Chapter 2

After I was discharged, I went straight to Stockdale headquarters.

I first met Ross at a charity auction years ago. Back then, I was staying at a church-run girls’ school and had been called in to help arrange the auction pieces. A few wealthy guests recognized my name from the foster records and spilled red wine over my skirt on purpose, laughing as they asked whether I would spend the rest of my life standing behind people like them with a tray in my hands.

Ross happened to pass by. He draped his jacket over my shoulders and stepped in front of me, his voice cold enough to silence them.

“If anyone uses Izzy’s background as a joke again, you can answer to me.”

From that day on, I fell for him.

After college, Ross started his own company. He had no family fortune behind him, no old name to open doors, and no one willing to take him seriously. His first office was a rented room above a repair shop, with bad heating, cheap desks, and a coffee machine that broke every other week.

I stayed with him through all of it. I stayed up with him to revise proposals, sat beside him through rejected pitches, handled angry clients, chased overdue payments, and filled whatever role the company could not afford to hire for. Over the years, I helped him turn Stockdale from a struggling startup into a company with an entire floor in the city’s business district.

Whenever I hinted at making our relationship public, Ross would rub my hair and say, “Not yet. I want to give you a position worthy of you first.”

I understood his pride and did not want to pressure him.

Three months ago, my biological parents found me. I did not return to the Leone family immediately, but I let them quietly invest in Stockdale and introduce several important clients to Ross. I thought once his company was secure, we could finally get married.

The day I received the pregnancy report from the hospital, I was so happy my hands almost shook. Then I found the proposal folder hidden in his study, with a seaside dinner plan, a fireworks schedule, and a vow card written in Ross’s hand.

For one moment, I thought the man I loved was finally going to give me and our child a home.

But that proposal had not been prepared for me.

How ironic.

When I handed my resignation to Human Resources, Patty Hahn looked shocked.

“You’re resigning? But the board was about to name you general manager.”

I smiled.

“I’m going home to handle my family’s affairs.”

Patty blinked.

“Home? I thought you didn’t have family.”

For seven years, Ross and I had kept our relationship hidden. Whenever he showed me even the smallest favor at the company, he would joke, “She grew up alone. It wasn’t easy for her. I’m only helping where I can.”

So everyone thought I worked so hard because I had no one to rely on. No one knew I was the reason Stockdale had survived its hardest years.

“No,” I said, raising my head with a calm smile. “I found my family.”

Patty paused, then smiled for me.

“My God, Izzy. That’s wonderful.”

Before I could answer, I heard familiar footsteps coming from the end of the corridor.

Ross walked in wearing a dark gray suit, his expression as cold as ever. His gaze fell on the resignation letter in my hand, and his brows drew together.

“What’s wonderful?”

“Nothing.”

I cut Patty off before she could speak.

Ross stared at me for a moment, as if he still wanted to ask more, but before he could, heels clicked across the marble floor.

“Ross.”

The soft, sweet voice made everyone in the office look up.

Samora Leone walked in wearing an ivory suit and an elegant smile, with two Leone guards behind her. When she reached Ross, she naturally slipped her hand through his arm, as if that place had always belonged to her.

Ross’s expression changed.

That gentleness was something I had only seen when he coaxed me in private. Now he gave it to Samora openly, in front of everyone.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, and even his voice softened.

“Everyone, let me introduce someone.”

“Samora Leone. Starting today, she will serve as Stockdale’s new general manager and oversee our cooperation with the Leone family.”