Chapter 1
I was holding fifty red roses and a diamond ring when the woman I loved laughed in my face.
"Malik, you cannot be serious."
Her voice carried across the university courtyard.
People stopped taking graduation pictures.
A mother lowered her camera.
Two students turned around.
And the man standing beside my girlfriend smiled as though he'd been waiting for this moment.
I stood frozen.
The little black ring box was still open in my hand.
"Nia," I whispered, "I wanted to surprise you."
She looked at the diamond.
Then at me.
And laughed again.
Not a nervous laugh.
Not the kind people make when they're overwhelmed.
It was cold.
Almost cruel.
"You seriously came here thinking I'd say yes?"
My stomach tightened.
I'd imagined this moment a thousand times.
I'd imagined Nia crying.
I'd imagined her covering her mouth.
I'd imagined slipping the ring onto her finger while her family cheered.
Instead, I was standing in front of hundreds of strangers, feeling like the biggest fool in Atlanta.
My name is Malik Johnson.
I was twenty-nine years old.
And for five years, I'd loved Nia Carter with everything I had.
We met at a small coffee shop near the university.
She was studying business administration.
I was working as a maintenance technician while finishing my engineering degree.
She spilled coffee on my notebook.
I joked that she owed me a new one.
She bought me dinner instead.
That was how everything started.
At first, Nia loved the simple things.
We ate takeout on my apartment floor.
Watched movies on my old television.
Took long walks when neither of us had money.
She used to say she'd rather have a loyal man than a rich one.
I believed her.
I believed almost everything she told me.
When she struggled to pay tuition, I held her while she cried.
When her mother died, I stayed beside her through the funeral.
When she doubted whether she'd finish school, I reminded her how brilliant she was.
And when she finally earned her degree, I wanted to celebrate by asking her to become my wife.
I'd saved the ring for eight months.
The roses were enormous.
The florist had laughed when I ordered fifty.
"That's a lot of love," she said.
I smiled.
"That's the idea."
Now I wished I'd never brought them.
Nia stood before me wearing a champagne-colored dress beneath her black graduation robe.
Her long straight hair fell beautifully over her shoulders.
She looked exactly like the woman I'd dreamed of marrying.
Except I no longer recognized the expression on her face.
Beside her stood Devon Brooks.
Thirty-two.
Expensive navy suit.
Gold watch.
Perfect smile.
He'd been introduced to me six weeks earlier as a business consultant helping Nia find work after graduation.
I hadn't liked the way he looked at her.
But when I asked about him, she called me insecure.
Now his arm rested around her waist.
Possessively.
As though she belonged to him.
I slowly lowered the roses.
"Nia, what's going on?"
She glanced at Devon.
Then smiled.
"What's going on is that I've finally grown up."
My chest tightened.
"What does that mean?"
She gestured toward him.
"This is Devon."
"I know who he is."
She shook her head.
"No, Malik. You don't."
Devon smiled.
"Easy, man."
I looked at him.
"Don't."
His smile widened.
Nia stepped closer.
"Devon is someone who can actually give me a future."
I stared at her.
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then I whispered, "And I can't?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Malik, you're still driving that old truck."
My heart dropped.
"You know why."
She laughed.
"There's always a reason."
I stared at her.
My truck was twelve years old.
It still ran perfectly.
I drove it because I didn't believe in replacing things simply to impress people.
But Nia had started complaining about it months earlier.
She wanted expensive restaurants.
Luxury vacations.
Designer handbags.
She talked constantly about the lifestyle she deserved after graduation.
I thought she was excited about the future.
Now I realized she had been comparing me to somebody else.
I looked toward Devon.
"How long?"
Nia frowned.
"What?"
"How long have you been with him?"
She looked away.
Devon answered.
"Long enough."
Something inside me broke.
I turned toward Nia.
"You've been seeing him while we were together?"
She crossed her arms.
"Don't make this embarrassing."
I almost laughed.
"Embarrassing?"
I looked around.
People were staring.
Some had their phones raised.
My hands began trembling.
"You let me come here with a ring."
She shrugged.
"I didn't ask you to propose."
I slowly closed the little black box.
The click sounded louder than the graduation music.
Then I whispered, "You're right."
She looked surprised.
I swallowed.
"I should've known something was wrong."
For the first time, her expression softened.
Only slightly.
"Malik, don't be dramatic."
I shook my head.
"I loved you."
She looked uncomfortable.
Then Devon pulled her closer.
"Come on, babe. We have reservations."
Babe.
The word hit me like a fist.
I stared at him.
Then at Nia.
And I realized the last five years meant something very different to each of us.
I had been building a life.
She had been waiting for an upgrade.
Suddenly, a deep voice cut through the courtyard.
"NIA!"
Everybody turned.
An older man pushed through the crowd.
His silver beard was neatly trimmed.
He wore a dark formal suit.
His expression was furious.
Arthur Carter.
Nia's father.
The man who'd always treated me like a son.
He stopped beside us.
Then looked at the roses.
The ring box.
And Devon's arm around his daughter.
His face hardened.
"Nia, enough."
She looked shocked.
"Dad?"
Arthur stepped forward.
"What are you doing?"
Nia rolled her eyes.
"Dad, stay out of this."
He shook his head.
"Not this time."
She looked embarrassed.
"You're making a scene."
Arthur stared at her.
"You're humiliating a man who stood beside you when nobody else could."
Nia laughed bitterly.
"Please. Malik isn't some hero."
Arthur's expression changed.
"Before you humiliate him any further, ask yourself something."
Nia folded her arms.
"What?"
Arthur took a breath.
"Who anonymously paid your final two years of tuition?"
The courtyard went quiet.
Nia blinked.
"What?"
"Your tuition," Arthur repeated.
She frowned.
"The scholarship fund."
Arthur shook his head.
"That wasn't a university scholarship."
I felt my stomach twist.
"Arthur, please."
But he continued.
"Someone paid every remaining bill so you could graduate without taking more loans."
Nia stared at him.
"Who?"
Arthur pointed toward me.
"Malik did."
Her face went pale.
Devon's smile disappeared.
I looked at Arthur.
"Please don't."
But the truth was already out.
Nia stared at me.
"You paid?"
I couldn't answer.
She stepped forward.
"Malik?"
I looked down at the roses.
For two years, I'd kept that secret because I wanted her to feel proud of her accomplishment.
I never wanted her to believe she owed me anything.
Now she was looking at me as though she'd never seen me before.
Arthur spoke again.
"And that's not the only thing he never told you."
I looked up sharply.
"Arthur."
His eyes were wet.
"She deserves to know what she threw away."
Nia reached toward me.
"Malik, wait."
I stepped backward.
My heart was breaking.
But my voice was steady.
"Too late."
I turned to leave.
Then Arthur caught my shoulder.
"Son, there's something else."
I stopped.
His expression had changed.
He wasn't looking at Nia anymore.
He was staring at Devon.
And what he said next made the entire courtyard fall silent.
"That man beside my daughter has been using your name to get into a company he has no business entering."
I slowly turned around.
May you like
Devon's face had gone white.
And suddenly, I realized this betrayal might be bigger than a broken engagement.
