Chapter 1: The Woman Who Called Me Nothing
“Cedric, don't make this harder than it needs to be. You're a mechanic. I'm a doctor. We were never going to belong in the same world.””
Naomi said those words while I was still kneeling in front of her, holding a diamond ring I had spent three months saving for.
Behind her, hundreds of people celebrated graduation.
Somewhere nearby, a father was crying as he hugged his daughter. A little girl held a bouquet almost as big as her body. Cameras flashed, champagne bottles popped, and families shouted names into the afternoon air.
I heard none of it.
All I could hear was Naomi.
Seven years of my life had just been reduced to one humiliating sentence.
I slowly closed the velvet box.
“Is that really what you think of me?”” I asked.
Naomi adjusted the blue doctoral hood resting across her shoulders.
“Cedric, please. Not here.””
“Then where? At home? The home we share?””
She looked away.
That was when I noticed the man standing behind her.
He wore a white designer suit, polished brown shoes, and a watch that probably cost more than my truck. His dark hair was perfectly styled, and he carried himself like someone who had never needed to ask permission to enter a room.
He placed a hand on Naomi's waist.
“Everything all right, baby?””
Naomi immediately smiled.
I hadn't seen that smile directed at me in months.
“Everything's fine, Xavier.””
He glanced at the ring box in my hand.
“Oh. Is this what I think it is?””
Naomi sighed.
“It's nothing.””
Nothing.
I had spent three months saving for that ring.
I had skipped lunches, accepted weekend repair jobs, and worked until my fingers were too swollen to close properly.
But apparently, it was nothing.
Xavier chuckled.
“Man, you should've asked before buying jewelry. Some women have expensive tastes.””
I stood slowly.
“Who are you?””
Xavier extended his hand.
“Xavier Mitchell. Naomi's boyfriend.””
His words landed like a hammer.
I stared at Naomi.
“Boyfriend?””
She crossed her arms.
“Cedric, don't start.””
“How long?””
“That's not your business anymore.””
“Seven years, Naomi. I think I deserve an answer.””
Xavier laughed again.
“Seven years? Damn. You really thought you had something going on?””
I ignored him.
Naomi stepped closer.
“You need to understand something. I appreciate everything you did, but I never promised to marry you.””
“You told me you loved me.””
“I cared about you.””
“That's not what you said when you asked me to sell my father's shop.””
Her expression changed.
For the first time, the confident doctoral graduate looked uncomfortable.
I continued.
“Remember that night? You were sitting on our kitchen floor crying because your research funding had disappeared. You said you would have to leave the program. You said everything you'd worked for would be wasted.””
“Cedric—”
“I sold the shop the following morning.””
The nearby conversations began fading.
I could feel people listening.
“That building was my father's entire life,” I said.
“He taught me everything there. Every wrench, every tool, every stain on that concrete floor meant something to me.””
Naomi looked at the ground.
“I didn't force you to sell it.””
“No. You just cried until I couldn't stand watching you suffer.””
Xavier adjusted his expensive watch.
“Look, buddy. Whatever happened between you two, she's moved on. Take the hint.””
I turned toward him.
“Did she tell you I paid ninety-one thousand four hundred dollars toward her education?””
His smile weakened.
Naomi's eyes flashed.
“Stop embarrassing me!””
I stared at her.
“I'm embarrassing you?””
“Yes! You're standing here acting like I owe you my life because you helped me financially.””
“I never asked you to owe me your life.””
“Then what do you want?””
I looked at the woman I had once imagined growing old beside.
“I wanted you to love me.””
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Naomi sighed impatiently.
“Cedric, you're a good man. But you're not the kind of man I want anymore.””
Not anymore.
I nodded slowly.
“Understood.””
I slipped the ring back into my pocket.
Then I turned toward the university parking lot.
I had taken only a few steps when I heard a familiar voice.
“CEDRIC WALLS!””
I stopped.
Dr. Bennett, the university's senior engineering professor, was hurrying down the steps with a thick folder tucked beneath his arm.
He was nearly seventy, with silver hair, round glasses, and a habit of speaking as though every sentence were a courtroom declaration.
“Thank goodness,” he said, catching his breath.
“I've been looking everywhere for you.””
“Dr. Bennett?””
He glanced at my face.
“Son, are you all right?””
“I'm fine.””
His eyes moved briefly toward Naomi and Xavier.
He understood enough not to ask questions.
Instead, he opened the folder.
“Do you remember the emergency braking prototype you showed me last year?””
I nodded.
I'd spent six years developing that system.
The idea had started after a commercial truck nearly collided with a school bus because its conventional braking system failed during an emergency stop.
I wanted to create a system that could detect mechanical failure before the driver lost control.
I'd worked on it in a rented garage, using secondhand equipment and parts salvaged from vehicles other people had abandoned.
“Of course,” I answered.
Dr. Bennett smiled.
“The patent review board approved your design.””
I blinked.
“What?””
“And an international automotive technology company has submitted a formal acquisition offer.””
I stared at him.
He handed me the folder.
My name was printed across the front.
CEDRIC WALLS.
CONFIDENTIAL ACQUISITION PROPOSAL.
Behind me, Xavier stepped closer.
“What company?””
Dr. Bennett didn't answer.
Instead, he placed a firm hand on my shoulder.
“Listen carefully. Do not sign anything before having your own attorney review it. This could be considerably larger than you realize.””
My fingers trembled as I opened the folder.
The first page contained a preliminary valuation.
I read the number once.
Then again.
My mouth went dry.
“Professor, is this correct?””
Dr. Bennett nodded.
“It's an opening offer. Not necessarily the final number.””
Naomi had moved closer.
“Cedric?””
I looked up.
Her expression was no longer irritated.
It was curious.
Almost frightened.
“What's happening?”” she asked.
I closed the folder.
“Nothing.””
She stared at me.
“Can we talk?””
I looked at Xavier's hand around her waist.
Then I looked at the ring box in my pocket.
“Didn't you say we're just friends?””
Naomi swallowed.
“Yes, but—”
“Then let's keep it that way.””
I walked toward my truck.
For the first time in seven years, I didn't turn around to see whether she was following me.
But as I reached the parking lot, Dr. Bennett caught my arm.
“One more thing, Cedric.””
“What?””
He lowered his voice.
“The company didn't approach us because of your patent alone. They've been researching your background for months.””
I frowned.
“What does my background have to do with anything?””
Dr. Bennett glanced at the folder.
“Because someone has been trying to find you for a very long time.””
And then he mentioned a name I hadn't heard since my father died.
*Eleanor Whitmore.*
May you like
My father's former business partner.
The woman who had disappeared from our lives twenty years earlier.
