Chapter 4

I arrived at the reception at 8:00 pm and immediately ran into Michael and Lylia walking in together.

Lylia was wearing my gown, but it clearly hadn't been made for her. The fit was awkward, and she looked noticeably uncomfortable in it.

Michael, on the other hand, seemed incredibly proud to have her on his arm.

The second he spotted me, his brows drew together.

"Evelyn, did you seriously follow me here?"

He scoffed, looking as though he'd already figured out exactly why I'd come.

"You acted like you couldn't care less at the office this afternoon, but then you turned around and followed us all the way here. Could you at least be honest about what you're doing? You don't need to pull childish stunts just to get my attention."

By then, people were starting to stare. Michael glanced around, straightened his tie, and continued with shameless confidence, "I know you love me and can't bear to let me go, but you're taking this too far. The more you cling to me like this, the more you push me away."

Lylia looked me up and down before covering her mouth with a little laugh.

"Exactly, Ms. Jenner. There's such a thing as taking jealousy too far. And this is a formal reception. Showing up dressed like that only makes the company look bad."

As she spoke, she deliberately smoothed a hand over the gown she was wearing and gave me a smug look.

Michael affectionately tapped the tip of her nose before peering down at me.

"Whatever. Since you're already here, stay around the general reception area and get something to eat. Just don't wander around and embarrass me."

With that, he led Lylia toward the private section reserved for the evening's most important guests.

However, a security guard stopped them at the entrance.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cosby. Your invitation doesn't include access to this area."

Michael lifted his chin. "I'm the CEO of a listed company. And my date is wearing a custom gown from Sinclair Group."

He clearly expected the guard to be impressed by either one of those facts. Instead, the man glanced at Lylia's dress, and his expression turned even colder.

"That gown was custom-made by Mr. Sinclair for the woman he plans to marry. Since you're obviously not her, we have every reason to believe it was stolen."

The entire reception hall went quiet.

Lylia's face turned pale with fright. "I didn't steal anything! Ms. Jenner lent it to me!"

Michael was still trying to make sense of what the guard had said when the lights suddenly dimmed.

A spotlight came on, and Conrad Sinclair slowly made his way toward me.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. There's one more thing I'd like all of you to witness."

He stopped in front of me before turning toward the room, his gaze sweeping across the guests.

"Allow me to formally introduce Evelyn Jenner, the sole heir to the Jenner family of Jorvia. She's also the woman I've been in love with for the past six years."

As he spoke, Conrad held out his hand to me.

"You were with someone else, so I respected your relationship and stayed in your life as a friend. But that relationship is over. Evelyn, I've already let six years pass. I don't want to lose any more time. Will you marry me and give me the chance to take care of you for the rest of my life?"

Only then did Michael snap back to himself.

"Evelyn!" he shouted in a panic. "Don't say yes!"

We had been together for years, and Michael truly had feelings for me.

He'd simply become so full of himself as his status rose that he'd stopped valuing the love I'd given him.

I looked at the regret written across his face, then at the alarm in Lylia's eyes, finding the entire situation ridiculous.

Right in front of Michael, I gently placed my hand in Conrad's.

"I will."