Chapter 5

"Where are you?" Nathan's voice was lower than usual, tight with urgency.

"Home."

"I'm here. I'll meet you outside."

I opened the door and saw Nathan standing there.

Before I could speak, he said, "I've already talked to our parents. The wedding is being planned. We're getting married in three days. I don't want to waste any more time."

Then, he grabbed my hand and started walking.

His palm was damp. He was nervous.

Nathan had never been the nervous type—not in finance or anything.

He came from a powerful financial family in the San Francisco Bay Area. His father had founded one of the most prominent family offices there. His mother was a behavioral finance professor at Harvard Business School. Nathan was also one of the youngest hedge fund founders to become a named partner on Wall Street. His fund had just led a 1-billion-dollar cross-border acquisition.

If Edward was an overachieving elite climbing the career ladder at a traditional investment bank, Nathan was the one at the top of the pyramid, holding the ladder.

Yet, there he was, nervous like a teenage boy about to marry his high school crush.

I looked at his tense jawline and stopped walking.

I looked him in the eyes, my voice steady as I said, "Nathan, I want a garden wedding."

He paused for a second, then turned back to me and smiled. His eyes lit up like stars.

"Okay."

Just like that, my mind drifted back to the past.

Nathan was the golden boy everyone liked back in high school, while I was the girl who always struggled with her grades.

He never made me feel stupid. He always sat beside me, patiently explaining problems repeatedly, his voice gentle, never changing.

In college, we ended up on opposite coasts. He would fly several hours from Silicon Valley to New York every week—just to have dinner with me. He kept doing that for three whole years.

Until I started dating Edward.

After that, Nathan quietly disappeared from my life.

The next day, I stood in the Waldorf Astoria ballroom in New York at the annual Capital Anchor Summit—one of the most elite finance events in the world.

Crystal chandeliers cast a cold, luxurious light across the room. The air smelled like expensive champagne and power.

All around me were the giants of global finance—CEOs, partners, rising stars.

I did not expect the event's 'Emerging Leaders Spotlight' to feature none other than Edward and Juliet.

They had just finished their on-stage interview. The host made a lighthearted joke. "You two are the golden duo of finance. People say you work well together in and out of the office?"

Edward did not answer right away. He turned slightly, his eyes landing right on me.

That look—cold, sharp, and calculating—was the same look he gave to projects he planned to shut down.

Juliet gently linked her arm through his.

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea. We're just like brother and sister—"

Then, without warning, Edward pulled her closer and wrapped his arm tightly around her waist. He faced the cameras and the entire crowd of media and financial elites.

His voice was calm but firm.

"Thank you for your interest. Actually, we do have exciting news. Juliet is pregnant. We're expecting a little one very soon."