Chapter 5

Emma Lang POV:

Chicago was a welcome embrace. The familiar chill in the air, the towering skyscrapers, the comforting echoes of my childhood – it all felt like coming home in the truest sense. I poured myself into my family's affairs, focusing on the Herrera Hospitality Group, the sprawling empire my father had been urging me to join. It was a whirlwind of meetings, proposals, and learning the ropes. I reveled in the structure, the challenge, the sheer volume of work that left no room for lingering thoughts of Austin or Collin.

Two weeks later, a text message popped up on my old phone number, the one I hadn' t deleted yet. It was from Collin.

"So, the silence act? Still trying to make me chase you? It's getting old, Emma. Just tell me what you want. I'm willing to talk. Unless you're too busy crying into your dad's money now."

I stared at the words, feeling nothing. No anger, no sadness. Just a faint, distant amusement. He still thought this was a game, a power play. He still couldn't fathom that I had moved on, truly moved on.

I typed out a reply. "No need to talk, Collin. I'm engaged."

His reply was instantaneous. "Engaged? Don't be ridiculous. Who would even marry you after... after everything? You're playing games. Trying to make me jealous. It won't work, Emma. You know you still want me."

I didn't bother to respond. His arrogance was boundless. He truly believed he was irreplaceable, that I was incapable of finding happiness without him. What a fool.

I thought about all the years I'd spent trying to earn his love, his respect. How I'd twisted myself into knots, sacrificing my own dreams, my own identity, for a man who saw me as nothing more than a convenient accessory. The self-loathing that used to accompany these thoughts was gone, replaced by a quiet, fierce resolve. Never again.

I scrolled through my contacts, found Collin' s number, and pressed "Block." Then I deleted the entire conversation. It felt like severing the last thread of a suffocating rope.

Then I typed one last message to his old number, knowing it wouldn't go through, but it felt right. "I'm engaged, Collin. And I'm finally happy."

I was engaged. Truly. Dawson Herrera. The powerful, brilliant, and notoriously ruthless food critic and investor. The heir to the Herrera Hospitality Group. My father's old friend and admirer. My fiancé.

Dawson Herrera had always been a figure of quiet authority, even in my childhood. He was a few years older than me, already a prodigy in the culinary world when I was still dreaming of my first pastry shop. He moved with an effortless grace, his dark eyes missing nothing. I remembered him mostly from family dinners, a polite, distant presence. I had always admired him, from afar. He was the kind of man I thought was out of my league, utterly unattainable.

When my father first proposed the "business engagement" a few weeks ago, I had been stunned. "Dawson?" I'd asked, my voice barely a whisper. "He'd never agree to something like that." He was too powerful, too focused on his empire.

But he had agreed. Without hesitation.

The engagement had been a quiet affair, a small gathering of our families at the Herrera family estate. There were no flashing cameras, no social media announcements. Just a simple exchange of rings, a handshake between our fathers, and a silent, solemn understanding between Dawson and me.

He had given me a bouquet of white orchids, my favorite. Collin had never remembered that. He always brought red roses, Frankie's favorite.

Then, Dawson had knelt. Not in an overly dramatic way, but with a quiet dignity. "Emma," he said, his voice deep and steady. "This may be a business arrangement, but I promise you this: I will always respect you. I will be loyal. And I will protect you from anything and anyone who seeks to harm you. You will never be alone again." His eyes, usually so guarded, held a surprising depth of sincerity.

I felt a strange sense of peace settle over me. It wasn't love, not in the passionate, all-consuming way I'd once chased with Collin. But it was something far more solid, far more comforting. It was safety. It was respect. It was a promise of partnership, not possession. "Yes," I whispered, the word feeling both foreign and utterly right.

Later that evening, I FaceTimed my best friend, Chloe. "You will not believe what just happened," I said, my voice still a little breathless.

Chloe, ever the drama queen, gasped. "Tell me everything! Did you finally get that promotion? Did you accidentally run into Collin and punch him?" She paused, her eyes widening. "Wait. You said 'engaged.' No way! Who? Spill!"