Chapter 12 Five years later. Mistvale had once been a forgotten town, remote and underdeveloped. But three years earlier, a field of wildflowers had gone viral online, transforming the sleepy place into a tourist destination. The explosion in popularity brought not only rapid economic growth but also a massive influx of visitors. Even the small, previously overlooked flower shop became a hub of constant activity, "Miss, could I get a bouquet of sunflowers?" Inside, a woman with blonde hair loosely tied back, soft curls spilling around her shoulders, didn't pause in her work. "Of course, just a moment." By the time the last customer left at dusk, she finally had a chance to rest. Stretching her stiff back, she winced at the lingering ache in her waist and let out a long sigh, gazing through the shop window at the fading light. The sunset painted the sky in brilliant shades of orange and red. The early summer air remained pleasantly cool. A pair of warm hands settled on her waist, the heat penetrating her thin shirt and significantly easing the soreness. "Sloane, you really don't have to work yourself so hard," Elias Wynn said softly as he massaged her waist, his voice clear and gentle, laced with unmistakable concern. Sloane knew what he implied, but she shook her head without hesitation. "I prefer it this way," she stated. The days were tiring, yes, but they were hers-filled with freedom and choice. She had her own income, her own passions. No longer did her life revolve around someone else. The woman was Sloane Quinn. Five years earlier, when she walked out of the Shaw Estate, she took nothing but a few changes of clothes and her ID. Not a single thing that belonged to them. Her departure had been clean, almost ruthless, but beneath it, deeply humiliating. She had little money, just enough to buy a bus ticket out. Sloane had never truly belonged anywhere. No parents, no friends. Long ago, she had lived with her grandmother, but even those memories had faded. She could only faintly recall a kind old woman, humming lullabies on quiet moonlit nights. "On the high green hills, the daylilies bloom. Pick one, give it to me, my little girl. Tuck it into your hair, Chapter 12 7.89% hold it close to my heart. I'll watch you grow, until the day I see you as a bride..." But her grandmother hadn't lived to see her grow up. Illness took her one night, leaving Sloane too young to fend for herself. With no parents to claim her, she was sent to an orphanage. Two years later, Harold Shaw brought her into his household, telling her she was to be Julian's future bride. "Julian is sick," he had said. "From now on, you'll take care of him." She had been too young to understand, only able to nod. From then on, she became Julian's shadow. Wherever he went, she followed. When she was old enough, she walked into the clerk's office with him and signed the marriage papers. No wedding, no family or friends, only a certificate and his growing contempt. Sloane had lived twenty-five years. For twenty of those years, there had been only one central presence in her life: Julian Shaw. If asked whether she had ever loved him, even she couldn't provide an answer. She had known since childhood that she was destined to marry him. Their union was never founded on love. his need for her. what love meant. All she knew was to give, blindly, completely, hoping someday e didn't, well, she had already been given more than she'd dared dream, simply by p in the Shaw family. But when he no longer needed her, the chance to leave finally came. And she took it. From that moment on, the sky was vast enough for any bird to fly; the ocean was wide enough for any fish to leap. Chapter 12 7.89% Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!