Chapter 2

2

It took a long time for them to snap out of their shock behind me.

"Wait, what just happened? Can Kaelen see now?"

"What the hell? He's been blind for years―since when did he get his sight back? Mia, did you know about this?"

I let out a self-deprecating laugh as I walked away.

This is what unconditional devotion gets you.

Kaelen Sterling, you really are a fool. You waited all this time, only to find out she was waiting for a different man.

What a total joke.

When I was in the fifth grade, Mia was just a tiny first-grader.

Back then, I went by my mother's maiden name, and after she got sick, Mia would follow me around every afternoon.

She'd hop along with her little backpack, calling me "Ro" with that sweet, high-pitched voice.

Those were some of the only happy memories I had from my childhood.

I remember her saying while doing homework, "I'm going to marry someone exactly like Ro one day."

Her parents would laugh and tease her, "Then why don't you just marry Ro when you grow up?"

Mia would look up with her big, bright eyes, showing her tiny teeth in a wide grin.

"Okay! I'm going to marry Ro!"

At that age, I didn't know what love was. I just knew that being with her made the world feel less lonely.

When my mother passed away, Mia was the one who helped me survive the grief.

Later, her parents got into some trouble with the wrong people.

Mia was kidnapped, and I was taken along with her.

To keep her from crying, I tried to stay calm and talk to the kidnappers, but I only ended up making them angry.

They stabbed me, leaving me with a life-threatening wound.

When I woke up in the hospital, I saw my father's face for the first time in years.

After that, I took his surname, Sterling, and moved to another state.

I didn't see Mia again for twelve years.

When our paths finally crossed again, she was a stunning, brilliant businesswoman.

But she didn't recognize me. She already had a man named Rowan Miller by her side.

I clearly remembered the day I saw Rowan Miller outside the office, acting jealous.

"That guy almost had his hand on your shoulder! Why didn't you move away?"

"Does he even know you're mine?"

Mia wasn't even mad at his possessiveness.

She just looked at him with soft eyes and whispered, "Ro."

"I'll come home right after this meeting, okay? Didn't you say you'd make that shrimp tempura I love?"

"You promised that once you found me, you'd never let me be alone again. I'm holding you to that!"

Her voice was thick with affection and total reliance.

She never spoke to me like that. Not once.

I finally realized that she simply didn't love me. It was a truth so simple, yet it took me years to wake up to it.

The man walked ahead with long strides, and Mia struggled to keep up in her heels.

Still, she started running toward me as I walked away from the gala.

I couldn't stand the thought of her tripping, so I stopped and turned around.

"Stop running. You're going to fall."

Mia was panting, her eyes rimmed with red.

"Kaelen, you haven't told me. When did you get your sight back? You were blind just yesterday!"