“YOU TOOK THE FALL SO I COULD SLEEP WITH HER?” I DESTROYED MY HUSBAND’S EMPIRE AFTER SPENDING 5 YEARS IN PRISON FOR HIS CRIME.

“What kind of garbage are you speaking?” I yelled.

“You are deliberately trying to make me misunderstand!”

“Penny, stop it,” Julian snapped, stepping between us to defend her.

“Do not listen to Lexi. She is just a tomboy. She speaks without thinking.”

“Hey, you have a lot of nerve,” I glared at Lexi.

“How dare you tell my son to call you Mom?”

“Oh, please!” Lexi scoffed, crossing her arms.

“For god sake, Julian, your wife is standing right here acting crazy. Show me some respect! Penny, I am not trying to make things difficult for you. Julian and I are just incredibly close bros. Back in the day, we used to take baths together all the time. Furthermore, if anything romantic was ever going to happen between Julian and me, you would never have even had the chance to marry him and have his child. Right, Julian?”

I laughed bitterly.

“Alright then, good bros. Maybe I should go find a male best friend to take showers with, so I can truly experience this deep brotherhood you speak of.”

“Come on, honey, what are you talking about?” Julian forced a laugh, looking slightly panicked.

“Back then we were young and impulsive. Those were just silly things we did as kids. I would never even think about doing that now. Anyway, you must be exhausted from your release today. Go upstairs, take a hot shower, and change your clothes. Get some rest.”

“Yeah, we are just bros joking around,” Lexi chimed in.

“You are being way too petty, Penny.”

Julian put his hand on my lower back.

“Come on, honey. I asked Mrs. Miller to clean our master bedroom a long time ago. I even used the exact lavender scent you always loved.”

I ignored Lexi and walked up the grand staircase. I opened the door to the master bedroom and stopped dead in my tracks.

“Julian,” I said coldly.

“Where are our wedding photos? Where is the massive portrait that used to hang above the bed? Why is there a giant framed picture of Lexi hanging right here?”

Julian rushed into the room, his face turning pale.

“Um, honey… about this picture. Lexi thought it would be funny to hang it up as a joke a few months ago. I told her a long time ago to take it down and put our wedding photo back. She is just so careless. She must have forgotten again.”

He grabbed the frame and tossed it into the closet.

“I am just a man, Penny,” Julian pleaded, grabbing my hands.

“I could not possibly take care of Carter all by myself while running the tech company. That is the only reason I let Lexi move in with us. To help me out. Honey, you are not going to stay mad at me over a stupid picture, right?”

I pulled my hands away.

“To help you out? Julian, is there really absolutely nothing going on between you and that woman?”

“There is absolutely nothing going on!” Julian insisted loudly.

“Lexi and I are literally like biological siblings! Honey, please do not be so unreasonable. I know you just got out of prison. Your mood is terrible, and you are overthinking everything. Our top priority right now is for you to bond with Carter as quickly as possible. Do not worry about this trivial nonsense.”

I stared at him. Five brutal years locked in a cage. I survived the freezing cold cells, endured the cruel stares of the guards, all because I thought everything would be perfect when I finally came home. But everything in this house was completely different from what I had imagined.

“Julian, what is taking so long?” Lexi called out, strolling into our bedroom without knocking.

“Have you been whispering to her this whole time? Now that your precious wife is back, you do not want your best bro anymore?”

“I would not dare,” Julian laughed nervously.

“Penny just got back. I was worried she was not used to the house yet, so I was showing her around.”

“Oh, please,” Lexi scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“You work overtime at the office every single day. I know this house way better than you do. Why do I not show her around instead?”

I looked around the room.

“It has only been five years, but it seems the mistress of this house has already changed. I did not realize my own home had become so foreign that I need an outsider to give me a tour.”

I walked over to the massive walk in closet and pulled the doors open. It was completely stuffed with colorful designer dresses, expensive handbags, and luxury shoes. None of them belonged to me.

“Wait a minute!” I shouted.

“What is this? Where are all my clothes?”

Lexi leaned against the doorframe, smirking.

“Oh, I am so sorry, Penny. I have been living in this room for a few years now. I have a massive amount of clothes, so I moved all of your old things down to the basement storage room.”

“The storage room?” I repeated, my blood boiling.

“Penny, it is just a minor thing,” Lexi sighed, inspecting her nails.

“There is absolutely no need to get so furious. Besides, Julian and I have been through so many ups and downs together building this company. His house is basically my house. Clearing out old junk that nobody uses is completely normal.”

I turned to Julian.

“Did you agree to let her throw my belongings into the basement like garbage?”

“No, they are not thrown away!” Julian panicked.

“They are just stored safely in the basement. I thought when you came back, we would just buy you a whole new wardrobe to celebrate.”

“Come on, Julian,” Lexi whined.

“You just got home, let us just be happy. Penny, do not be so incredibly petty, okay?”

“I am being petty?” I screamed, stepping toward her.

“Julian, do not forget who your actual wife is! I was only gone for five years, and I have to come back and endure some outsider taking over my entire house? If this is what you call petty, then I will gladly show you exactly what petty looks like!”

I grabbed an armful of Lexi’s expensive dresses from the hangers and threw them violently out into the hallway.

“Penny! What are you doing?” Lexi shrieked, running to grab her clothes.

“Give those back to me right now!”

“I do not allow any other woman’s belongings in my master bedroom!” I yelled, tossing her designer shoes out the door.

“Okay, okay, I will take them back,” Lexi cried fake tears, looking at Julian for sympathy.

“I was going to move them anyway, I was just too busy raising your son to remember.”

“Penny, what is wrong with you?” Julian grabbed my wrists, stopping me.

“Lexi stayed here to take care of me and your son while you were gone! It is just a few pieces of clothing and a picture! Is it really necessary to treat her this way?”

“Did her version of taking care of you include moving into the master bedroom?” I demanded, yanking my hands free.

“Did her version of taking care of you extend all the way into our bed?”

“Honey, stop speaking nonsense!” Julian yelled.

“Lexi and I have a purely innocent relationship! We are just bros!”

“Honestly, Julian, you are pathetic,” Lexi sniffled, picking up her dresses.

“Making a huge scene the second she walks in the door. Just back off!”

Lexi glared at me.

“Do you honestly think that just because you throw my stuff out, Carter is going to accept you? Do you know what Carter’s very first word was? It was Mommy. But he was looking right at me when he said it, not you.”

I raised my hand and slapped Lexi as hard as I could across the face. The sound echoed through the hallway.

“Did you just hit me?” Lexi screamed, holding her bright red cheek.

“That is exactly what I did,” I said coldly.

“Playing the innocent bro with my husband all day while doing such despicable things behind my back. Do you truly think people are blind to what kind of person you are?”

“You crazy bitch!” Lexi lunged at me.

Julian grabbed her waist, pulling her back.

“Penny! Lexi has taken care of Carter and me for five years! Do you not think you are taking this way too far?”

“Fine!” Lexi sobbed loudly.

“Since your wife clearly does not want me here, I will just leave!”

Lexi turned and ran down the stairs, making sure to stomp as loudly as possible.

“Lexi, wait!” Julian yelled. He turned to me, his eyes full of anger.

“Penny, just stay in the room! Lexi is just hot tempered. I will go calm her down. I will be right back, just wait here!”

“Julian!” I screamed, but he was already running down the stairs after her.

That night, I sat alone in the massive master bedroom. The house was dead quiet.

“Madam,” Mrs. Miller knocked softly on the door.

“The young master is getting ready for bed. Mr. Julian has not returned yet.”

I walked down the hall to Carter’s nursery. I pushed the door open. Carter was sitting on his bed, playing with a tablet.

“Carter,” I said softly, sitting on the edge of the mattress.

“How about Mommy sleeps with you tonight?”

“I do not want you!” Carter yelled, kicking his blankets.

“Aunt Lexi and Daddy sleep with me every single night! I want Aunt Lexi to sleep with me!”

My heart stopped. “What did you say? They sleep with you every night?”

“Yes!” Carter crossed his little arms.

“They sleep together in my bed every day. I want to wait for Daddy and Aunt Lexi to come home before I sleep.”

Tears streamed down my face. It was entirely my fault for blindly trusting the wrong man. That is why my own child was so fiercely against me.

“Carter, Mommy just got home today,” I whispered, trying to hold back my sobs. “I am a little scared of the dark. You are a big boy now. Can you protect Mommy tonight?”

Carter hesitated, looking at my tears. “Okay. I will sleep with you today. You can go rest.”

I tucked him in and stroked his hair. “Carter, for the past five years, was it always Daddy and Aunt Lexi putting you to sleep?”

“Yes,” Carter yawned. “Sometimes I even saw Aunt Lexi wrestling with Daddy in the dark when they were both completely naked.”

I covered my mouth to muffle my gasp. Julian. For five straight years, you dared to keep my son right next to you while you slept with another woman. You flaunted your disgusting affair in front of a child.

I could not leave Carter with this monster for another second. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I had not called in eight years.

“Dad,” I whispered into the receiver. “I want a divorce.”

“Penny?” the deep, commanding voice of Arthur Vance, the billionaire Chairman of Vance Global, echoed through the speaker. “My precious daughter. Are you finally ready to come home?”

“Yes, Dad,” I cried. “I was so wrong. I went to prison for five years to protect him. But he has been sleeping with his best friend the entire time. They completely brainwashed my son to not even recognize his own real mother. You were right. You never approved of Julian. Because of that arrogant man, I did not hesitate to cut ties with our family. Now I finally understand why you were so worried.”

“It is good that you finally see his true colors,” Arthur Vance said gently.

“Do not be afraid, Penny. I am sending a team to bring you home right now.”

“No, Dad,” I wiped my tears, my voice turning to steel.

“Years ago, to protect Julian’s fragile male ego, I hid my true billionaire background. I was willing to be the invisible woman behind his success. But everything he took from me, I will take back with my own two hands, piece by piece. Once I secure undeniable proof of their affair, I will make sure Carter voluntarily leaves with me. This time, I am the one controlling the game.”

The next morning, I told Julian I was going out to handle some post release paperwork.

“Come back soon, honey,” Julian smiled, acting as if he hadn’t spent the entire night at a hotel with Lexi.

“When you get back, I will take you to the luxury mall. You can buy absolutely anything you want.”

I walked over to Carter, who was eating cereal.

“Carter, Mommy is going out. Your birthday is in a few days. Do you want any special gifts?”

“I do not want your gifts!” Carter yelled, throwing a spoon at me.

“Every year, my birthday gifts are always from Aunt Lexi! She is the one who prepares everything for me. I do not want anything from you at all!”

Lexi walked into the kitchen, sipping a coffee.

“Penny, please do not take it to heart. He is just a little kid. Whoever he likes in his heart, he naturally gravitates toward. Kids say the most foolish things.”

I ignored her, grabbing my purse.

“Julian, I cleared out a small space in the closet for myself. I hope you will not disappoint me.”

I left the house, but I didn’t go to handle paperwork. I went to the security company that had installed the hidden cameras in my home before I went to prison. I had installed them to keep an eye on the nanny, but I never told Julian they recorded audio and uploaded directly to a private cloud server.

Sitting in the security office, I pulled up the footage from last night in the master bedroom, right before Julian chased after Lexi.

On the screen, Lexi cornered Julian by the closet.

“Did you touch that woman yesterday?” Lexi demanded on the video.

“She is just an ex convict,” Julian laughed dismissively.

“Why would I ever touch her? The only person I truly love is you, Lexi.”

“Then why are you still acting so nice to her?”

“If I was not nice to her, how could she have been so incredibly stupid?” Julian sneered.

“She gave me everything voluntarily. She even took the blame for my crime. Six years together, she gave up her entire career to help me grow the company. She drank until her stomach bled when I offended investors. And when I needed someone to go to prison, she did it without hesitation.”

“You owe her nothing,” Lexi laughed.

I paused the video. My hands were shaking with pure rage. Julian, I even took the fall for your crime and sat in a cell for five years. You owe me everything, and I will make you pay it back ten thousand times over.

My phone rang. It was my father’s chief investigator.

“Welcome home, Miss Vance,” the investigator said.

“The divorce papers are fully prepared. The security footage has been backed up in multiple locations. It is more than enough to prove Julian and Lexi are having a severe affair. We are entirely confident we will win full custody of Carter for you. Should we file the lawsuit with the court immediately?”

“No,” I replied coldly. “Divorcing him now is way too easy for them. I want to gather even more evidence to ensure they never recover.”

“Understood. We have located them. Julian and Lexi are currently at a downtown San Francisco nightclub, in the VIP section.”

“Perfect. I will go gather the final pieces of evidence.”

I arrived at the nightclub, slipping past the bouncers with a VIP pass my father’s team provided. I walked up to the balcony overlooking the private booths.

Down below, Julian and Lexi were drinking heavily with several investors from his tech company.

“Hey, you lost the dice roll!” Julian yelled, pouring a massive shot for an investor. “Drink up!”

“Look at you, Julian,” one of the older investors laughed. “I heard your wife just got out of prison. Life is going to be tough having a convict around the house, right? What is there to be afraid of? She has absolutely nothing to her name now, and no job. She will do whatever I tell her to do.”

“Mr. Cross, you are so dominant,” another executive chuckled.

“So when are you going to give Lexi an official title? Lexi has helped you so much over the past five years. Do not let our most valuable player feel mistreated.”

“Hey, do not speak nonsense,” Lexi giggled, leaning her head on Julian’s shoulder.

“Julian and I are just best friends. Right?”

“You little brat,” Julian slurred, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Trying to seduce me on purpose, huh? So cute.”

An investor leaned in, lowering his voice.

“Hey Lexi, I heard that a few years ago, there was a woman killed in a car crash. Was that really Penny driving?”

Lexi snorted, taking a sip of champagne.

“That stupid woman walking across the street did not look where she was going. She deserved to get hit. But Julian’s wife is incredibly dumb. Even right now, Penny still thinks she took the fall for Julian. She has absolutely no idea that the person who was actually driving the car and hit that woman was me.”

My breath caught in my throat. I pressed record on my phone.

“But your wife, she really loves you,” Lexi continued laughing. “Taking the blame and going to prison for you without any hesitation. What a sweet, gullible girl.”

Julian kissed Lexi’s cheek. “There is no way I could bear to let my true love go to prison. Penny depends on me for absolutely everything. If she did not take the blame, who would? You? Oh no, never. Come on, let us drink!”

I stood on the balcony, my blood turning to absolute ice.

All my devotion. My willingness to go to prison. All of it was a meticulously planned conspiracy between the two of them for five years. The person I actually took the fall for was Lexi.

These two disgusting lovers. I will make sure they pay the ultimate price.

I returned home before them. When Julian finally stumbled in at 2 AM, smelling like cheap perfume and alcohol, I was sitting on the couch.

“Honey, you are back?” I asked, keeping my voice perfectly steady.

“Why are you up so late?”

“Working,” Julian lied smoothly.

“Did you wait up for me?”

“Yes, Julian. Do you remember what tomorrow is?”

Julian blinked, confused.

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow is Carter’s birthday,” I said softly.

“Julian, the second the baby was born, we were separated. Over the past five years, I have never celebrated a single birthday with him. I want to make it up to him. I already booked the grand ballroom at the St. Regis Hotel. Tomorrow we will invite all our friends, family, and your company investors to throw a massive birthday party for Carter. How does that sound?”

Julian hesitated, then shrugged.

“Sure. Whatever you want.”

“Oh, Julian, I want to make it a huge surprise for Carter,” I smiled innocently. “Please remember not to tell him. Tomorrow night at eight o’clock. Do not be late.”

“I got it,” Julian mumbled, walking upstairs.

The trap was fully set.

The next evening, the grand ballroom of the St. Regis was packed with San Francisco’s elite. Hundreds of guests, tech investors, and family members were mingling under the crystal chandeliers.

“Well, well, well. Look who it is, my precious daughter,” Julian’s mother sneered, walking up to me with a plate of appetizers.

“Fresh out of prison and already living the luxurious life. Living in a massive mansion without even having to raise your own son. You owe all of this to our amazing Julian.”

“Is that so?” I replied coldly.

“Then I should really thank him for raising such a wonderful son.”

“Of course you should!” she barked.

“When you were pregnant and unstable, I made you drink those herbal remedies every single day to ensure you had a boy. You almost miscarried, but you survived. Now, after sitting in a jail cell for his crime, you say it is your blessing to rely on him. How ridiculous! You should be showing me extreme respect. Look at Lexi! Even though she is just Julian’s friend, she buys me expensive gifts every month.”

She flaunted a gaudy gold bracelet on her wrist. “Look at what Lexi bought me!”

“Alright,” I smiled thinly. “After Carter’s birthday party is over, I will also buy you a massive gift.”

“What kind of gift?” she laughed mockingly. “A coffin?”

“I am just joking,” I said, my eyes dead. “Where are Julian and Carter? Why are they not here yet?”

“Julian is on his way with Carter,” she said. “They will be here any minute.”

I walked up to the grand stage and tapped the microphone. The room fell silent.

“Everyone,” I announced loudly. “Thank you all for your hard work supporting the Cross Tech Group over the years. The birthday party is about to begin. Please direct your attention to the massive screen behind me. We have prepared a special slideshow of memories for our son.”

The crowd applauded politely. The media cameras at the back of the room started flashing.

Julian, for the sake of your IPO and your hypocritical reputation, you have lived behind a fake mask for way too long. Today, in front of the entire world, I will rip that mask into a thousand pieces.

“Enjoy the gift I prepared!” I yelled.

I pressed the remote.

Instead of a slideshow of a child growing up, the massive 50 foot projector screen lit up with crystal clear security footage.

It was Julian and Lexi, completely naked, rolling around in my master bedroom. The audio was perfectly synced.

“Oh, Julian, you are so amazing,” Lexi moaned loudly through the ballroom speakers.

“I love you so much, Lexi. Penny is just an idiot,” Julian’s voice echoed off the walls.

The entire ballroom erupted into absolute chaos.

“Stop the cameras! Stop filming!” Julian’s mother started screaming, waving her arms frantically.

“Oh my god! Is that the CEO?” an investor gasped, dropping his champagne glass.

“At his own son’s birthday party, showing a sex tape with another woman?”

“This is completely insane!” a reporter yelled, recording the screen with his phone.

“They literally just sent out a press release about being a happy family of three. This twist is unbelievable!”

“The CEO’s private life is an absolute disaster!”

“Stop filming!” Julian sprinted into the ballroom, his face pale with terror. He charged at the reporters. “Put your phones down! I will fire anyone who keeps recording!”

I stood on the stage, laughing into the microphone.

“Well, well, well! A spectacular performance! Just as expected from the two inseparable best bros! At your own son’s birthday party, you could not wait to show everyone how close your brotherhood truly is!”

Julian’s mother ran up to the stage, crying hysterically.

“Penny! You did this on purpose! You orchestrated all of this!”

“What did I do?” I mocked her tone.

“Did I hold their heads together and force them to act like wild animals on my bed? Lexi claimed she was just a little drunk and confused. She claimed she mistook Julian for someone else.”

Julian scrambled onto the stage, trying to rip the microphone from my hands.

“Lexi and I are just friends! We are completely innocent! This is a deep misunderstanding!”

“A misunderstanding?” I yelled, pushing him away.

“The lights in that room were bright enough to see a fly on the wall. Are you going to tell us your pants fell off by accident?”

The crowd burst into laughter and disgusted murmurs.

“Penny, this is Carter’s birthday party!” Julian hissed, his eyes wild with panic. “There are massive investors here. Are you not thinking about the bigger picture? Just endure this! We can talk about this at home in private!”

“Endure this?” I scoffed loudly. “You are so incredibly generous. I hope one day when your precious mistress is sleeping with the neighbor, you can be just as generous.”

“You crazy bitch!” Lexi screamed, running onto the stage. She raised her hand to slap me.

I caught her wrist mid air and slapped her twice as hard across the face. She collapsed onto the stage, holding her cheek.

“You dare hit me?” Lexi shrieked.

“I am hitting exactly who I intended to hit,” I stared down at her. “The disgusting woman who uses friendship to seduce another woman’s husband. Did you want concrete proof? There is your proof on the massive screen.”

“Shut it off!” Julian screamed at the AV tech in the back. The screen finally went black, but the damage was permanently done.

“If this gets out, our company is completely finished!” Julian grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. “Look at this, Penny! Look at the man you sacrificed eight years of your youth for! You are disgusting!”

“The person fooling around is not me, so why should I be the one who feels ashamed?” I pushed him away forcefully.

“You have gone way too far!” Julian yelled. “How dare you install hidden cameras in my own house? You spied on us! I will beat you to death!”

He raised his fist to strike me.

Suddenly, a tall, imposing man in a custom tailored suit stepped onto the stage and caught Julian’s fist effortlessly. It was Sterling Hayes, the billionaire CEO of Hayes Global.

Sterling twisted Julian’s wrist until Julian dropped to his knees in agony.

“This slap is for your complete lack of self respect,” Sterling said in a dangerously calm voice, slapping Julian across the face. “This slap is for your extreme arrogance, daring to cause a scene in front of the woman I love.”

“Sterling!” I gasped. He had loved me in college, but I chose Julian instead.

“Who the hell are you?” Julian cried, holding his wrist.

“He is exactly what you deserve,” a powerful voice boomed from the back of the ballroom.

The crowd parted as Arthur Vance, my father, walked down the center aisle surrounded by twenty massive security guards.

“Who is this old man?” Julian’s mother yelled.

“Security, throw him out!”

“Shut your mouth!” an investor screamed at her.

“That is Arthur Vance! The Chairman of Vance Global! He is the richest man in the state!”

Julian froze on the floor.

“Chairman Vance? Why are you here at my son’s party?”

Arthur Vance walked up the stairs, ignoring Julian entirely. He looked at me, his eyes full of sorrow.

“Penny, my precious daughter. I am so sorry you had to suffer like this.”

Julian’s jaw dropped open.

“Daughter? What are you talking about? She has no family. She is just a normal girl.”

“You arrogant fool,” Arthur Vance sneered, looking down at Julian like he was a cockroach.

“Penny hid her identity to protect your pathetic pride. She is the sole heiress to the Vance Global empire.”

The ballroom erupted into deafening whispers.

“The heiress?” “He cheated on the Vance heiress?” “His company is completely dead!”

“No, no, that is impossible,” Julian stammered, crawling toward me. “Penny, tell them this is a joke. Tell them you are just my wife.”

“I am filing for divorce,” I said, looking down at him with absolute disgust. “And I am taking everything.”

“You cannot do that!” Julian panicked. “I built this company! The house, the cars, the money, they are all in my name! You will leave with absolutely nothing!”

“You built this?” I laughed, a sharp, bitter sound. “When we started, you were completely broke. I took my secret trust fund money and disguised it as early investments to build your company. Every key employee was recruited by me. When I was pregnant, you begged me to give up my shares so you could maintain power. Everything you have is built on my blood and sweat. You climbed to the top by stepping on my back. Now, I am taking it all back.”

Arthur Vance turned to the crowd. “Effective immediately, Vance Global is terminating every single contract with Cross Tech Group. Furthermore, anyone who continues to do business with Julian Cross will be permanently blacklisted by my empire.”

Investors immediately started shouting into their phones, dumping their shares and canceling contracts.

“No! Please!” Julian screamed, grabbing his hair. “Lexi! Tell them! Tell them it was all a misunderstanding!”

Lexi scrambled backward, looking terrified. “Do not drag me down with you, Julian! You are the one who seduced me!”

“I seduced you?” Julian roared, lunging at her. “You are the one who wore my wife’s clothes! You are the one who demanded we sleep in her bed!”

“You forced her to take the fall for me!” Lexi screamed back, the truth finally spilling out in front of the cameras. “I was driving the car that night! You made your pregnant wife go to prison so I would not have to!”

The entire ballroom went dead silent.

Two police officers pushed through the crowd, handcuffs rattling on their belts.

“Julian Cross and Lexi,” the lead officer said grimly. “We received a direct audio confession regarding the fatal hit and run five years ago. You are both under arrest for vehicular manslaughter, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice.”

Julian collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably as the officers dragged him and Lexi away in handcuffs. His mother wailed in the background, collapsing into a chair as her entire world was destroyed.

I stood on the stage, watching them get dragged out of the grand ballroom. The heavy weight of the last five years finally lifted off my shoulders.

Sterling stepped up beside me, gently taking my hand.

“It is finally over, Penny. You did incredibly well. You protected yourself and you protected Carter.”

“Yes,” I breathed, squeezing his hand tightly.

“It is finally over.”

A few months later, Carter and I were living in my father’s massive estate. Carter was receiving intensive therapy, slowly unlearning the toxic lies Julian and Lexi had fed him. He was finally starting to call me Mommy again.

I was sitting in the grand sunroom, looking at a beautiful white wedding dress design on a tablet.

Sterling walked into the room, smiling warmly. “Do you like it? I designed that for you back in college for my final project. I always hoped you would be the one to wear it.”

I looked up at him, a genuine smile spreading across my face.

“It is absolutely perfect, Sterling.”

Life always requires the courage to start over. Even if you choose the wrong path, as long as you find your way back, the future is always worth looking forward to.