Chapter 1

According to the address listed on the wedding welcome sign, I headed straight to the reception.

The moment I pushed open the doors, I was greeted by a sea of pink roses, with blue dolphin decorations hanging from the ceiling.

It was exactly like the wedding I'd imagined countless times.

The bride, Addison Ross, stood surrounded by guests in the center of the room. Even her stunning mermaid-style wedding gown was identical to the design I'd kept on my computer for the past three years.

I'd only ever shown that design to my best friend, Scarlett Crosby.

The absurdity of it all hit me so hard that the room seemed to spin.

Before I could even process what I was seeing, an older woman collecting wedding gifts stopped me.

"Miss, are you here with the bride's family or the groom's?"

Everyone turned at the sound of her voice. The moment they saw me, several people gasped.

Addison looked at Cedric in confusion.

"Who is she?"

"She works with me at the Glenfield office," Cedric replied. "She's been away on business, so we didn't get a chance to send her an invitation."

He sounded perfectly calm, as if he weren't the same man who had told me just last night that he missed me.

Scarlett pushed through the crowd and grabbed me by the wrist, pulling me toward the exit. Her nails dug painfully into my skin.

"Our relatives and friends are all here, Naomi," she whispered. "Don't do anything rash. Whatever it is, we can talk about it after tonight."

I stared at her in silence.

Scarlett didn't let go until she'd dragged me into the emergency stairwell.

"Addison spent three months working herself to the bone for this wedding," she explained. "She's lost at least four or five pounds from all the stress. We just don't want anything to go wrong today."

The first thing she told me was how much she worried about Addison.

"What about me?" I croaked, staring at her. "I've been in Glenfield for three years, working late every night. I never took time off even when I was sick. I saved up all my vacation days just so I could fly back whenever I had the chance."

Tears began streaming down my face.

I remembered how Scarlett always came to the airport whenever I had to leave.

"Don't worry, Naomi," she would say, patting her chest confidently. "I'll keep an eye on Cedric for you. No woman is going to steal your man from right under my nose."

Apparently, I was the only one who took that promise seriously.

"Naomi, Addison is different from you."

"How so?"

"You've always been strong," Scarlett explained. "You'd be fine without Cedric. Addison has a congenital heart condition, and he's been the one taking care of her all these years.

"And when she first graduated, Cedric was the one who suggested to the chairman that you be transferred to Glenfield. He was afraid that if you found out about her, you'd make things difficult for her."

Her words struck me like a bolt of lightning.

I froze.

When I'd first received the transfer notice, I'd planned to turn it down. I'd just bought a house in Bexley, and all I wanted was to bring my seriously ill mother there so she could have access to better medical care.

Then Cedric came to me himself.

"Naomi, whether I get a seat on the board this year depends entirely on the Glenfield project. You're the only person I trust to handle it.

"Give me three months at most. I'll make sure you can come back, then we'll get married."

I agreed.

But three months became three more, and then another three. The distance between Bexley and Glenfield never seemed to shrink.

"So all those transfer requests I submitted to come back to Bexley…"

My throat felt raw, and I couldn't finish.

Pity flashed across Scarlett's eyes.

"Cedric kept blocking them. He never approved a single one."

I stumbled backward. All because of those 2,439 miles between Bexley and Glenfield, I'd missed my mother's surgery for kidney failure.

I'd missed the time when she needed me most. I'd even missed the chance to see her one last time.

My phone vibrated.

It was a message from Cedric.

"Go home first. I'll explain everything later."

I stared at the message, my fingers tightening around my phone.

Then I turned around and walked straight back into the reception hall.