He Gave My Heirloom To His First Love

“Don’t cry, Tessa.”

Tessa Guzman tipped her chin up in defiance, tears brimming but refusing to fall—fragile as crystal on the verge of shattering. It stirred something fiercely protective in Rafael Holmes. The sight of her like that tugged hard at his heart. He couldn’t let her down. Not now. Not ever.

Brushing the tears from the corners of her eyes, Rafael soothed her patiently. “I’ll call Charles right now.”

Charles picked up almost immediately. Assuming Rafael was calling about Alora Moore’s recent audition for Deep Sea Siren, he answered cheerfully. “Rafael, why are you keeping a star hidden?”

“You don’t have to worry. Your…” He was about to assure Rafael that he’d keep an eye on Alora, recognizing her remarkable talent. But before he could finish, Rafael cut him off. “Tessa wants to voice the Deep Sea Siren.”

“What?”

Charles froze, caught completely off guard. When he recovered, he said quickly, “The voice for the Deep Sea Siren has already been cast. It’s Alora.”

“Alora’s voice and performance are perfect for the Deep Sea Siren. I can’t just replace her.”

Alora…

At the sound of her name, Rafael’s mind drifted back to the suite last night. She’d looked so defeated, blood on her forehead. Were her injuries still hurting her? He remembered her eyes—so full of disappointment and sadness she couldn’t hide—and his chest twisted painfully.

But Tessa might not have much time left. He hardened his resolve. “Tessa will be the voice actor for the Deep Sea Siren.”

“Rafael, you—”

Charles started to argue, but Rafael added, “I’ll invest an additional ten million.”

Charles shut up fast.

He’d listened to Tessa’s voice samples. She was talented, sure, but her vocal depth and range didn’t quite match Alora’s. He hated compromising. Yet animated films cost a fortune, and an offer like that was hard to turn down.

“Fine. I’ll go with Tessa.”

Charles usually stayed out of personal business, but Alora’s audition had been outstanding. He valued talent—genuinely—and couldn’t help saying, “Rafael, I already finalized everything with Alora this morning. Switching to Tessa is going to make her feel cheated.”

“She’s your girlfriend, after all. Honestly? This feels unfair to her.”

Rafael didn’t answer right away. He knew how much Alora had loved voice acting long before they were together. She used to watch the Rebirth animation with him, going on and on about how captivating and incredible the Deep Sea Siren was. She’d been thrilled at the chance to voice that character in an animated film.

And now that chance was within her reach… The thought of her pain, of her crying if she lost it, made his chest tighten until he could barely breathe.

But he couldn’t change his mind.

“This is what Tessa wants.”

After a long pause, he said with finality, “I don’t want Tessa to have any regrets.”

“Alora’s only twenty-two. She’ll have plenty of chances to voice the characters she loves. But if Tessa misses this one, it’ll be a permanent regret.”

On the other end of the line, Charles’s brows furrowed deeply.

He strongly disagreed with what Rafael was doing. “But Rafael, you’re taking a role that rightfully belonged to Alora and handing it to Tessa.”

“Aren’t you worried you’re going to make Alora angry?”

“That she might hold a grudge? Pull away from you?”

“Once someone’s heart goes cold, it doesn’t warm up again easily. Rafael, aren’t you afraid Alora might leave you one day?”

Alora leaving him…

His heart wrenched at the thought, an uneasy feeling crawling under his skin. He instinctively rejected the idea. Alora would never leave him.

As Charles kept pushing, Rafael cut him off sharply. “Alora won’t leave me.”

“She has no family. No friends. I’m all she has. How could she possibly leave me?”

Rafael didn’t like what Charles was implying. He hung up without another word.

Charles stared at the darkening screen and let out a helpless sigh.

Everyone in their circle said Alora was blindly devoted to Rafael—more loyal than the most faithful pet—and that she’d never leave him.

But hearts change. Nothing in this world stays the same forever.

He had a feeling his friend would regret this one day.

---

Charles’s assistant told Alora to come to the conference room to sign the contract. After lunch, with time to kill before the appointment, Alora sat in the hallway and scrolled through her phone.

She came across a post from Tessa—one that was visible only to her.

“If I want it, it’s mine. Hello, Deep Sea Siren.”

The photo showed two hands intertwined, with an image of the Deep Sea Siren beside them. The woman’s hand was unmistakably Tessa’s, wearing a custom diamond ring Rafael had once ordered for Alora. The man’s hand—elegant, long-fingered—wore the matching ring. She recognized it as Rafael’s.

She and Rafael had already broken up. So no matter how much Tessa flaunted their relationship, it shouldn’t have mattered. But paired with the Deep Sea Siren image, the post sent a clear message: Tessa was claiming the role.

Charles had just finalized the role with her. So why was Tessa posting this?

“Miss Alora, I’m sorry.”

The assistant’s voice cut through her confusion.

His face was flushed with embarrassment. “I just got word that we won’t be able to sign the contract with you.”

“The Deep Sea Siren role has been reassigned. It was an investor decision.”

The investor, obviously, was Rafael.

“It’s okay.”

Alora knew it wasn’t the assistant’s fault. She tried to force a polite smile, but her heart ached, full of frustration and resentment. She couldn’t make herself smile.

The assistant saw the sadness and disappointment in her eyes.

He’d also heard that the investor who pushed Alora aside was supposedly her boyfriend.

What kind of boyfriend didn’t support his own girlfriend? Instead, he was helping someone else. It was baffling.

“I’ll get going. I hope we can work together another time.”

Alora’s eyes welled up. Not wanting to break down in front of him, she turned quickly and headed for the elevator.

Of course, fate had other plans. When she reached the ground-floor lobby, she ran straight into Rafael and Tessa.

Tessa clung playfully to Rafael’s arm. “Rafael, thank you for letting me voice the Deep Sea Siren. You’re so good to me. I’ll be good to you, too.”

“Hmm.” Rafael’s response was noncommittal, his gaze dark and unreadable.

It was obvious he was there to accompany Tessa to sign the contract.

Tessa snuggled closer, and he naturally laced his fingers through hers—just as Alora stepped out of the elevator.