asking for one anyway."

He held up the wedding dress.

"Elara Su—will you marry me?"

I opened my mouth and ready to refuse.

And then a small voice cut through the silence like a bell.

“Mommy!”