Chapter 2

Gabriella's POV

My phone buzzed, and a message from William popped up. "Go back with my assistant first. I'll explain later."

I stared at the short line of text, my chest tightening. In the end, I couldn't hold back. "Why did you lie to me?" I asked.

William replied coldly, "Just behave and go back first. Don't embarrass yourself in front of the company."

I remembered that every time I wanted to come to Frostmere, he would invent all sorts of excuses to stop me. It turned out he was afraid that I'd embarrass him.

As soon as I looked up, I saw his employees whispering and filming me with their phones.

"A mistress actually had the nerve to show up here. How shameless."

"She is so young; she could have done anything else, yet she chose to be a mistress."

I quickly raised my hand to cover my face, my voice breaking. "I'm not a mistress. William lied to me."

All I got in response was laughter.

William's assistant put my suitcase in the car and roughly shoved me inside. Half an hour later, the car pulled up in front of a villa.

William lived in a villa, yet he had told me that he stayed in a tiny rental. I used to worry that he was struggling in Frostmere, so I sent him half of my salary every month.

The assistant pushed me into the villa and locked the door from the outside. "Stay here and wait for Mr. Harrington to come back."

A faint scent of perfume lingered in the air. I had noticed that same scent on William a few months ago when he visited me in Lumora.

I turned around and instantly froze. On the living room wall hung an enormous wedding portrait. It showed William in a black suit, holding Alexandra in a white wedding gown.

The date in the lower right corner of the photo stabbed at my heart. The day they took their wedding photos happened to be my birthday.

That was the first time William didn't spend my birthday with me. He claimed that he was too swamped with work to get away.

I stormed into the bedroom in a frenzy.

Photos of William and Alexandra covered the walls. Inside the closet, sexy lace nightgowns hung next to his shirts. The vanity was cluttered with cosmetics from numerous luxury brands.

The last shred of hope I had was shattered completely at the sight of a nearly empty box of condoms on the nightstand. So that was what William had been so "busy" with—building a life with another woman.

I slumped onto the cold floor, buried my face in my hands, and broke down crying.

I came from a poor background. Both my parents were from a rural village. I had poured everything I had into my studies just to get into a school in a big city.

Whenever I didn't have classes, I worked part-time jobs off-campus. That was how I met William.

I was a struggling student from a small village; he was a young man from a wealthy family who had run away to escape an arranged future. With no support from either of our families, we had only each other to rely on.

A few months later, we started dating. My classmates joked that we were a "broke couple". After all, we really were broke back then.

But every birthday, William always managed to scrape together enough money to buy me gifts I liked. He would eat only two meals a day just to save up for a designer lipstick for me.

He said that I deserved everything the other girls had. He also told me that no matter how hard things get, he would never shortchange his girlfriend.

After graduation, I stayed in Lumora, while William left for Frostmere. I rented a room in Lumora at a discounted rate of 800 dollars per month.

William used to come back to Lumora every weekend. We tangled together through the nights, the old, worn-out bed creaking beneath us.

William kissed the tears from the corners of my eyes, his voice rough as he made me a promise. "Gaby, once things settle down at work, I'll marry you."

Determined to save enough for our marriage, I worked as hard as I could, often staying at the office until 2:00 am. Eventually, my body gave out, and I fainted at the office.

The moment William heard that I was sick, he took the day off and rushed to the hospital in Lumora. He was furious and scolded me for being foolish. But a moment later, he gripped my hand, his eyes filling with tears.

William asked his company for time off to stay in Lumora and look after me. His supervisor blasted him for it. That was the first time I had ever seen him speak to someone with such humility, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

I urged William to go back to work and not worry about me, but he said to me seriously, "Gabriella, nothing matters more to me than you."

At that moment, I believed with everything in me that William loved me. That belief carried me through seven long years of being apart from him.