Chapter 251

"Mr. Grant, what did you just say?"

Susan nearly dropped her coffee cup, convinced she'd misheard. But Alexander Grant repeated with solemn intensity, "Susan, marry me."

The air froze between them.

Her fingers absently traced the rim of her cup. Ten minutes ago they'd been discussing next season's design proposal. How had the conversation veered into marriage territory?

"That's not funny," she forced a weak smile.

Alexander leaned forward abruptly, his long fingers covering her hand. "I never joke."

Susan jerked back as if electrocuted. "I'm divorced. With a child..."

"I don't care."

"I'm dying." She met his gaze squarely. "The doctors give me two years at most."

His pupils contracted violently before steadying. "All the more reason to cherish every second."

Sunlight through the floor-to-ceiling windows sculpted his sharp profile. This titan of industry looked at her with impossibly tender eyes.

"Three days," he declared suddenly. "Give me three days to prove myself."

Before she could refuse, Alexander stood and left, his posture straight as a pine.

The glass door swung behind him as Susan pressed a hand to her constricted chest. Reason screamed for immediate rejection—until she thought of Daniel...

Her phone vibrated, shattering the moment. The screen exploded with 99+ notifications. Twitter's trending hashtag blared: #MostBeautifulDiaoChanSusan.

The video froze her in place. Moonlight illuminated a girl on a swing turning with a smile that detonated the comment section:

"Is this a goddess descending?"

"Who said Susan was ugly? Eat your words!"

"Mom, I'm in love!"

Half an hour. That's all it took to gain a million new followers. Hate accounts scrubbed their insults and vanished.

Susan switched off her phone with a bitter laugh. The irony wasn't lost on her—just as she'd resolved to walk alone toward the end, her career skyrocketed. Even Alexander...

Dew still glistened on the roses he'd left, blazing like sunlight piercing her barren existence.