Chapter 1

Trixie's POV 

I knew every word in the speech Levi Smith was about to give, I had written it and rehearsed it with him over a hundred times.

Standing near the front of the large ballroom with a campaign glass I haven't slipped from due to nervousness.

Over two hundred of the city's most powerful people filled the room beneath the glittering chandelier.

Tonight, the Smith family was celebrating a huge milestone, a business victory and Levi would finally earn the recognition he had spent his entire life chasing.

A light smile touched my lips, I helped him get here. I should feel relaxed, everything would go according to plan, yet I couldn't shake this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

My thumb brushed the silver ring on my finger nervously. It was the only thing I had left of my father who died when I was too young to remember his face.

A few hours before joining the celebration, I visited my mother at the care home. Her dementia had worsened and she didn't even recognize her little girl.

I so much wanted to tell her about tonight, I wanted to let her know that the man her daughter loved was finally getting everything he deserved.

“You’re trembling.” Levi said behind me, I turned to look at him.

He was neatly dressed in a midnight-blue tuxedo. I kept my glass on a nearby standing table reaching out to hold his hands and he did the same.

His lips curved into a familiar smile that immediately eased the nervousness in my chest.

“Tonight changes everything, Trix. Trust me.”

“I trust you.” I mouthed with a small smile.

I rose onto my toes to straighten his bow tie, my fingers lingering against his collar. We had been together since college, through his failures, his insecurities, and the endless comparisons his father made between him and his older brothers.

Whenever Williams Smith dismissed his youngest son, I reminded Levi of his worth. Whenever a deal threatened to collapse, I found a solution. 

I had won over difficult clients, secured partnerships, and solved problems before Levi even realized they existed.

We had built his success together.

Tonight, I believed we would finally celebrate it together, too. Levi gave me one last smile before heading toward the stage.

I let myself hope that he might finally give me the engagement ring I had never asked for but secretly dreamed about.

Across the ballroom, Williams Smith sat at the head table, he had grey hair with an intimidating look. 

He had spent years treating Levi as the least impressive of his sons, and tonight's celebration was supposed to change that.

Behind him stood Mark Luthur, the family's longtime head of security. His polite expression and quiet presence made him easy to overlook.

Winter Smith, the middle son, sat at the end of the table. When our eyes met, he lifted his glass in a small greeting, adding a small smile to it. I returned his smile.

Flynn Smith stood farther away, his arms folded across his chest. The eldest son and heir watched the stage with his usual unreadable expression before briefly glancing in my direction.

Just then, Mr. William stood up and went for the microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my youngest son and the highlight of today's celebration, Levi Smith.”

The applause filled the ballroom. I joined immediately, clapping and smiling so hard I could've been mistaken for a clown.

Levi walked up to the stage. He looked confident under the gleaming light, he looked every inch of the successful businessman his father had finally agreed to acknowledge.

Then he began his speech. I mumbled along with him with a light smile because those words were mine.

I knew every sentence because I had written them myself.

My heart swelled with pride. Soon, I thought, he would reach the final paragraph.

*There is one person without whom none of this exists. She never asked for credit. Tonight, she gets it.*

I had written those words last, unsure whether they were too emotional. Levi had read them, smiled, and promised to keep them.

Now he paused before the final paragraph, The audience stayed quiet, patiently waiting for him to continue.

“None of this happened by accident,” he declared. “It happened because I refused to quit.”

My smile faltered. Maybe he had skipped a line, maybe he was nervous and would return back to it. I waited patiently as he continued talking about his sacrifices, his determination and the long nights he had spent alone while completely erasing everything we've done together.

At the final end of his speech, his face softened, he looked at the other side of the hall. He wasn't looking at me.

“But the greatest partnership of my life,” he announced proudly, “is the one that has only just begun.

My breath caught somewhere in my chest as I watched him extend his hands towards the direction he was looking at.

A woman in a long ivory gown stepped into the light. Lia Bennett. 

I met her twice at a charity gala, and during those times Levi had dismissed her as someone he barely knew, yet she was walking towards him with her face bright with a smile.

“Ladies and gentle men, my fiancee.”

The ballroom fell silent from the announcement only for a few seconds, then applause erupted loudly. I felt air getting stuck out of my chest. 

I couldn't breathe. Around me, guests smiled, whispering congratulations, and raising their phones to capture the moment.

Onstage, Levi wrapped an arm around Lia's waist. Williams rose to his feet and patted his youngest son's shoulder.

“You did it son, well done,” he declared. “You have finally become a Smith.”

Levi's face lit up with the approval he had craved for years. The same one I had helped him achieve.

“Honestly, I built this myself,” he told the crowd. "I just never stopped believing."

Laughter and applause followed, nobody mentioned my name or acknowledged the woman who had stood beside him when his own family wouldn't.

My thumb twisted the silver ring until its edge pressed painfully into my skin. I barely noticed.

Across the room, Winter had stopped smiling. He watched me with an expression that looked almost like horror.

Mark wasn't watching the stage anymore, either. His attention was fixed on me.

 Levi's gaze met mine across the stage, I saw something flickering across his face, guilt or fear but it was gone before I had a name to it.

Then he turned back to Lia and the cheering crowd. I immediately understood a very painful thing, he was never going to acknowledge me, he never intended to.

Two men in black suits suddenly approached me, already drawing attention from those around me.

“Miss Quinn,” the taller man said quietly. “We've been asked to escort you out.”

I stared at him, my lip parting mostly from shock. “By whom?” I asked, my voice sounded strange.

He didn't answer. Behind him, the ballroom continued celebrating the man I had loved for years while others stared at me with an irritating look. I couldn't even tell what the issue was.

I straightened my shoulders, I wouldn't beg Levi for an explanation. I wouldn't give his family the satisfaction of watching me fall apart.

But as the men guided me toward the doors, one truth settled painfully into my heart. I hadn't only lost the man I loved, I watched him erase me from a life we built together.