novelnext Chapter 5
Chapter 5
In our fourth year together, I traveled abroad, skiing in the Alps, wandering through the streets of Paris, exploring Europe on my own. In our fifth year, Sonny got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and asked, "Marry me."
I tortured myself by reliving every beautiful moment we had shared, then deleted each photo, one by one, even as my heart grew numb from the pain. I hoped that by erasing those memories, the wounds would heal faster. When the last image disappeared from my phone, I wrapped myself in a blanket and tried to sleep.
But sleep didn't come easy. Dreams haunted me, dreams of two people promising to spend their lives together. Each time I woke in the middle of the night, I found my face damp with tears. Eventually, afraid of facing those dreams, I began working through the night, keeping myself too busy to sleep.
I vanished from everyone's radar for two weeks. In all that time, Sonny never called, never texted. Not even once. The uninterrupted silence was exactly what I needed to start piecing myself back together.
Twenty days passed without a single word from him. Then, just as I was settling into the solitude, an opportunity came knocking, an offer to move up the corporate ladder.
"Bella, there's an opening for a director position at headquarters," my supervisor said. "Are you interested this time?"
It wasn't the first time they had offered me a promotion, but before, relocating to distant Lagado City had never been an option. Sonny and I had been building a life together in Chester City. No salary increase was enough to tempt me away from that. Back then, I had turned it down, much to my supervisor's frustration.
Despite my refusal, my work spoke for itself. Every project I took on exceeded expectations, and my superiors had never stopped recognizing my potential. Even now, they half-expected me to say no again. But this time was different.
"Thank you for the opportunity," I said without hesitation. "I'd be honored to join the headquarters team."
With three months until the transfer, I needed to start preparing for the move. But before I could focus on that, an urgent call from my father changed everything.
"Bella! The supplier just backed out of their contract! We can't move forward with any of our projects!" His voice was thick with distress. He couldn't believe that the timber supplier he had trusted for years had betrayed him.
My family ran a small furniture business, relying on longstanding partnerships with lumber suppliers, many of whom were old family friends. But now, every single one of them had backed out at the same time, leaving the Wendell family with no wood for production.
"What about the penalty fees?" I asked. "Would they cover the losses?"
My father shook his head. "Those clauses are mostly for show," he admitted bitterly, his voice breaking as tears welled in his eyes. "We trusted these people for decades. The fines won't even come close to what we owe our buyers."
The way all the suppliers had coordinated their withdrawals made one thing clear, this wasn't just an unfortunate business decision. Someone was behind this. Someone powerful enough to pull the strings and orchestrate this crisis.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'll figure something out." I forced my voice to stay steady, then left to think of a plan.
With only a month left before our delivery deadlines and no raw materials in the warehouse, the situation was dire. My savings were nearly gone, I had poured most of it into wedding preparations. I was running out of options.
Then, out of nowhere, a name surfaced in my mind. Mark Ruffus.
He had been my classmate in university. Now, his family's business had expanded into a nationwide empire, with branches in multiple industries. If anyone could get their hands on a lumber shipment fast, it was him.
I clenched my fists.
This was my last shot. I had to make it count.