Chapter 7
Two more years passed, and I was back at New York headquarters as a senior executive-a massive leap in
my career.
All those years of challenges had shaped me into someone I barely recognized.
I’d completely transformed.
Back at headquarters, my old colleagues didn’t recognize me at first. They were all nervous energy and formal greetings: “Good morning, Ms. Carter.”
I smiled slightly.
Ms. Carter? I liked the sound of that.
“Just Emily is fine,” I replied calmly.
During a board meeting, I was surprised to see Daniel there too.
He looked more mature, weathered, but still carried himself well.
Our eyes met across the conference table. He clearly did a double-take, then his expression got complicated.
After the meeting, he was waiting by the door.
‘Emily, congratulations.” His voice was genuine, tinged with something that might have been regret.
I nodded. “Thanks.”
We walked down the hallway side by side, almost like old times. But everything had changed.
‘I’ve been waiting for you to come back,” Daniel said quietly. “I haven’t gone a single day without regretting what happened.”
I stopped walking and looked at him. “Daniel, that’s all in the past.”
‘It’s not!” His composure cracked. “I’ve tried moving on. I can’t. Emily, can we start over? Please?”
I saw the pain and desperation in his eyes, and felt… nothing but peace.
‘Daniel, do you know why I made it this far?”
He shook his head.
Chapter 7
“Because of that joke.”
I smiled. “I should thank Sophie for that prank. It forced me out of my comfort zone and showed me I could build an amazing life on my own.”
“You taught me once that work comes first, not love. Remember?”
Daniel stood frozen, a dozen emotions flickering across his face.
Finally, he let out a bitter laugh and nodded. “Yeah, I said that. I just never thought you’d be such a good
student.”
Three months later, the company held its annual gala.
As a new executive, I had to give a speech.
The auditorium was packed. I spotted familiar faces in the crowd, including Daniel.
When I finished, the applause was thunderous.
I smiled and thanked everyone, scanning the audience until my gaze landed on a young woman in the front
row.
She was looking at me with pure admiration and hunger-the same way I’d looked at successful women when I first started out.
At the reception afterward, she worked up the courage to approach me.
‘Ms. Carter, I’m one of the new interns. Could I ask you something?”
I nodded and smiled. “Of course.”
‘What do you think is the biggest challenge for women in corporate America?”
I considered the question, glancing across the room where Daniel was networking with some clients.
“The biggest challenge is not building your entire life around some man.”
The girl nodded like she was trying to understand.
Daniel must have felt me watching because he turned our way.
I raised my glass to him, then said to the intern:
“Remember this-your worth isn’t defined by anyone else. Not even the people you trust most. They don’t get to decide your future.”
Her eyes lit up as she nodded eagerly. “Thank you! I’ll remember that!”
Daniel started walking toward us, but his phone rang. Whatever he heard made his face go white, and he
rushed out of the building.
I found out the next day that the call was from a hospital-Sophie had attempted suicide.
Apparently she’d been struggling for years, repeatedly asking Daniel for help, and he’d turned her down every time.
A week later, I got copied on Daniel’s resignation letter.
He was leaving the company to start his own business in Los Angeles.
Before he left, he stopped by my office.
‘I’m leaving,” he said simply. “Going to LA.”
I was surprised. “Why the sudden career change?”
‘That phone call made me realize some things,” Daniel said with a rueful smile. “I thought the only person
I’d wronged was you. But I screwed Sophie over too.”
‘She’s where she is partly because of me. But I can’t keep trying to fix it the wrong way.”
He looked at me directly, his eyes clearer than I’d seen them in years. “Emily, you taught me something mportant: everyone has to own their choices. Sophie and I-I need to handle that situation properly.”
I nodded. “Good luck with everything.”
Daniel reached the door, then turned back. “Emily, I have to ask one last time… we could never…”
‘Daniel,” I said gently, interrupting him. “Remember what you used to tell me?”
‘The worst thing you can do in life is look backward.”
He paused, then actually smiled-a real one this time. “Yeah. I did say that.”
He turned and left.
I walked to my window and watched his car pull out of the parking garage, getting smaller and smaller until it disappeared.
My phone buzzed with a meeting reminder for the new project kickoff.
I grabbed my laptop and headed to the conference room.
Outside, the sun was shining.
