That morning, I woke up earlier than usual.
Whether it was because I had too much on my mind or because of the meeting I was going to have today, I felt a weight in my chest from the moment I opened my eyes.
I reached for my phone on the nightstand.
7:15 a.m.
My eyes immediately went to the email I had sent the night before.
I’ll come tomorrow at ten.
I let out a long breath.
There was no turning back now.
I had promised I would come.
After showering and getting ready, I chose a simple outfit: a white blouse with a black skirt and a lightweight blazer. Not too formal, but appropriate enough for meeting a CEO.
I stood in front of the mirror, fixing my hair.
For a moment, Adrian’s image returned to my mind.
I quickly shook my head.
No.
I didn’t want to think about Adrian today.
I wanted to know what Daniel really wanted from me.
When I went downstairs, Daddy was already sitting in the family room, reading the newspaper.
The moment he saw me, Daddy lowered it.
“Are you leaving?”
I nodded.
“Yes, Dad.”
Daddy glanced at his watch.
“I’ll drive you.”
I gave him a small smile.
“Don’t you have a meeting this morning?”
“I can postpone it.”
I hadn’t even had time to answer when Daddy’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen, and his expression grew slightly serious.
“Just a second.”
Daddy stood and walked a few steps away.
I could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation.
“Now?”
“Can’t someone else handle it?”
“All right. I’m on my way.”
Daddy ended the call and sighed.
“What is it, Dad?”
“The meeting I thought I could postpone turned out to involve something important. I have to go to the office.”
I nodded.
“Then I’ll go by myself.”
Daddy immediately shook his head.
“Don’t. I told you yesterday not to go anywhere alone.”
“I’m only going to Daniel’s office, Dad. Besides, I can’t suddenly cancel a meeting like this.”
“Then have someone drive you.”
I smiled.
“I can drive myself.”
Daddy still looked hesitant.
“Call me when you get there.”
“Okay.”
“And if anything makes you uncomfortable, come straight home.”
I nodded.
“I promise.”
Daddy looked at me for a few moments before finally sighing.
“All right. Be careful.”
“I will, Dad.”
I picked up my bag and headed for the door.
Before stepping outside, I glanced back at Daddy.
“Dad.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
Daddy gave me a faint smile.
“For what?”
“For always believing in me.”
Daddy only nodded.
Then I left the house.
The drive to Blackwood Corporation took almost an hour.
The entire way, Daddy’s words kept replaying in my head.
If anything makes you uncomfortable, come straight home.
I knew Daddy was only worried about me.
And, honestly, I was a little nervous too.
But my curiosity was far greater than my fear.
I wanted to know why Daniel had contacted me.
What did it have to do with Adrian?
And why had he said that there was something we needed to discuss in person?
For some reason, the closer I got to the company building, the faster my heart began to pound.
I had heard Daddy mention Blackwood Corporation several times. It wasn’t a small company. They had business networks in various countries and were known for being quite secretive about their internal affairs.
I stared at the tall building in front of me when the car stopped.
Blackwood Corporation.
The building towered above me, its glass walls reflecting the morning sunlight.
I drew a breath before getting out of the car.
The moment I stepped inside, the atmosphere felt completely different.
Calm.
Elegant.
And intensely professional.
There were no employees joking around or rushing from place to place.
A woman at the reception desk stood immediately when she saw me.
“Miss Elena?”
I was slightly startled.
“Yes.”
“Mr. Blackwood is waiting for you.”
Waiting for me already?
I looked at my watch.
9:57 a.m.
I was three minutes early.
“What floor?”
“The thirty-second floor. Please use the elevator on the right.”
I nodded.
“Thank you.”
The elevator doors closed.
I stood alone inside.
The higher the number on the screen climbed, the more uneasy I felt.
Ding.
The doors opened.
A man was standing in front of the elevator.
“Please come with me, Miss Elena.”
I nodded.
We walked down a long corridor before stopping in front of a large door.
The man knocked twice.
“Come in.”
That voice.
Cold.
Calm.
I recognized it immediately.
The door opened.
And for the second time, I stood before Daniel Blackwood.
He stood near a large window with one hand tucked into his pants pocket.
The white shirt and black suit he wore made him look even more commanding.
His gaze immediately shifted to me.
“Have a seat, Miss Elena.”
I walked to the chair in front of his desk.
Daniel sat down after I did.
Several seconds passed in silence.
I finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“Why did you ask me to come?”
Daniel looked at me.
There was no smile.
No small talk.
He took a file from the side of the desk and placed it in front of me.
“Open it.”
I looked at him in confusion.
“What is this?”
“Just open it.”
I slowly picked up the file.
The moment I saw the name written on the first page, my entire body tensed.
Adrian Pratama.
I looked up.
“Why is Adrian’s name here?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
I opened the next page.
There were several company transaction documents.
Adrian’s name appeared again.
I flipped through the pages faster and faster.
“Is this business-related?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you showing this to me?”
Daniel leaned back in his chair.
“Because I think you have the right to know.”
“Know what?”
His gaze grew slightly more serious.
“Who Adrian really is.”
I fell silent.
I didn’t like the way he said that.
As if there was something about Adrian I had never known.
“Adrian is my fiancé.”
“Was.”
I froze.
Daniel looked at me without expression.
“At least after what happened yesterday, I don’t think that status still applies.”
My hand clenched over the file.
I didn’t like him talking about Adrian.
But more than that, I didn’t like the fact that he seemed to know something.
“You know about what happened yesterday?”
“Yes.”
I stared sharply at him.
“How?”
“That’s not what matters.”
“It matters to me.”
Daniel was silent.
Then he opened a drawer and took out a single document.
“Adrian once proposed a partnership with one of the companies under Blackwood Corporation.”
I frowned.
“And?”
“There were several transactions that didn’t match the official reports.”
I read the document. Several of the figures were different.
“Are you accusing Adrian of doing something?”
“I don’t accuse anyone without proof.”
Daniel pointed to several sections of the document.
“This is the result of an internal audit.”
I looked at him.
“So... Adrian has a problem with your company?”
“You could say that.”
I swallowed.
Why had Adrian never told me anything about this?
All this time, I had thought the biggest problem in our relationship was nothing more than how busy he was.
It turned out there was something else—something I had never even known about.
I closed the file.
“Why are you telling me all this?”
Daniel looked at me for a long time.
Then he said in a low voice,
“Because I think you have the right to know whom you’re actually going to marry.”
My chest felt tight.
The words hit me harder than I expected.
I remained silent for a long time.
“What did Adrian do?”
Daniel didn’t answer right away.
He took a photograph from inside the file.
He placed it on the desk.
I picked it up.
My eyes immediately widened.
Adrian.
But this time, he wasn’t with the woman I had seen yesterday.
He was with a man I didn’t know.
They were talking in what appeared to be a restaurant.
There was a date on the back of the photograph.
Three months ago.
At the time, Adrian had still been telling me he was extremely busy because of work.
But it turned out...
I closed my eyes for a moment.
“Why are you doing all this?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
I looked at him again.
“Why do you care?”
For the first time, Daniel remained silent for longer than usual.
His expression was impossible to read.
“I don’t care about Adrian.”
He paused briefly.
“And I’m not asking you to trust me, either.”
I frowned.
“Then what?”
Daniel looked straight into my eyes.
“I simply don’t want you to make a decision based on false information.”
I fell silent.
For some reason, his words only left me even more confused.
Before I could ask another question, Daniel picked up another document.
“There’s one more thing.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
Daniel pushed the document toward me.
I opened it.
And this time, my face immediately went pale.
The name written there wasn’t Adrian’s.
Nor was it the name of a company.
It was the name of someone I knew very well.
My own best friend.
My hands began to tremble.
I stared at Daniel, holding my breath.
“Why is her name here?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
He only said,
“Because their relationship may have been going on much longer than you think.”
I froze.
Suddenly, everything that had happened yesterday began playing through my mind again.
The way they had looked at each other.
The way they had acted.
And the pain that still hadn’t gone away since yesterday.
But now, a much bigger question had emerged.
What exactly had they been hiding from me all this time?