Chapter 3

He sank into his chair, staring at the door she had closed behind her. The office felt colder without her presence. He had been a fool. A desperate, foolish man who had let his heart overrule his common sense. And now he might have lost the one person who had ever made him feel seen—truly seen—beyond his wealth and his name.

He reached for his phone, intending to call his driver, but before his fingers touched the screen, the office door swung open again.

His heart leaped. Nelly?

But it wasn’t Nelly. It was his father, Kang-Dae Allen, standing in the doorway with a stern expression that Ethan knew all too well. The older man was impeccably dressed, as always, in a charcoal suit that seemed to absorb the light. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him with a deliberate click.

“Father.” Ethan straightened, forcing his voice into a neutral tone. “I didn’t expect you.”

“Clearly.” Kang-Dae walked to the center of the room, his eyes sweeping over the office with practiced disdain. “I came to discuss the merger with the Park family. But it seems I arrived at an interesting moment.”

Ethan’s blood ran cold. “What do you mean?”

“I saw your secretary leave,” his father said, his voice flat. “She looked distressed. And you, my son, were staring at the door as if you had lost your last friend.” He paused, his dark eyes narrowing. “I also saw you walk across the room without hesitation. Without your cane. Without your carefully practiced blindness.”

Ethan’s hands clenched under the desk. So his father knew. Of course. He should have known that his deception could not remain hidden forever.

“It’s not what you think,” Ethan said, rising from his chair.

“Then explain it to me,” Kang-Dae said, his tone icy. “Because from where I stand, it appears that my son, the heir to the Allen empire, has been pretending to be blind. For what purpose? To avoid his responsibilities? To play some childish game?”

“It wasn’t a game.” Ethan met his father’s gaze. “I did it because I wanted to find someone who would love me for who I am, not for the Allen name.”

His father’s lips curled into a sneer. “And you thought pretending to be disabled was the way to do that? Do you have any idea how this looks? If the board finds out, if the media finds out, our reputation will be ruined. The Park family will withdraw from the merger.”

“The merger with the Parks is your priority, not mine.”

“The merger is the priority of this family. You are the heir. You have a duty.”

Ethan shook his head. “I have a duty to live my own life, Father. I will not marry a woman I don’t love just to satisfy your business ambitions.”

Kang-Dae’s face hardened. “You will do as you are told. You will marry Soo-Jin Park, and you will end this ridiculous charade. As for your secretary—Miss Sullivan, I believe—she will be dismissed immediately.”

“No.” Ethan stepped forward, his voice sharp. “You will not touch her.”

“You cannot protect her.” His father’s eyes gleamed. “She already knows the truth, doesn’t she? That you are a liar. That you deceived her. Do you think she will stay after that? Do you think anyone will?”

Ethan’s jaw tightened. “She deserves the truth. And she deserves to make her own choice.”

“Then let her choose.” Kang-Dae pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. “I’ll have security escort her out of the building. She no longer works here.”

“Father, don’t.”

But it was too late. Kang-Dae had already pressed send. The message was gone, and with it, any hope Ethan had of keeping Nelly close.

“You have one week,” Kang-Dae said, pocketing his phone. “One week to end this nonsense and prepare for your engagement to Soo-Jin. If you refuse, I will cut you off from the company and from every resource you have. You will have nothing.”

He turned and walked to the door. Before leaving, he glanced back over his shoulder. “Think carefully, Ethan. Your future depends on it.”

The door closed with a soft thud.

Ethan stood frozen, the weight of his father’s ultimatum pressing down on him. He had one week. One week to somehow win Nelly back, to prove that he was more than the lies he had told, and to fight for a future he wanted. But how could he do that when she had already left?

He pulled out his phone and called her number. It rang once, twice, then went to voicemail.

“Nelly,” he said, his voice rough. “Please, don’t hang up. I know I have no right to ask for anything. But I need to see you. My father just threatened to fire you and force me into an arranged marriage. I have one week to make things right. One week to prove that what I feel for you is real. If you’re willing to give me a chance—a real chance, no lies—meet me at the coffee shop on Maple Street tomorrow at noon. If not… I understand.”

He ended the call and set the phone on his desk, staring at it as if willing it to ring.

The silence stretched on, thick and uncertain.

And then, just as he began to lose hope, his phone buzzed with a text message from an unknown number.

He opened it. The message read: “I’ll be there. —N.”

Ethan’s breath caught. She had replied. She was willing to listen.

For the first time that evening, a sliver of hope flickered in his chest.