Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 

“Happy birthday to you…”

The voices of Tiana’s new coworkers rose around her, completely off-key but full of excitement. Someone clapped out of rhythm, another whistled too loudly, and before she knew it, they were all cheering as a cupcake with a single candle appeared on her desk.

She stared at it in awe, not knowing how to react because she hadn’t felt this genuine happiness in years.

She had only been at The Lancaster Group for two weeks, yet they remembered her birthday, this was something that hadn’t happened in years.

“Come on, Tiana,” Lyn teased. “You owe us dinner tonight. No excuses!”

Tiana rolled her eyes playfully. “Fine. Dinner it is, but nothing too expensive,” she said in her calm, slightly detached tone.

The company’s secretarial department was already used to it — Tiana always seemed distant, almost like an introvert who kept to herself.

In truth, Tiana was an introvert. She had been since her father died, leaving her in the hands of her stepmother and two stepsisters, but it worsened when she gained a scholarship to Velmore High School, where she met her non-chalant billionaire husband, Nikolai Toriaga.

Her colleagues laughed at her statement about dinner, not knowing she could easily buy the entire restaurant if she wanted to. To them, she was just the new secretary… quiet, overqualified, polite and that was exactly how she preferred it.

She blew out the candle, joining in their clapping, trying to ignore the lump forming in her throat. These people didn’t really know her, but in two short weeks, they had given her something she hadn’t felt in a long time. She wanted to cry.

The Lancaster Group was everything she aspired to, despite her secret wealth: modern, thriving, filled with energy and promise. The sweet scent of chocolate drifted through the air, rich and comforting, like a promise of better days. Maybe that was why this job already felt… sweet.

For the first time since becoming Mrs. Nikolai Toriaga, she was genuinely happy.

That morning, Lyn, the talebearer of the secretarial department, started with her tales that somehow always turned out to be true.

The chairman’s son was returning to take over as CEO.

Apparently, he was only twenty-five, the same age as Tiana, and she was eager to see what he was like.

“Must be nice,” Tiana murmured, arranging a stack of files neatly on her desk. “Some people just start life ahead.”

Her voice was steady, but there was a faint sting beneath her calm — the ache of knowing how much of her youth had been spent in the Toriaga Mansion. She could count how many times she had stepped out of the mansion before she started working at Lancaster Group. She had earned her degrees through online studies with the allowance bestowed upon her as the wife of the heir of the Toriaga Group.

Around her, the atmosphere buzzed with excitement. The women adjusted their hair and lip gloss. The men straightened their ties. Everyone wanted to impress the young man who was born into power.

Tiana didn’t care about impressing the new CEO; she just wanted to stay invisible, do her job, and enjoy the sweet scent of chocolate in peace.

Then the elevator dinged, and the anticipated CEO arrived, looking like he had just stepped out of a magazine. He was admirable, tall, and composed, wearing a perfectly tailored suit that looked like it belonged in a fashion magazine. His hair was neatly styled, his every movement calculated. Everything about his aura screamed fierce and sexy, and all the ladies in the department drooled.

Tiana was too busy in her cubicle to notice his appearance until she observed that the entire department had gone quiet. She looked up and froze.

“Good morning. My name is Ryan Lancaster,” he said, his deep voice smooth and steady. “Let’s make one thing clear: I don’t tolerate mediocrity. If you can’t keep up, you can leave now.”

A ripple of discomfort moved through the staff. They lowered their heads, pretending to be busy, just so Ryan Lancaster would think they were competent.

Tiana was in awe. She didn’t notice that her lips were parted until Lyn nudged her.

“Drooling? I bet,” Lyn said. She was just a flirt who thought every man in a suit was handsome.

Tiana wasn’t drooling; she just recognized Ryan Lancaster.

She watched him keenly as he moved forward, scanning the faces around him. Tiana was so lost that Lyn had to nudge her again.

“No way,” Tiana muttered as she stood up, trying to take a closer look at Ryan.

What had happened to him? The Ryan she remembered was the polite and shy boy who’d shared his chocolate with her because he said it made her smile back at Velmore High School. Yes, she knew he came from a billionaire family, so she wasn’t shocked that he was the CEO, but she was stunned at how his aura reeked of arrogance after just eight years.

Before she could make sense of it, the chief secretary, Mr. Todd, stumbled in, disheveled and sweating, reeking of toilet disinfectant.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Lancaster. I had to use the restroom…”

Ryan’s expression changed instantly from composed to disgusted. He turned away from Mr. Todd, as if trying to hold his breath to avoid the strong stench of toilet disinfectant.

“This is unacceptable,” he said sharply. “You’re not fit for this position.”

 

“Oh no, Mr. Lancaster, my wife gave me soup last night that…”

 

Ryan raised a hand to stop him from speaking further. His gaze moved across the room — cold, assessing and searching the faces of the other secretaries — and then it landed on Tiana. 

She dropped back into her seat as their eyes met, and she was certain this was Ryan Lancaster, the chocolate boy from Velmore High School.

Ryan’s gaze lingered on her. Did he recognize her by any chance?

“Maybe,” Ryan said finally, his voice low and deliberate, “we need someone new to replace you, Mr. Todd. Someone… capable, who wouldn’t be running off to the restroom every second.”

His gaze remained fixed on Tiana, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, her heart began to race.