Prologue

Seventeen Years Ago - A Promise Broken

The night sky stretched endlessly above them, stars blinking softly in the quiet stillness of their small town. The distant hum of crickets filled the air, blending with the occasional rush of wind through the trees. Beneath a towering oak tree, Racheal Evans, sixteen years old, sat beside Matt Sterling, her seventeen-year-old boyfriend. Their fingers were interwoven with each other's as if they were afraid to let go.

She looked up at him, her deep brown eyes reflecting the golden glow of the streetlamp nearby. "Promise me," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind.

Matt turned to face her, his striking golden eyes locking onto hers. "Promise you what?"

"That you'll find me," she said, gripping his hand tighter. "No matter where life takes us. No matter what happens, you'll come back for me."

His brows furrowed, as if the idea of ever being apart was absurd. "Racheal, I swear," he murmured, pulling her closer. "You're the only thing that matters to me. I'll never leave you behind. Never."

The warmth of his words should have reassured her, but a knot still tightened in her chest. Their world was changing. Matt's family was leaving town, and she had no power to stop it.

She had grown up with Matt, her best friend, her first love, the boy she had trusted with every piece of her heart. But his father, a ruthless businessman, had bigger plans. New York City. Private schools. A life that didn't include the girl from the wrong side of town.

Matt's fingers brushed against her cheek, tilting her face up toward him. "Listen to me, Racheal. This isn't the end. I'll find a way back to you."

"But what if..."

"No what-ifs," he interrupted, his thumb tracing her jawline. "I'll call, I'll write. And the moment I can, I'll come back to you."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and forced a smile. "You better," she whispered.

Matt grinned, his usual confident smirk returning. "You're stuck with me, Racheal Evans. Forever."

He kissed her then, a slow, lingering kiss filled with promises too fragile to last.

But promises meant nothing to fate.

Because Matt never came back.

---

Ten Years Ago - The Letter That Never Came

Racheal sat by the window of her tiny apartment, staring at the mailbox with a painful, hollow feeling in her chest. It had been hollow for seven years since Matt had left. Seven years of silence.

At first, she had waited. Every day. Every night. She had checked the mailbox with desperate hope, expecting a letter, a message, something. But weeks had turned to months and months into years. She had called, but his numbers had changed. She had searched online. Matt Sterling, heir to a real estate empire, was thriving in New York City. But the boy she had loved was gone, replaced by someone who didn't remember the girl he left behind.

The heartbreak had been unbearable at first, like a wound that refused to heal. She had nothing. No money, no support. Just the cruel realization that she had been forgotten. So, she forced herself to move on.

She stopped waiting, stopped hoping, stopped believing in the boy who had sworn to find her. But deep inside, she never stopped hurting.

---

Present Day - The Billionaire Playboy

The glossy pages of the magazine crinkled under Racheal's tightening grip. The cover bore the image of a man she once knew, a man who had become a stranger.

MATT STERLING: BILLIONAIRE, CEO, AND NEW YORK'S MOST ELIGIBLE PLAYBOY.

Racheal's stomach twisted as she read the headline. She barely recognized him. Gone was the small-town boy who had once held her hand under the stars. In this place was a powerful, untouchable man, dressed in a tailored suit, standing beside a sleek black sports car.

His smirk was the same. But his eyes... his eyes no longer held the warmth she remembered. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to read the article.

Matt Sterling, heir to the Sterling fortune, has built an empire worth billions. The young CEO of Sterling Enterprises has become one of the most sought-after men in the world, known not just for his ruthless business strategies but also for his revolving door of high-profile romances...

Racheal stopped reading. She couldn't stomach any more.

Matt Sterling had moved on.

He hadn't come back, he hadn't searched for her. He had replaced her with a life of luxury and women who belonged in the world he now lived in. Tears burned at the edges of her eyes, but she blinked them away. She refused to cry for him, not anymore. A deep breath steadied her. She had bigger problems than an old heartbreak. Rent was due. Her job search had led to nothing but rejections. She needed to find work, and fast.

Her phone buzzed, snapping her back to reality.

Job Interview Confirmed: Sterling Enterprises.

Her heart stopped. She stared at the message, her hands trembling. Tomorrow morning, she would walk into Matt Sterling's company, looking for a job. And for the first time in years, she would see the man who had once sworn to never leave her.