The man she abandoned is the boss now
Chapter 1 - Five Years Later
“Five years later. Still broke?”
Vanessa Cole stood directly in Ethan Blake's path, holding a half-full glass of champagne.
She looked almost exactly as Ethan remembered.
Ethan stopped.
“I was invited,” he said.
Vanessa laughed.
“Please. You can't even afford a suit. Why would my boyfriend invite you?”
Ethan said nothing.
That seemed to irritate her.
Five years earlier, silence had been one of the things she hated most about him.
Back then, Ethan had been twenty-five and almost broke.
He lived in a small apartment above a laundromat.
His car barely started in winter.
He worked sixteen-hour days trying to keep a tiny software company alive.
Vanessa had spent two years telling him she believed in him.
Until she met people with more money.
Then she left.
Three weeks later, Ethan learned she was dating the son of a property developer.
She never called again.
Now she looked at his inexpensive shirt with the same disgust.
Then she tipped her champagne glass forward.
The liquid splashed across his chest.
The pale fabric darkened instantly.
“Oops.”
Vanessa widened her eyes theatrically.
“Sorry. You have another shirt, right?”
Ethan looked down.
Then footsteps approached.
“Vanessa!”
A man in a gray suit walked toward them.
His name was Ryan Mercer.
Vanessa's current boyfriend.
She immediately smiled.
“Baby.”
Ryan barely noticed her.
His attention went straight to Ethan.
His face brightened.
Then he gave a respectful nod.
“Oh, you've already met my boss!”
Vanessa froze.
The champagne glass stopped halfway to her side.
“Your…”
She looked at Ethan.
“Boss?”
Ryan finally noticed Ethan's soaked shirt.
His expression collapsed.
“What happened?”
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
“It's a misunderstanding!”
Ethan stared at her.
Then took one slow step closer.
“Then explain why you left five years ago.”
Vanessa's face changed.
Ryan looked between them.
“You two know each other?”
Ethan answered first.
“She used to.”
And for the first time that night, Vanessa realized the poor man she abandoned had not come to the party looking for revenge.
He had arrived owning the company paying for everything she was currently proud of.
