Chapter 4
The car glided through the city streets as if floating, sleek and silent. Linsey sat in the backseat beside Collin, her hand resting lightly on her lap, trying not to feel awkward.
They had a media appearance scheduled at an art gala downtown. Apparently, Collin was one of the major sponsors, and after yesterday’s wedding stunt, the press was drooling for a glimpse of the “newlyweds.”
“You sure you’re ready for this?” Collin asked without looking at her.
Linsey smoothed a wrinkle in her emerald dress. “I’ve faked smiles for five years with Felix. I think I can handle a few more.”
He glanced at her then, his eyes lingering for a second longer than necessary. “Good answer.”
The car rolled to a stop. Before Linsey could reach for the door, Collin’s security detail opened it, and flashes of cameras lit up the night like fireworks.
They stepped out together.
For a brief second, everything slowed down—people gasped, phones were raised, and all eyes turned toward them. Collin took her hand with calm assurance, and Linsey let him, surprised at how steady his grip felt.
As they moved through the crowd, Collin leaned in and whispered, “Smile like you’re in love.”
Linsey smiled, but it wasn’t forced. Not exactly. Being beside him didn’t feel like pretending. It felt like something she couldn’t name yet.
They posed together for photos. Collin answered questions with polite disinterest, as though none of it truly mattered. Linsey followed his lead, laughing at the right moments, nodding when he spoke.
But halfway through the evening, something unexpected happened.
A woman walked up to them—graceful, confident, with sharp red lipstick and a cold smile. She looked from Linsey to Collin with an expression that suggested she knew something Linsey didn’t.
“So this is your bride?” the woman asked coolly. “I’m Haven.”
Linsey stiffened.
Collin didn’t move. “Didn’t expect you to show.”
“Curiosity,” Haven replied. “You married someone else on my wedding day. I had to see the replacement.”
Linsey blinked. “You left him first.”
Haven’s smile widened. “Did I? Or did he leave me long before that?”
Collin’s hand tightened ever so slightly around Linsey’s.
Haven leaned closer to Linsey and whispered, “Don’t get too comfortable. He’s good at walking away.”
Then she vanished into the crowd.
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. When they finally returned to the penthouse, Linsey pulled off her heels and sat on the couch, exhaustion settling in.
“Do you regret it?” she asked quietly.
Collin poured himself a drink and paused before answering. “No.”
“Not even a little?”
He looked at her. “Do you?”
She thought about it. About Felix. About the text from Joanna. About being left in front of a hundred people like she was nothing. Then she looked at Collin—calm, still, strong in a different way.
“No,” she said softly. “I don’t.”
There was silence between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
“You didn’t love her,” she said after a moment. “Haven.”
“No.”
“But she wanted you.”
“She wanted the version of me she could show off,” Collin said. “She didn’t want the rest.”
“What’s the rest?”
He walked to the window, staring out at the city lights. “The past. My failures. My reasons for disappearing five years ago.”
Linsey sat forward. “What happened five years ago?”
He didn’t turn around. “I met someone.”
Her breath caught.
“I met her in a bookstore. She was alone, reading a romance novel in the corner. She smiled at me like I wasn’t invisible. Like I was someone worth knowing. I only spoke to her for a few minutes, but that was enough.”
Linsey’s heart pounded.
“She talked about love like she still believed in it. Even though she said she was used to being let down.”
Collin’s voice dropped. “After that, I left. Because I had nothing to offer. No future. No wealth. Just a name no one respected. So I disappeared. I built something real. And I promised myself… if I ever saw her again, I’d be the kind of man who deserved her.”
Linsey stood, barely able to breathe. “What… what was her name?”
Collin finally turned, his eyes meeting hers.
“You,” he said.
The room went still.
She stared at him, unable to speak. That rainy night in the bookstore… she had forgotten. Or maybe buried it deep. She had talked to a stranger who made her laugh, then vanished before she even learned his name.
And all this time… it had been him?
Collin stepped forward, his voice steady. “I wasn’t ready then. But I am now.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“You remembered me?”
“I never forgot,” he said.