Chapter 4 My Ring on Her Finger

Before the launch began, Neil pressed a cup of warm milk into my hands. "Forget about last night. Once this is over, we'll go look at wedding venues."

He reached for my hand and turned the ring until the diamond sat neatly in the center of my finger. His thumb brushed over the stone my mom had left me. "Stop letting an intern get under your skin. You're the one I'm marrying."

I had waited seven years to hear those words.

Even after everything that had happened, I still found myself nodding.

Maybe some part of me wanted to give our relationship one final chance.

A few minutes later, the launch began.

At the center of the stage, the host introduced Shelley's special mystery box and opened it before the audience.

A moment later, the result appeared on the large screen behind him: Neil Waller's Unconditional Favor—One Time.

The reporters immediately started teasing her, "Ms. Vaughn, what exactly can you ask for with that kind of prize? Could you make Mr. Waller your boyfriend for a day?"

Laughter spread through the room.

Shelley smiled, then looked past the crowd toward Neil. "I want him to propose to me in front of everyone."

The room erupted. People cheered, cameras lifted, and several reporters immediately started shouting questions.

My fingers went cold around the cup.

Neil, however, did not look surprised.

He leaned closer to me and lowered his voice. "Just go along with it. Don't make this awkward for her."

I turned toward him sharply. "You knew she was going to ask for this?"

"She mentioned it last night."

"Last night?"

Last night, Neil slipped my mom's diamond onto my finger and told me he was going to marry me.

Apparently, that same night, he had also promised another woman that he would give her whatever she asked for.

Neil frowned. "It's just for the event. Why are you making it into something more than that?"

I asked, "What ring are you planning to use?"

For the first time, he hesitated.

Then his gaze dropped to my hand.

I immediately closed my fingers around the ring. "Don't touch it."

"Gabriella, everyone is waiting."

"This belonged to my mom."

"It's our engagement ring now."

With that, Neil grabbed my wrist and reached for the ring.

The band caught on my knuckle as he tried to force it off. A sharp pain shot through my finger, and a thin line of blood appeared across my skin.

I trembled, but he did not stop.

"Your mom left you that diamond because she wanted to see you get married, didn't she?" he said. "I'm only borrowing it for a few minutes. What difference does it make?"

I quickly covered the ring with my other hand. "No. I'm not letting you use it."

Neil's expression hardened. "You were practically begging me for a future last night, and now you're trying to use the ring to control what I do?"

He pried my fingers apart one by one and took the ring from my palm. "I'm willing to marry you, Gabriella. That should be enough. Don't mistake that for permission to start telling me what I can and can't do."

Something inside my chest seemed to tear open.

I stared at him. "If you use that ring to propose to her, we're over."

Neil looked at me as if I had just made a ridiculous threat.

"You're doing this again?" He leaned closer, his voice dropping. "You've threatened to leave me six times. How many times have you actually gone anywhere?"

A faint, almost mocking smile touched his mouth. "Don't pretend you're suddenly capable of walking away."

Before I could answer, the stage lights shifted.

Neil straightened, slipped the ring into his palm, and walked toward the stage.

I stood where he had left me.

Under the bright lights, he stepped in front of Shelley while the entire room watched.

Then he went down on one knee.

The crowd immediately started cheering.

Neil held up my mother's ring. "Shelley Vaughn, will you let me give you my unconditional favor this once?"

Shelley covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes, then nodded.

Neil slid the ring onto her finger.

Confetti burst overhead.

The giant screen behind them showed Shelley throwing her arms around him while the audience applauded as though they had just witnessed some grand romantic confession.

It really was beautiful.

At least, it probably looked that way to everyone else.

I stood at the edge of the crowd, where the lights barely reached, and felt something inside me collapse beyond recognition.

Before my mom died, she had held my hand and told me to save that diamond for someone who truly treasured me.

I had waited seven years.

In the end, I watched the man I loved take the last thing she had left me and place it on another woman's finger.

…

Backstage, Neil reached for Shelley's hand to get back the ring.

Shelley immediately curled her fingers against her chest; tears appeared in her eyes almost at once. "The reporters took so many pictures. If I take it off now, won't everyone think you were just making fun of me?"

I stepped forward. "Give it back."

Neil glanced at me. "Let her keep it on for now."

"I want my ring back."

His expression tightened.

"That's enough." He caught my wrist and pulled me toward him. "This is Shelley's first launch that she's handled on her own. Are you seriously going to ruin it over a piece of jewelry?"

Cold spread through my entire body.

I said, "That is the last thing my mom left me."

Neil looked impatient. "She's dead, Gabriella. Losing a ring isn't going to make her any more dead than she already is."

The room went completely silent.

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

A dull ringing filled my ears as I stared at him. Before I knew it, tears were slipping down my cheeks.

Neil noticed, but instead of softening, he looked away in irritation. "I'll buy you another one. Stop crying. You're making a scene."

I wiped the tears from my face. "You don't have to replace it."

My gaze shifted to the ring on Shelley's finger, then back to the man I had loved for seven years. "She can have it, and you too."

Neil's expression darkened. "What did you just say?"

"We're done."

A cold laugh escaped him as his grip tightened around my wrist. "How many times have you broken up with me just to get me to chase after you?"

His eyes narrowed. "If you really walk away this time, don't expect another reconciliation coupon."

Before I could respond, Neil's phone started ringing.

He answered, and within seconds his voice turned panicked. Reporters had surrounded Shelley in the parking lot, and she was crying that she could not breathe.

Neil released me immediately and reached for his jacket.

I looked at him. "You told me we were going to look at wedding venues after this."

"She needs me right now."

"What about me?"

Neil was already heading for the door.

"You'll cry, calm down, and go home like you always do. If something happens to her out there, today will be an even bigger disaster."

He left without looking back.

The door closed in front of me.

This time, I did not follow him. I did not call. I did not wait.

I just went back to the apartment where we had lived together for five years and packed the last of my things.

Then I deleted my fingerprint from the smart lock.

I placed the key inside a small box together with all seven reconciliation coupons Neil had sent me over the years.

For once, there was nothing left for him to decide.

I was done waiting.

…

On the ride back, Neil leaned against the seat with his eyes closed.

His phone vibrated.

When he saw the mystery-box link from me, the corner of his mouth lifted. "So after all that, you still can't let me go."

He opened the link without hesitation.

A second later, the smile disappeared from his face.