My body froze instantly as I slowly looked up into Daniel’s burning gaze.

His eyes churned with emotions like a tide–shock, regret, amazement, and endlessplexity.

You’ve changed…” his voice trembled slightly, pletely different.”

I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist: “Wait! I have so much to tell you!”

“You’ve got the wrong person.” I coldly pulled my hand back, stepping away to create distance.

“No! You are Elena!” He stubbornly moved forward.

Just then, the host’s voice echoed through the venue: “Let’s wee tonight’s most remarkable couple–Mr. Montgomery of Montgomery Group and Ms. Reynolds of Reynolds Enterprisesb!/bb” /b

Amid thunderous apuse, Lucas gracefully made his way through the crowd, gently taking my hand.

As we passed Daniel, I heard him gasp.

“What a perfect match!” Guests whispered among themselves.

“Yes! Ms. Reynolds disappeared for so long, but fate still brought her back to marry Mr. Montgomery. It’s truly meant to beb!/b”

Daniel’s knuckles went white as he stared at me on stage, radiant and glowing, his heart pounding violently.

How he wanted to rush up and dere: That’s my wife! We have a daughter together!

But that fake marriage certificate burned his heart like a branding iron.

After I stepped down from the stage, Lucas was pulled away by old friends for drinks while I stood on the terrace in the breeze.

“Elena, I know it’s you.”

I looked up to see Daniel, his gaze fixed intently on me.

“Elena, I never imagined you were from the Reynolds family.” His voice was haunting.

I looked at this man I’d once loved deeply: “So what? Now that you know my background, do you regret it?”

He said urgently: “You should have told me earlier. My family would have epted you.”

Iughed coldly: “Told you what? That I wasn’t a gold–digger after your family’s money?”

I stared coldly at the man before me. Under the moonlight his features were still familiar, yet they could no longer stir my heart.

“Daniel, I think you’ve had too much to drink and your brain’s a bit muddled. Let me remind you–you were the one who approached me wearing a mask from the beginning, afraid I’d covet the ke family fortune, lying that you were just an ordinary employee.”

He opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word.

“And me?” I smiled bitterly. “To be with you, I was willing to cut ties with my family. That’s the difference between usb./b”

The night wind tousled my hair as I continued calmly: “You never truly trusted me, and Susan hated me as her mother. My leaving should be exactly what you both wanted.”

b“/bIt’s not like that!” He shook his head desperately. “After you left, Susan and I were both miserable. She… she got sick, had a fever for two

months…”

Hearing the word “sick,” my chest felt scorched all over again. If not for that lie about illness, I wouldn’t have worked so hard from dawn to

dusk.

I looked at him coldly: “ying sick again? Daniel, stop using the child’s illness to deceive me over and over.”

His eyes dimmed: “This time it’s real…”

“Real or fake, it’s none of my business anymore.” I turned to leave. fn1421 Fresh chapters posted on find?novel/fn1421

Just then, Lucas’s warm hand rested on my shoulder: “Elena, it’s time to go home.”

I took Lucas’s arm and left without looking back. Behind me came Daniel’s anguished calls, but I didn’t turn around again.

To help me recover my health, Lucas and I moved to California for a while. The sunshine there was warm, the ocean breeze gentle.

When we returned, it was already a yearter with spring in full bloom.