Chapter 2

A tiny ember flickered at his fingertips, flaring and dimming in turns.

After a long pause, he stubbed out his cigarette and let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Isn’t this exactly what she loves doing?

"Miss Lane has worked so hard to craft that gentle and considerate image, all to secure her place in the Reid family. You’d better stay out of it. If you ruin her plans, she might not be so grateful. Who knows? She might even come after you for it."

His words dripped with ridicule and malice.

I stood frozen.

It felt like an invisible hand had clenched around my heart, the pain so sharp it nearly stole my breath.

I even forgot about the shards of glass embedded in my palm—the injury I had gotten trying to stop Nathaniel earlier.

But he never noticed.

The only reaction he had was a brief, instinctive step in my direction when I fell before he stopped himself, frowning in irritation.

"Mind your own business."

I ignored the pain, telling myself I needed to handle things here first before finding Nathaniel to talk.

But I never expected this was how he truly saw me all along.

I forced myself to stay calm, convincing myself that this had to be a misunderstanding that should be cleared up.

But before I even had the chance to figure things out, a girl named Joanna Smith appeared by Nathaniel’s side.

He shielded her carefully as if she were something fragile and precious.

And with her, he showed a gentleness and patience I hadn’t seen from him in years.

It was the day I first saw Joanna that I had a dream.

In that dream, Nathaniel still ended up marrying me.

He shed his reckless ways and grew into an outstanding heir to the Reid family.

But toward me, his wife, he was respectful, yet distant.

I tried so hard just to get him to treat me with even the slightest warmth.

And for a moment, it seemed like I had finally made some progress.

Until one day, I accidentally touched a handcrafted photo frame he left in his study.

Nathaniel erupted in fury.

"Naomi."

He called my name, his gaze icy as he stared at me.

His voice bristled with anger. "I’m already married to you. What more do you want?"

It wasn’t until much later that I learned the truth.

That frame was a wedding gift from Joanna before she left.

Tucked behind the frame was a letter from Joanna.

What a cruel joke of a gift.

I thought it was nothing more than a nightmare until everything that happened at my birthday banquet today aligned perfectly with it.

Snapping back to reality, I forced my voice to remain steady.

"If we really need to choose a business partner from the Reid family… wouldn’t Liam be the better choice?"

Liam Reid was hailed as a near-mythical genius in business—brilliant beyond reason yet so cold and indifferent he seemed almost inhuman.

Even Nathaniel’s father had to tread carefully around him.

He was far superior to Nathaniel in every way.

But he was also someone the Lane family could never hope to reach.

My father fell into a long silence before finally responding with a cold, clipped remark.

"Come talk to me about this again when you’re certain you can pull it off."

…

The next day, Nathaniel didn’t come to apologize.

There wasn’t even a simple text to explain himself as expected.

As the youngest heir of the Reid family, he had always been indulged.

Instead, it was his mother who called, her voice filled with apologies.

Once the call ended, my father told me to forgive Nathaniel.

But it seemed my words from yesterday had stirred something in him, perhaps a hint of ambition.

So, after a moment of hesitation, he refrained from pushing me to send a message first to make amends.

I quietly let out a breath of relief.

However, throwing out bold words was one thing—following through was another.

For starters, I didn’t even have Liam’s private contact information.

Moreover, at the moment, he was still overseas.