nged in an old movie. I hesitated for just a second-I barely knew this man, didn't even

d nothing-our least favorite things about events like this, the best restaurants in the city, and whether the auction item

date planned for the following weekend. And I hadn't fel

er than threatening. He had plans for his future-for our future, he would say, even in those early days, making my heart skip with the implicat

me to his favorite restaurants and remembered which dishes I liked best. We spent weekends at his family's lake house, talking about o

o take my hand. "Think about it. Your strategic mind, your people skills-you're exactly what we need to take Morretti Development to the next level." But it was never

aurants. The way he'd introduce me to his business associates as "my girlfriend, Lila" without mentioning what I did or acknowledging my

d this successful, handsome man who claimed to love me

such a

posed, and eve

down on one knee by the rose garden with a stunning three-carat diamond ring, and told me I was the only woman

lled our parents, after the initial euphoria had faded just slightl

proposal, when he took my hands across the table. His express

nking about this for a while, Lila. You're brilliant. Your skills in client relations and strategic partnerships are exactly what Morretti Dev

wa