CHAPTER 1 The Paper Crane on the Ballroom Floor
"Throw her out."
The command echoed across the luxurious ballroom, drowning out the string quartet. Lily Parker stumbled as a security guard grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the entrance. She clutched the white pastry box against her chest, trying desperately to explain that she was only delivering the engagement cake.
Vanessa Reed, wearing a shimmering silver gown, folded her arms and looked at Lily with open disgust.
"You don't belong here. Take your little cake and leave."
Several guests laughed while reporters eagerly raised their cameras. Public humiliation always made better headlines than another billionaire engagement.
Just as the guard reached the door, a calm voice stopped everyone.
"Wait."
Ethan Sterling stepped away from the stage, ignoring his fiancée and staring instead at the delivery box in Lily's hands. Startled, Lily lost her grip. The box struck the marble floor, the lid burst open, and a small paper crane slid quietly across the polished stone.
It looked old, faded, and bent at one corner.
Most people barely noticed it.
Ethan did.
His face drained of color as he slowly picked it up with trembling hands. Hidden beneath one folded wing was a faded sentence written in childish handwriting.
If you're lonely, make a wish and send me a crane.
His breathing became uneven.
"Who folded this?"
Lily's eyes shifted to the thin white scar on Ethan's finger.
Her voice barely escaped.
"You still have that scar..."
Ethan looked at her in disbelief.
"How do you know about this?"
For a long moment neither of them spoke.
May you like
Then, almost afraid of the answer, Ethan whispered,
"I thought you were dead."
