4
My parents hadn’t been pleased with me since I broke the engagement, but they’d stopped pressuring me.
Mainly because the Southside Redevelopment Project, with my direct investment and two new partners I brought in, was moving along even more smoothly than when we’d been with the Vance Group.
In the world of business, profit always comes first.
One day, an unexpected guest showed up at the house.
Luna Hayes.
She came alone, without Ethan. She wore a faded sundress, her hair was tied back messily, and her face was pale and drawn. She was a world away from the delicate flower Ethan had shielded in the hospital.
When she saw me, her eyes immediately reddened.
TO 10
1011
Chapter 2
“Zoe.”
I was in the garden, pruning my prize–winning roses. “What is it?” I asked without looking up.
She walked over to me and, without warning, dropped to her knees.
The sudden movement startled me; I almost snipped my own finger.
“What are you doing? Get up. The ground is cold. You’ll get arthritis.”
She didn’t move, just looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. “Zoe, I’m begging you, please let Ethan go! It was all my
fault, he had nothing to do with it!”
I frowned, completely bewildered. “When was I not letting him go? I can’t get away from him fast enough.”
“No!” she sobbed. “The Vance Group is in serious trouble! Several of their major projects have been shut down, and the banks are calling in their loans. This is your doing, isn’t it?”
put down my shears and thought for a moment.
Oh, right. That.
The Vance Group had grown arrogant as an industry leader, making plenty of enemies along the way. All I did was have Laura
spread the word that Caldwell and Vance were finished, and that anyone who continued to do business with the Vance Group wou-
Id be an enemy of Zoe Caldwell.
Businesspeople are shrewd. Who would risk alienating the rising Caldwell Corporation for the sake of a sinking ship?
“Yes, it was me,” I admitted. “So what?”
She seemed shocked that I would admit it so freely. She was speechless for a moment.
“How… how could you do that?” she cried. “Even if you and Ethan broke up, you grew up together! How could you be so cruel to him?”
“Grew up together?” I laughed. “When he sent me tumbling down the stairs and I was lying in a hospital bed, did he visit me once? When he broke our engagement in front of everyone for you, turning my family into a joke, was he thinking about our childhood?”
“I…” Luna was at a loss for words.
“Luna, do you really believe that if you just cry, the whole world will bend to your will?” I crouched down to look her in the eye. “Save
the act. Your tears are worthless here.”
“But Ethan is innocent!”
“Innocent?” I stood up and dusted off my hands. “Adults have to take responsibility for their choices. He chose you, and now he has to face the consequences. It’s perfectly fair.”
“Zoe, I’m begging you!” She grabbed my legs, her sobs growing more frantic, “I do anything! Just please, spare the Vance Group!”
I looked down at her and suddenly felt a wave of boredom.
This was the kind, resilient heroine from the novel? The one who captivated every man she met?
Besides crying and begging, what could she actually do?
“Anything?” I repeated.
She nodded eagerly. “Yes! Anything!”
“Alright,” I said. “Do you remember that five–million–dollar check I gave you?”
She paused, then nodded.
Chapter 2
“Where’s the money? Did you spend it all?”
“No… not yet.”
“Good,” I said. “I want you to go and give that five million dollars to Ethan.”
She stared at me, confused.
10.11
“You said you love him, didn’t you? That you’d do anything for him? His company needs money right now. Give him the check and
help him through this crisis. Isn’t this your chance to prove your love?”
“But… that’s only five million! It’s not nearl
enough!”
“Whether it’s enough is his problem. Your part is to do it. To prove your sincerity,” I said. “After you’ve done that, come back and see me. Maybe then I’ll consider your request.”
Luna looked at me, a flicker of hope and doubt in her eyes.
“Really?”
“Really,” I nodded. “Go on.”
She wiped her tears, scrambled to her feet, and ran off.
Laura came over and handed me a moist towelette.
“Miss Caldwell, are you really going to help the Vance Group?”
“Help them?” I wiped my hands, a cold smile on my lips. “I just wanted to see what she would choose: so–called ‘true love,‘ or five
million dollars.”
The result was no surprise at all.
Luna never came back.
I heard later that she never gave the money to Ethan. She used it to buy herself a small condo, signed up for flower–arranging and baking classes, and started living a comfortable, quiet life.
As for Ethan and his company, she never mentioned them again.
The Vance Group struggled for another two months before finally declaring bankruptcy.
Ethan Vance went from a golden boy, the heir to a corporate empire, to just another man drowning in debt.
None of it had anything to do with me anymore.
I just found it all a bit ironic.
All those vows of eternal love, that passionate, soul–deep connection…
It all crumbled in the face of reality.
Money is so much more reliable.
It will never betray you.
