Chapter 1

When Blake Carter held up the diamond ring and got down on one knee in front of Nicole Quinton, everyone’s eyes turned to me at the same time.

The warmth that had filled my eyes moments ago vanished. As I watched the scene unfold, my heart slowly turned cold.

My coworkers’ shocked whispers still rang in my ears.

“Wait, what? I thought Blake’s mysterious girlfriend was Winnie?”

“Yeah… I thought so too. How did it suddenly become Nicole?”

“Oh my God, we got the whole story wrong all these years!”

“This is so awkward…”

Awkward?

I slipped my trembling fingers into my sleeves.

I was the one who should be feeling embarrassed, not our coworkers.

They had not misunderstood the situation all these years. I had truly been Blake’s girlfriend of ten years.

Blake and I fell in love in college. He was the most popular guy in the computer science department, and I was known as the beauty of the finance department.

Back then, our relationship became the talk of the entire campus. Everyone saw us as the perfect couple.

One summer night, osmanthus flowers fell beneath the dormitory building.

Blake had cupped my face and kissed me. The branches swayed overhead, and for a moment, it felt as if our whole youth was blooming around us.

It was my first kiss. It was also my first love.

After we graduated, we applied for jobs and joined the same company.

Ten years have passed since then.

In other words, it was the tenth anniversary of our relationship.

Because the company strictly prohibited office romances, I willingly stayed in the shadows and kept our relationship a secret.

Even though we could not make our relationship public, hold hands openly, or kiss without worrying about being seen, I never complained once in those ten years.

Over the past ten years, when Blake’s career hit its lowest point, I stayed by his side.

When his father became seriously ill, I cared for him in the hospital. I stayed awake by his bedside for several days and nights.

Then, just two weeks ago, I suddenly started feeling nauseous and short of breath. I went to the hospital for a checkup and learned that I was pregnant.

I was carrying Blake’s child.

I thought fate had finally been kind to me. A week ago, the company’s newly appointed CEO suddenly announced that the ban on office romances was lifted.

So, when Blake took out the ring, my heart almost jumped out of my chest.

I thought our ten-year journey together had finally come to an end in the best possible way. I thought my love and devotion had finally been returned. I thought the empty ring finger I had waited ten years to fill had finally found its owner.

Just as tears filled my eyes and the words “I do” were about to leave my lips, Blake walked right past me.

He got down on one knee in front of my best friend, Nicole.

The man I had stayed by for ten years, cared for for ten years, and loved for ten years had eyes only for Nicole. He looked at her with nothing but love and spoke from his heart.

“Nicole, you’ve stayed by my side all these years. You’ve gone through every hardship with me. You’ve endured so much and suffered so much because of me.

“Whenever I thought about how you couldn’t be with me openly and proudly, it hurt me more than I can say.

“Now, I’ve finally found the courage to kneel in front of you. I only wish to ask you one question.

“Nicole, will you marry me? From now on, whether we face poverty, hardship, or wealth, will you stay by my side and face everything with me? Will we never be apart?”

How familiar those words sounded.

There was a time when he had held me tightly in his arms and made the same promises to me.

“Winnie, I know how much you’ve sacrificed for me. I’ve seen everything you’ve done for me over these ten years.

“Without you, I never could have gotten to where I am today.

“You made me who I am. Trust me. When I have the ability to do so, I’ll tell the whole world about us. I’ll do everything I can to keep you by my side forever.

“You’re the only woman I’ll ever marry. We’ll never be apart.”

The person he said had stayed by his side for ten years was Nicole, the woman who had only been a bystander in our relationship.

My best friend, the person who had watched me give him the best of everything I had, stood there with tears in her eyes as she nodded happily.

She held out her hand and let Blake slide the ring onto her finger.

They hugged, kissed, and accepted everyone’s congratulations.

It was as if the world had never known someone named Winnie Cooper existed.