I glanced up just as the romantic video reached the moment from a month ago when Lex had proposed to me. The man—always decisive, always commanding in front of others—knelt before me with a diamond ring in his hand, tears streaming down his face as he poured his heart out.
Abandoned by my parents at an orphanage as a child, I had believed that no one in this world would ever truly love me. But Lex had barged into my life with a love so overwhelming, so grand, that it shattered my defenses. When I nodded, accepting his proposal, he crushed me into his arms, kissing me like he would never let me go.
“Tara, when you say ‘yes,’ you’re mine forever. I promise you, you’re the only one for me in this lifetime. And you absolutely, absolutely can’t leave me. If you do, I’m a hundred percent sure I’ll die.”
For the first time in my life, I thought I had found happiness. Lex had spent ten years proving his love and I had let myself believe it was real. But just hours after his proposal, everything shattered.
Phoebe Stokes, his secretary, called me to the rooftop of the office building. Through the one-way, floor-to-ceiling glass, I saw the truth.