Don't Give Up, After Dark Comes the Sunrise

Three days before the wedding, I was cooking in the kitchen when Bruce came home and slid his arms around my waist from behind, the way he always did.

I felt the familiar warmth at my waist, and my voice softened without meaning to.

Just one more dish. Go wash your hands, dinner's almost ready.

But he didn't move.

After a moment, I heard his voice, gentle as ever.

"Rosamund, Desiree's back in the country. I can't marry you."

I turned off the burner and turned around to look at him.

"Have you made up your mind?"

His silence answered for him.

I understood. I untied my apron and walked out.

"I see. I'll pack my things and move out tomorrow."

His voice came again, and my steps stopped.

"Five years together, and you have nothing else to say?"

"Calling off the wedding means nothing to you either?"

I didn't turn to look at him, but the dull ache in my chest was oddly clear.

"We said from the start it was mutual convenience."

"Didn't we?"

I'd barely reached the living room when Bruce came after me.

"Is that really all these five years were to you? Just mutual convenience?"

"You honestly have nothing else to say to me?"

I turned back and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Would saying it change anything?"

Something like shame flickered across his face, and he hesitated a long while without a word.

I laughed at myself inside and turned toward the couch.

"See? The answer's already clear, isn't it?"

"Bruce, you should know me by now. I'm not someone who clings and begs."

"I've always known that in this world, the only person I can rely on is myself."

Something in what I said must have struck a nerve.

There was anger between his brows, and an edge in his voice when he spoke.

"Rosamund, this is exactly the side of you I hate most."

"Five whole years, day and night. Does none of that count for anything to you?"

I leaned back against the couch, my tone light.

"Same as I said before."

"Mutual convenience. Isn't that right?"

His lips moved for a while, as if he wanted to say something more.

But in the end, he only gave me a long look and said nothing at all.

"Slam!"

The door shut, and the whole living room fell quiet again.

The tension slowly drained from my back, and my eyes stayed on the doorway.

What was I looking at? Even I didn't know.

Five years ago, fresh out of college, my whole world came apart.

The company went bankrupt, creditors showed up at the door, relatives avoided our family like the plague, and the old rivals my parents had made in business swarmed in all at once.

In the end, both my parents died in an accident.

I sat alone in the funeral hall.

My parents had lived their whole lives in the spotlight, but not a soul dared come to their funeral. Everyone was afraid of being tied to us.

That was when Bruce appeared.

I'd sunk to the floor before the memorial. He walked up to me and held out a hand.

"You're Rosamund Summers, right? Want to work with me?"

"Mutual convenience. What do you say?"

After that day, everyone knew that Rosamund Summers, only daughter of the Summers family, was with the self-made newcomer Bruce Butler.

Before he met me, even though Bruce had ridden the market and made real money in recent years, people still looked down on him.

To them, he was nothing but a lucky young upstart.

I needed money. He needed a ticket into high society.

We fit together perfectly.

Amid everyone's mockery, in just one year, Summers Group was back at the top of the local market, bigger than it had ever been.

And Bruce found his footing in Riverton's social circle.

And our relationship lasted all the way to today.

The bubbling from the pot in the kitchen pulled me back.

I hurried up and ran in to find the chicken soup already simmered to a rich gold.

No matter what had happened, you still had to eat.

Four dishes and a soup, two bowls of rice. I set it all on the table the way I always did.

I sat down, my gaze landing on the bowl across from me.

Today, the person it belonged to wasn't here.

I picked up my own bowl and pushed the food into my mouth, bite after bite.

I must not have cooked well today. The more I ate, the saltier it tasted.

Once I'd eaten my fill, I cleaned the dining room and kitchen until everything was spotless, then sat back down on the couch.

I called Muriel, my secretary and best friend.

"Tomorrow, find some time to take a few people over and get my big place on the West Side ready."

"I'm moving in."

Muriel Norris's voice came through with a teasing lilt.

"What's this? You two are that traditional? Can't see each other before the wedding?"

"Then just stay at a hotel. You're only there a couple of days before you move back anyway."

"That big open-plan place of yours has never even been lived in since the renovation. Packing it up..."

Before she could finish, I cut her off.

"We broke up."

On the other end, Muriel went quiet.

A moment passed before I heard her again.

"I know it was supposed to be mutual convenience, no feelings involved."

"But Rosamund, can you really let him go?"

My nose stung, and the tears came down hard.

Let him go?

How could I ever let him go?

Five years ago, the day I agreed to Bruce, I told him very plainly.

After the company went bankrupt, I'd seen through the so-called relatives and family around me, and I would never trust anyone again.

Over and over, I stressed that being with him was only about mutual convenience, that all I wanted was to get Summers Group back on its feet.

Being with him, what I wanted was his money.

But I have to admit, Bruce was a perfectly good boyfriend.

Every Valentine's Day, every anniversary, every birthday, the surprises and the gifts never once slipped.

No matter how busy work got, no matter how tight a project was, Bruce always came home to have dinner with me.

Late at night, in the quiet, the moment he saw me yawn.

Even if he was still in the middle of work, he'd close the laptop right away and coax me off to bed.

He never once brought a single bad mood from work in front of me.

With me, he was always gentle, always willing to give way.

So when he proposed six months ago, I said yes almost without hesitation.

Back then I thought.

Even if it was mutual convenience, the thing I wanted, only he could give.

But today it suddenly hit me.

The thing I wanted, only he could give. What he needed, though, was never me.

When no answer came, Muriel let out a soft sigh.

"All right. Get some rest."

"I'll bring people over in the morning to help you move."

After the call ended, I forced myself out of that memory.

After my parents died, I made a vow.

No matter what happened, I would never give grief more than five minutes.

I'd lived in this place for five years, and I had a lot of things.

By the time I'd more or less finished packing, the sky outside had gone fully bright.

I was bent over my things when footsteps reached my ears, and I thought it was Muriel.

But when I looked up, it was Bruce, who hadn't come home all night.

He was still carrying breakfast sandwiches and orange juice.

From the bag, it was the place I always loved.

Bruce set the breakfast down on the table.

"Eat first, then pack. Your stomach's bad, you need to eat properly."

I felt a little dazed.

But my time for grief was already up.

"No need. Muriel's coming to get me soon."

"She'll bring me breakfast."

Bruce drew in a deep breath.

I knew he was holding back his anger.

"Rosamund, even if we've broken up, can't we even talk to each other properly?"

"Do you have to be this prickly with me?"

I didn't even lift my head.

"Bruce, for me there's only zero or a hundred. No ninety-nine, and no one."

"Move your foot, please. You're blocking me from packing."

Bruce was about to say something more, but his phone rang just then.

"You're up? Yeah, I stepped out to get you breakfast."

"Okay, I'll be right back. Wait for me."

After the call ended, Bruce didn't say anything more in the end. He turned and left the house.

My hands paused over the things I was packing.

I looked up at the breakfast on the table.

Maybe he'd bought it for Desiree Fox, and just picked up a portion for me on the way.

Or maybe he'd bought it for me, and grabbed some for Desiree too.

After all, it was from the place I loved most.

But it didn't matter now.

Muriel arrived at the house soon after, with people to help.

Once everything was loaded into the car, I got into Muriel's passenger seat.

Muriel turned and glanced at me.

"You're just leaving like this?"

I didn't answer. I only watched the rearview mirror.

Watched the home I'd lived in for five years grow smaller and smaller.

Until it became a tiny black dot, and finally disappeared from my sight completely.

When I didn't answer, Muriel sighed.

"I already had people clean out that apartment overnight."

"Rest up for a few days. Nothing major's happening at the company right now."

I pulled my eyes back and shook my head.

"Just take me to the office. I still have some things to finish."

"I don't have that much time to mourn someone who isn't worth it."

After stopping by my own company for a file, I headed over to Bruce's.

Same as always, I walked straight into his office.

His secretarial team all knew me, so of course no one stopped me.

But when I walked in, Bruce wasn't there. There was only a woman with long hair falling loose down her back.

She was sitting in Bruce's chair, sprawled out completely at ease.

I'd never seen her before, but I knew.

She was the reason Bruce had called off our engagement.

Desiree clearly recognized me too.

After all, not just anyone could come and go freely from Bruce's office.

She stood up and walked slowly toward me.

"Bruce is in a meeting. I'm waiting for him here."

"You're Miss Summers, right? I hear you and Bruce were supposed to get married tomorrow."

"That's really too bad. Otherwise you'd be home right now, getting ready to be a bride."

I ignored her and walked straight to the couch off to the side and sat down.

When I didn't answer, Desiree wasn't the least bit rattled.

"Who's this act for? From your face, I'd say you already know who I am."

"Such a shame, Miss Summers. See, the moment I come back, your place belongs to me."

"Five years with him, and you don't even rate a chance to compete with me. How dull."

I glanced down at the time on my watch.

"Sorry, Miss Fox. I have no intention of competing with you."

"A man like that, take him if you want him. I don't care for him."

Desiree wasn't angry in the slightest. She actually laughed out loud, probably thinking I was putting on a brave front.

"Ha, I actually like your attitude, Miss Summers. Let me tell you another secret, then."

"Bruce went after you in the first place because my father looked down on him for being an upstart with no real foundation."

"Bruce told me himself. The Summers Group had gone bankrupt, you'd lost both your parents. Coming to you at that moment was his best chance to break into high society."

Seeing that I didn't move, she kept going on her own.

"See, if it weren't for me, you and he would never have even met. Everything he did, he did for me."

"You didn't actually think he'd really marry you, did you?"

"No, no, no. He only wanted to force me back into the country. He wanted to make me angry."

I lowered my eyes, and felt the last shred of reluctance I held for Bruce vanish for good.

Of course I'd always known why he got together with me back then. After all, I'd wanted something out of it too.

But I'd thought that at least when he proposed to me, he meant it.

Now I could see it was only two people using each other, nothing more.

Just then the office door was pushed open, and Bruce's delighted voice rang out.

"What are you doing here?"

There was open delight in his eyes, and he didn't bother to hide it.

Desiree stepped in at once and hooked her arm through his.

"See? You came in to the office, and I was so bored home alone, so I came to find you."

"Well? Are you surprised to see me?"

For a flicker, something like being caught crossed Bruce's face.

"Surprised. Of course I'm surprised."

I had no interest in figuring out who that delight in his voice and eyes had been for when he walked in.

None of it had anything to do with me anymore.

I stood, walked over to Bruce, and handed him a document.

It was the ten percent stake in Butler Group held in my name.

He'd transferred it to me back when it was a clean exchange, each of us getting what we needed.

Now that we were parting, I didn't want a single thread left between us.

His face went dark in an instant, and he ground the words out one at a time.

"What is this supposed to mean?"

I pushed the document toward him again.

"You know me. I'm not the type who likes to drag things out."

"You gave this to me back then. Now I'm returning it to its rightful owner. After this, there's nothing tying us together."

Bruce and I had never married. Our assets had never been tangled up in each other.

The only thing linking us was that ten percent.

He stared at me, hard enough to burn a hole through my face.

It was a long moment before I heard his voice, grinding through clenched teeth.

"Fine. Very well."

Once he agreed, I took out another document from the folder.

A share transfer agreement.

"Then sign. I'm selling the ten percent back to you at market value."

"Butler Group is riding high these days. This stake is worth a lot of money."

"You know my account number. Just have finance wire it to me."

This time, before Bruce could get a word out, Desiree's shriek cut in first.

"Rosamund! What is wrong with you? Bruce gave you that stake as a gift, and now you're turning it into cash? How dare you?"

"Summers Group makes plenty of money too, doesn't it? Do you really need this little bit? How can you be so greedy?"

"Bruce, look at this kind of woman. You've done so much for her, and she actually"

She never finished. My hand had already landed hard across her face, cutting her off.

"This was the entry fee he promised to pay me. It already belongs to me."

"He wants it back, so paying for it is only natural, isn't it? Or would you rather I sold this ten percent to another shareholder? I imagine they'd be very glad to buy it."

"And this is my stake. What I do with it isn't for you to stand here screeching about."

Bruce yanked Desiree behind him.

"Even if Desiree spoke out of turn, you had no right to hit her."

"Money, money, always money. In your mind, can everything really be measured in cash?"

Watching him move like that on instinct, something in my chest still pulled tight for no reason I could name.

"Bruce, you know how I am. For me there's only zero and one hundred."

"Love is zero now. So my career is one hundred percent."

The veins stood out on his neck.

"You're on my turf. You hit my woman."

I tilted my head slightly and leaned my face closer.

"Then hit me back."

His hands clenched into tight fists. He held there for a moment, then turned to look at Desiree.

"Desiree, go wait for me outside."

Once she was gone, he turned his gaze back to me.

"Are you really going to be this heartless?"

I pushed the transfer agreement toward him again.

"Sign it."

Bruce clenched his teeth, and in the end he signed his name on both documents.

I gathered up the copy that was mine.

"Since you're not hitting me back, I'll go."

At the door, my steps paused.

"I've already notified my guests. You handle yours yourself."

"So it doesn't cause any trouble."

When I finished, I added one line silently, to myself.

Bruce.

Goodbye.