Robert jolted awake from his sleep, his heart pounding in his chest.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the look of sorrow in my eyes last night—a look that had sent an inexplicable wave of unease washing over him.

He reached for his phone, intending to call me, but a breaking news alert caught his eye.

“Shipping Tycoon’s Daughter Engaged to Steel Magnate’s Son.”

“Major East Coast Investment Firms Pull Funding—Winters Enterprises Faces Imminent Collapse.”

Engaged. Pull funding.

Robert recognized every word, but together they made no sense.

Lillian was married to him—how could she be engaged to someone else?

His company was at the height of its success—why would investors suddenly pull out?

It had to be a mistake.

Or maybe it was just a publicity stunt cooked up by the Winters family.

Robert tried to reassure himself, but the photo accompanying the article—of me standing beside a handsome man, both of us smiling—gnawed at his nerves.

When he and I had gotten married, we’d done it in secret.

We’d snuck off to the courthouse, no wedding, no reception. It had infuriated Mr. Winters to the point where he’d almost disowned me entirely.

That incident had always lingered in Robert’s mind—a thorn he could never quite pull out.

When he’d been young and full of ambition, he’d sworn to give me a wedding fit for a princess.

But somehow, he’d always been too busy—too busy with work, too busy with other women—to follow through.

And just like that, ten years had slipped by.

Had he really been that busy?

Probably not.

He’d just gotten used to taking me for granted—used to my patience, my tolerance, my willingness to forgive.

Now that he thought about it, he’d treated me like garbage for far too long.

That incident all those years ago—it hadn’t been entirely my fault.

He never should have used it as an excuse to hurt me, over and over again—the girl who’d left everything behind to follow him to a city where she knew no one.

A wave of regret washed over him, a dull ache settling in his chest.

Robert took a deep breath and dialed my number.