Chapter 1: The boy who broke her heart.

Wren Michaels stared at Theo Ashford's news article on her laptop screen—the boy who had broken her heart fifteen years ago, right after their first kiss. He was now a billionaire, a famous figure in Millbrook, someone a lot of ladies wished to date.

She could still remember his voice and his face, the ones she had tried to forget but couldn't. She began recalling the promise he made, the assurance he gave her. Her breath caught, and tears rolled down her cheek.

"Wren! Wren!" Priya, Wren's best friend and coworker, shouted as she slammed Wren's office table.

Wren quickly pulled herself together. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and lifted her head to answer Priya.

"Are you okay?" Priya asked.

"Yeah," Wren replied.

"Don't lie to me. I just saw you crying."

"I'm fine."

Priya paused, staring at Wren. "Anyway, the manager just announced an emergency meeting for all workers."

"What's happening?"

Priya leaned closer to Wren and whispered, "Someone is buying Harborline."

"What! Buying this company? What will happen to us who work here?" Wren asked.

"I don't have any idea," Priya replied. "The meeting has started. We better go." She turned and walked toward the exit door of the office.

Wren shut down her laptop. She stood from her seat and followed Priya.

They entered the hall. It was cold because the AC was on. The hall was filled with workers from the company, all seated on expensive chairs surrounding a long table, waiting for the meeting to begin. Some were whispering things to each other. Some looked worried and sad. Others looked nonchalant.

"The manager isn't here," Wren said to Priya as she ran her eyes over the group of people.

"We'll wait for him," Priya said, taking a seat.

Wren sat beside her.

Soon, Mr. Dawson, the manager, rushed in with a lot of papers clutched in his hands. He looked disorganized, like someone who had been through a lot of hard work.

"He's here! He's here!" he shouted, slamming his hand on the table. "You all better respect yourselves. Especially you, Wren." He pointed at Wren. "Do not be arrogant. Be friendly." He smiled, then the smile left his face in less than a second.

"Okay, here he comes." He sat on a chair and quickly adjusted his tie.

Behind Mr. Dawson, the door opened. A man walked in with a briefcase, wearing a black suit.

Everyone's eyes fixed on him.

Then behind him, another man walked in—tall, well-dressed, wearing a blazer. He walked like he already owned the company. His eyes had the kind of pull that made every woman in the room sit up a little straighter.

It was Theo Ashford.

Wren's heart raced. Seeing the boy who broke her heart made cold sweat cover her body. She froze, staring at Theo Ashford as he walked to his seat.

"Isn't he charming?" Priya said.

Wren didn't reply.

Mr. Dawson stood from his seat, cleared his throat, and said,

"Thank you all for coming on short notice. I know a lot of you are worried, so I'll get straight to it. Harborline Inns has officially been acquired by Ashford Dynamics."

The room stirred. He raised a hand for quiet.

"I've personally spoken with their leadership, and I want to reassure everyone that your jobs are safe. There will be no immediate layoffs. Over the coming weeks, a transition team will be working closely with department heads to make this shift as smooth as possible. So if you're a department head, expect to hear more soon. From here on, we're part of Ashford Dynamics. And I truly believe... this is the start of something good for all of us."

The room applauded.

Wren was still frozen, staring at Theo as he went through a pile of files on the table. She wasn't aware of what was going on in the hall. All she could think about was the shock of seeing Theo after fifteen years. Part of her felt happy seeing him and knowing he was doing fine. Another part felt sad because he had broken his promise and had forgotten about her.

Theo then lifted his head, scanning the workers in the hall. Then his expression changed immediately when his eyes met Wren's. Time seemed to stop for both of them. The room went quiet in her head.

Theo's hands paused on the files on the table. At that moment, he wasn't the CEO. He was a man who had just seen his love after fifteen years.

"Sir! Sir!" Mr. Dawson called for Theo's attention so he could address the workers.

Theo caught himself and went back into professional CEO mode, replying to Mr. Dawson.

He stood from his seat.

"My name is Theo Ashford, the CEO of Ashford Dynamics," Theo Ashford said.

The group of workers applauded, all feeling excited to see Theo Ashford. He was like a celebrity in Millbrook.

Priya noticed the look on Theo's face, the way he stared at Wren.

"Do you know him?" Priya asked Wren, her voice almost quiet.

"Yes, what? No. I don't know him," Wren said, shifting her gaze from Theo to her shaking hands on her lap.

The meeting wrapped up.

As people started filing out, the manager, Mr. Dawson, stopped Wren specifically outside the hall.

"The Operations Director is needed for a follow-up meeting with the new leadership team," he said. "You aren't supposed to leave. Get back inside."

"Follow-up meeting?" she asked, glancing past Mr. Dawson toward the front of the room, where Theo was still gathering his files, unaware — or maybe very aware — that she hadn't left yet.

"Just the department heads and the new leadership team," Mr. Dawson said, already moving on to the next person. "Small group. Should be quick."

Wren's eyes found Theo's again, just for a second, before he looked away.

Small group.

She swallowed hard. After fifteen years of silence, she was about to be in a room with Theo Ashford — close enough to speak, close enough to touch — and she had no idea what either of them was going to say.