Marilyn Hale was overjoyed to hear that her daughter, who had been away for three years, was finally willing to return home.

"That's wonderful! It's about time for you to take over the family business.

"Oh, and the other day you mentioned wanting to introduce someone to me and your dad. It must be your boyfriend, right? Will he be coming back with you this time?"

When Alyssa first learned that Justin's company was about to go public, she had decided to tell him about her true identity on the day of the listing and then introduce him to her parents.

But now…

Alyssa's hand tightened around the phone as she struggled to hold back the overwhelming emotions.

"I have no boyfriend. It was a misunderstanding."

The voice on the other end paused, but ultimately, Marilyn didn't ask anything further. She only sighed and said, "Alright, then. The company will be holding a local press conference in five days. Aly, you'll attend it as the company representative before coming back to Albion.

"It'll be the perfect time to announce your status as heiress to the public."

Alyssa hummed in agreement. She chatted a bit more with Marilyn before hanging up.

Just then, someone happened to push the private room door open. When they saw Alyssa, they asked in surprise, "Alyssa, when did you get here?"

Instantly, the noisy clamor in the room quieted down.

Alyssa could very clearly feel a burning and somewhat nervous gaze lock onto her. She pursed her lips and swallowed down the bitterness that filled her chest.

She tried her best to make her voice sound no different from usual as she said, "I just arrived."

Inside the room, Justin quietly let out a sigh of relief. He smiled at her and said, "Come on in. This celebratory banquet wouldn't be complete without you."

His words prompted friends to chime in.

"That's right! If it weren't for Alyssa staying by Justin's side all this time, the new company probably wouldn't have gone public this fast."

"Alyssa can help Justin secure contracts and also take care of his daily needs. We're all really envious."

"You'd better treat her well, dude."

These were Justin's good friends who helped him establish the new company. They had all witnessed how Alyssa had firmly stayed by his side over the last three years.

Alyssa understood they were trying to persuade Justin to give up on Claudia, who had once abandoned him.

Justin didn't respond at that moment. He simply picked up a glass from the table and took a sip.

Of course, Alyssa noticed his evasive attitude. Her lips twitched faintly as she sat down.

She played dumb, saying, "Congratulations."

When he heard that, Justin turned to look at her with a gentle expression. It was as if the person who had uttered those heartless words earlier was someone else altogether.

"Alyssa, thank you for staying by my side for the past three years. Without you, I—"

Midway, he was abruptly interrupted by a woman's voice at the entrance of the private room.

"Justin, I'm back…"

Claudia's eyes were slightly red-rimmed as she stared at the man sitting in the center.

Justin's hand that was holding the glass tightened abruptly, and his knuckles turned white. His expression instantly turned icy as he enunciated each word slowly.

"Claudia Reed, how dare you show your face in front of me?"

Seeing his chilly demeanor, Alyssa lowered her eyes and sneered internally. If she hadn't personally heard him admit that he couldn't let go of Claudia, she might have been fooled by this icy attitude.

Claudia bit her lower lip, looking like she was on the verge of a breakdown. "I… I know you resent me for leaving you back then, but I…"

Halfway through her sentence, she stopped and didn't continue. Instead, her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she said, "I heard your company went public, so I wanted to congratulate you in person.

"I've said my congratulations, and I know I'll only be a bother here, so I'll leave now."

After speaking, she cast a sorrowful look at the expressionless Justin before covering her face and leaving.

At that moment, the private room was eerily quiet, with everyone focusing their gaze on Justin.

A long while later, he finally let out a light laugh and set down his glass. "Why are you all looking at me? Today is a celebratory banquet. Don't let an irrelevant person ruin the mood. Let's continue."

Only then did the others become lively again.

For the rest of the celebration, everyone tacitly avoided mentioning Claudia, acting as if she had never shown up.

Only Alyssa noticed that even though Justin smiled and celebrated with his friends on the surface, he kept secretly glancing toward the door.

She withdrew her gaze and self-mockingly downed the drink in her glass.

After the celebratory banquet ended, everyone bid farewell to each other.

Alyssa and Justin walked side by side toward the parking garage.

A cold, sharp gust of wind blew by, and she instinctively held herself.

The next moment, a warm coat fell over her shoulders.

"The weather has gotten cold. Remember to keep yourself warm." Justin's voice was gentle as he thoughtfully fastened the buttons for her.

While staring blankly at the man in front of her, who was meticulously buttoning the coat, Alyssa suddenly recalled that it was also a cold winter when she first came to Justin three years ago.

That was when he was at his poorest.

The two of them had huddled in a basement that had no heating and could only keep warm by snuggling close to each other.

Whenever he noticed that her hands and feet were still cold, he repeatedly got up in the middle of the night. Each time, he would refill the hot water bottle before tucking it into her arms.

As the heiress to a wealthy tycoon family, Alyssa had never experienced such harsh living conditions. Yet, on that freezing winter night, she could feel the fiery heart in her chest thumping fiercely.

The scene before her instantly pulled her back to that winter night. Suddenly, she felt an urge to hear his answer to her question, even though she already knew what he would say.

"Justin, will you marry me?"

The moment the words left Alyssa's mouth, Justin's figure froze in place. His gaze wavered slightly as he said, "Alyssa, the company just went public. It's a busy time for the business now."

Was he really busy with work, or was it just an excuse because he didn't love her?

Alyssa let out a faint chuckle and nodded faintly. "Alright, I understand."

Dodging the question was often the best answer in itself.

Alyssa didn't press further and headed straight for the parking garage. They had only taken a few steps when the man beside her suddenly stopped.

Alyssa followed his gaze and saw a figure in the distance. The person had their head buried in their knees and was crouching under the dim glow of a streetlight.

It was Claudia.

Justin's gaze remained glued to that figure as he spoke hoarsely. "I have something to attend to. Head back by yourself for now."

After saying that, he strode toward the woman.

Alyssa's feet remained rooted to the spot. She watched helplessly as Justin reached out and pulled Claudia into a corner.

Claudia staggered a little from the pull. Justin didn't move to support her, but his pace noticeably slowed.

Alyssa's hands subconsciously tightened by her sides. And in the end, she decided to follow them.

At the corner of the hallway, Justin grabbed Claudia's wrist. His eyes were bloodshot as he said, "You said you were leaving. Why are you still here?"

Claudia looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. "I… I just wanted to see you one more time."

Justin laughed coldly. He practically gritted out through his teeth, "You left so decisively back then. Why come back now?"

Claudia broke free from his grip and threw her arms around his waist. He buried her head against his shoulder and said in a choked voice, "I never wanted to leave you! It was my father who didn't agree to us staying together.

"He threatened to use you against me, saying if I didn't break up with you, he'd join forces with others to oppress you."

Justin didn't push her away. His hands clenched into tight fists as he said in a subdued tone, "Even if you had your reasons, you could have told me. We could have faced it together. But you chose to run away and only returned after three years.

"Now, what makes you think I would want a woman who once abandoned me?"

Tears streamed down Claudia's face, and she looked up at him through blurred vision.

"I didn't come back expecting us to be together again. I know you've had another woman by your side these last three years. I just wanted to see you one more time."

She let go and stepped back a few paces. In a broken voice, she said, "Knowing you're doing well is enough for me. I'll keep my dist—"

Before she could finish her sentence, her body suddenly went limp, and she fainted.

Standing nearby, Alyssa watched as Justin's cold facade crumbled and how he immediately gathered Claudia into his arms.

"Claudia?" His voice trembled slightly.

When he realized she had only fainted due to overwhelming emotions, Justin visibly relaxed.

He gently stroked her cheek, no longer suppressing his true feelings. He looked at the woman in his arms with a gaze full of calm affection.

"Claudia, it seems I'm completely at your mercy."

After saying that, he lifted her into his arms in a bridal carry.

Alyssa stood where she was and watched the man's figure gradually disappear from sight.

She suddenly felt a patch on her cheek. Upon reaching up to touch it, she found it was already wet.

Over the past three years, Justin had always treated her well. Even at his poorest, he would save up to buy her things.

Thus, she had believed it to be love.

But today, after witnessing how he interacted with Claudia, she suddenly realized that this was what Justin looked like when he truly loved someone. He would get angry and say things he didn't mean.

When he was with Alyssa, though, he only ever kept up a gentle facade.

Justin didn't return that night.

Late into the night, while scrolling through TikTok, Alyssa came across a video tagged in the same city she was in.

In the video, a man was leaning over, his slender, well-defined hands tucked under hospital bed sheets.

The caption contained one simple word. "Reunion".

Even though the man's face wasn't shown, Alyssa could recognize that it was Justin at a glance.

During the year they lived in the basement rental, she had snuggled against the embrace of those hands countless nights. Of course, she could recognize them now.

It seemed that… he and Claudia had reconciled.

Perhaps Alyssa had stared at the screen for too long, for her eyes stung slightly. She turned off the screen, pulled the blanket over her head, and fell into a deep sleep.

…

Early the next morning, Alyssa was woken by noises outside.

She came downstairs to find Justin and Claudia sitting in the living room. There were several suitcases placed beside them.

When he noticed her presence, Justin cleared his throat and explained, "Claudia just returned to the country and has nowhere to stay. She'll be living here for a while."

Claudia peeked out from behind him and asked somewhat apologetically, "Ms. Lambert, you won't mind me moving in, will you?"

Alyssa shook her head indifferently and went straight to the kitchen to make herself some toast for breakfast.

This villa was purchased after Justin's company gradually got on track, so it didn't matter to her who Justin wanted to bring home.

Besides, she would be leaving soon anyway.

Claudia carried her suitcase upstairs. The next instant, an exclamation came from upstairs.

Claudia came downstairs holding a watch and presented it to Justin.

"Justin, this is the birthday gift I gave you before. I never imagined it would still be here!"

Alyssa instinctively looked at the watch. She suddenly remembered the time when creditors were hounding Justin. He had taken everything of value—the villa, luxury cars, antique collections—and mortgaged them to the bank one by one.

When it came to this watch, his eyes betrayed his inner struggle. In the end, he took it back and simply said, "Let's keep this for now."

At that time, his gaze was filled with nostalgia and reluctance.

In the three years that followed, he would often take out the watch and stare at it blankly.

Alyssa had initially thought the watch was something his family had left him. Only today did she learn it was a gift from Claudia.

He had kept it only as a memento to remember her by.

In that moment, Alyssa finally realized how laughable it was that she believed she had a place in his heart over the past three years.

For three years, he had never forgotten Claudia. Even though she had abandoned him and gone abroad, he still couldn't let her go.

All it took was her showing up, a few tears, and a vague explanation for him to forget the painful past and forgive her.

Alyssa smiled sarcastically, turned, and went upstairs without glancing at the two of them again.

…

In the following days, Claudia made herself completely at home. Her presence could be felt in every corner of the villa.

She mentioned she didn't like the gray curtains, so Justin had someone replace them with the cream-white ones she preferred.

She said the paint on the walls was too dull, so Justin had them repainted in warm tones.

She said she wanted to see Juliet roses, so he had the freshest rose cuttings flown in from abroad and transplanted into the garden.

When they'd first bought this villa, Justin was always busy with work. Thus, Alyssa had handled all the furniture selection and interior design alone.

Now, she could only watch as the traces that belonged to her were erased little by little.

Vanishing along with them was the love she had for Justin.