The room became completely silent.
Nobody laughed anymore.
Nobody dared to speak.
Because Gideon Gu’s words were too clear.
“I’m the one who’s courting her.”
Sabrina’s smile disappeared.
Nolan stood frozen.
Even I couldn’t react.
For years, I had believed that after losing everything, I had only found someone willing to help me.
A temporary shelter.
A kind person who appeared at my lowest moment.
But I never imagined…
that he had been waiting for me.
Gideon walked toward me.
He didn’t look at Nolan.
He didn’t look at Sabrina.
His eyes only stayed on me.
—Are you hurt?
I shook my head.
But before I could answer, Nolan stepped forward.
—Gideon, you know who she is?
His voice was full of disbelief.
—She was abandoned at her own wedding.
—Her own family doesn’t want her.
Gideon finally turned toward him.
His expression was cold.
—And?
Just two words.
But they made Nolan lose his confidence.
—You don’t understand.
Nolan laughed awkwardly.
—She is not someone suitable for you.
The people around them became uncomfortable.
Because everyone knew.
Nolan was trying to remind Gideon of the difference in their status.
But Gideon only looked at him calmly.
—Do you know what the biggest difference between you and me is?
Nolan frowned.
Gideon continued:
—You had five years with her.
A pause.
—And you still didn’t know her value.
The entire room became quiet.
Sabrina’s face turned pale.
Because that sentence hurt more than any insult.
Gideon looked at me.
—Alessia.
His voice softened.
—Do you want to leave?
I nodded.
I didn’t want to stay another second.
Not because I was afraid.
But because I finally understood.
There was nothing left for me in that room.
Not Nolan.
Not Sabrina.
Not the family that abandoned me.
Gideon took my coat.
He placed it over my shoulders.
Then he held out his hand.
I looked at it.
The same hand that reached for me in the rain.
The same hand that didn’t ask questions.
The same hand that didn’t make me prove my worth.
I took it.
And we walked out.
Behind us, Nolan shouted:
—Alessia!
I stopped.
But I didn’t turn around.
For five years, I turned around every time he called.
Not anymore.
The next morning, the news exploded.
“Gideon Gu publicly protects mysterious woman at private gathering.”
Everyone in the city wanted to know who I was.
The woman who made the coldest businessman in the city admit:
“I have been waiting for her.”
But nobody knew the truth.
Not even Nolan.
Gideon had known me long before.
Before he became president of Gu Group.
Before everyone called him untouchable.
When we were eighteen, there was a day I had forgotten.
A day he never forgot.
It was raining heavily.
I was sitting alone outside the university library after receiving news that my mother had passed away.
Everyone was rushing home.
Nobody noticed me.
Except Gideon.
He sat beside me.
He didn’t say anything.
He just opened his umbrella and stayed there.
After a long silence, I whispered:
“Why are you staying?”
He answered:
“Because everyone else left.”
That was the first time someone chose me without asking what I could give them.
But after that day, life separated us.
I dated Nolan.
Gideon left the country.
And I thought we would never meet again.
I never knew that he had quietly followed my life from afar.
He knew when my father remarried.
He knew when I was treated unfairly.
He knew when I became engaged.
But he never interfered.
Because he respected my choice.
Until the day he heard my wedding had become a disaster.
That night, he canceled an important business trip.
He drove through the storm.
Searching every place he thought I might be.
Not because he wanted to take advantage of my pain.
But because he was afraid…
that the girl who always smiled while suffering would disappear forever.
A week later, I returned to my old house.
Not to ask for forgiveness.
To take back my belongings.
My father was there.
Miranda was there.
Sabrina was there.
They looked surprised.
—Why did you come back?
My father asked.
I looked around.
The house where I grew up.
The house where I slowly learned I was unwanted.
Then I smiled.
—I came to take something.
Miranda looked nervous.
—What?
I picked up the old family documents.
—My mother’s belongings.
My father frowned.
—Those things belong to the family.
I looked at him.
—No.
—They belonged to my mother.
—And she left them to me.
For the first time, he couldn’t argue.
Because I was no longer the daughter waiting for his approval.
I was the woman who finally knew her own worth.
That afternoon, I received another surprise.
A lawyer from Gu Group arrived.
He handed me a document.
—Miss Zhou, Mr. Gu asked me to give this to you.
I opened it.
Inside was a contract.
Not a marriage contract.
Not a financial agreement.
A partnership.
Gideon had created a new company.
And my name was listed as the co-founder.
I looked at him later.
—Why did you do this?
He smiled slightly.
—Because I don’t want you to depend on anyone again.
My eyes became wet.
—Gideon…
He looked at me.
—Five years ago, you chose someone else.
—I respected that.
A pause.
—But now, I want you to know something.
He stepped closer.
—You don’t have to choose me because you lost someone else.
—Choose me only if, when you look at me…
—you see someone you want beside you.
For the first time in many years…
I didn’t feel like someone’s second choice.
I felt chosen.
Months later, Nolan came to find me.
He looked different.
Tired.
Broken.
—Alessia.
I stopped.
He looked at me.
—Can we start again?
I stared at him.
The man who let me stand alone at the altar.
The man who chose my sister.
The man who watched me lose everything.
Then I answered calmly:
—Nolan.
—You didn’t lose me when you married Sabrina.
His expression changed.
—You lost me years before.
A pause.
—When you had me…
and still treated me like I was replaceable.
I walked away.
This time…
I didn’t look back.
Because the rain that night didn’t bring me a man who saved me.
It brought me the person who had been waiting for me to save myself.
