"I know about your relationship with Raymond. I didn't ask you here today with any ulterior motive. I just wanted to talk."
"About what?"
She smiled, though the expression carried a hint of resignation.
"When I went abroad, I had no choice. You must have heard something about the history between our families."
"Raymond has been fighting for me all this time. He wants to build enough power to bring me back openly, without anyone standing in his way."
She paused, holding my gaze.
"I know you're a good woman."
"But he doesn't love you. In his heart, from the very beginning, there's only ever been one person. Me."
"Miss Pruitt, I'm not here to flaunt anything. I just think you deserve to know the truth."
"Raymond is going to come clean to his family soon. When that happens, you might get hurt. I want you to be prepared."
"I asked you here today as a friend, to give you a heads-up."
A friend?
What a joke.
I stood and picked up my bag.
"I appreciate the concern, Ms. Simmons. But what happens between Raymond and me is really none of your business."
I turned and walked out without looking back.
The moment I stepped out of the tea house, a wave of fear crashed over me.
Fear that everything Darlene had said was true.
Fear that everything I'd been holding on to was nothing but a fool's dream.
Fear that Raymond really would cast me aside for her without a second thought.
The next day, I went to Raymond's company without telling him.
I wanted to surprise him.
The receptionist stopped me with a polite smile.
"I'm sorry, Miss Pruitt. Mr. James is in an important meeting. He gave strict instructions not to be disturbed."
Another meeting.
He always seemed to have an endless string of them.
I didn't make things difficult for her. I sat down on the couch in the lobby and waited.
Nearly an hour passed.
The conference room doors finally opened.
Raymond walked out first, trailed by a group of senior executives. He listened intently to the report from the man beside him as they moved down the hall.
Then he spotted me. His stride faltered.
A slight frown creased his brow.
"What are you doing here?"
No surprise in his voice. Only irritation.
"I brought you lunch."
I held up the container with a small wave.
Before he could respond, a lilting voice drifted from behind him.
"Raymond, aren't you going to introduce us?"
Darlene emerged from the group and took her place at Raymond's side.
She wore a red dress today, vivid and striking.
Around her neck hung a sapphire necklace.
I recognized it instantly.
At last month's charity gala, Raymond had bid eight hundred thousand dollars on it.
When I'd asked who it was for, he'd said it was for a client.
Now I knew exactly which client he'd meant.
Every pair of eyes in the lobby locked onto the three of us.
The air turned thick with tension.
Raymond's expression darkened.
He glanced at me, his voice cold and clipped.
"This is my fiancée, Stacy Pruitt."
Then he turned to Darlene, and his tone softened noticeably.
"This is the partner on our new project, Ms. Simmons."
One of us was his fiancée.
The other was Ms. Simmons.
The difference in warmth was impossible to miss.
Darlene extended her hand toward me, her smile the picture of innocence.
"Miss Pruitt, it's so nice to meet you. Raymond has mentioned you before. I'm glad I finally get to put a face to the name."
Her mouth said mentioned. Her eyes said challenge.
I didn't take her hand. I simply looked at her, my expression perfectly still.
"You're too kind, Ms. Simmons."
Raymond seemed to find my attitude rude. He tugged my arm lightly.
"Alright, I have things to handle. Head home."
He took the lunch box from my hands and passed it to his assistant.
"Get rid of this."
Get rid of this.
I'd spent the entire morning carefully preparing that meal. In his eyes, it was just something to be disposed of.
My heart sank, inch by inch.
"Raymond."
Darlene's voice cut through the silence as she looped her arm through his.
"Let's grab lunch together. We can go over the partnership details."
Raymond didn't refuse.
He didn't even glance back at me before walking toward the elevator with Darlene and his entourage of executives, their footsteps echoing across the marble floor.
I stood there. Alone. Left behind like I was nothing.
The lobby buzzed with people coming and going, and every passing glance made my skin crawl with humiliation.
I'd believed that if I tried hard enough, if I was good enough, I could win his heart.
But now I understood. When someone didn't love you, nothing you did mattered. Everything was weightless. Invisible.
The car merged onto the main road and stopped at a red light.
Through the window of a restaurant on the corner, I saw Raymond. He was cutting a steak, head bowed in concentration. When he finished, he slid the plate over to Darlene with an easy, familiar gesture.
So he wasn't skipping lunch. He just didn't want the one I'd made.
In that moment, the image of myself bustling around the kitchen all morning struck me as pathetically stupid.
I didn't cry. What I felt wasn't sadness. It was shame.
Shame for three years of pouring my heart into something that had never existed.
The light turned green. I pulled my gaze away, calm and steady.
"Drive."
I whispered it to myself, quiet enough that no one else could hear.
"Raymond James, I'm done with you."
