chapter 2

As soon as he finished speaking, I froze in place, unable to move.

My father looked at me, his surprise turning into a heavy sigh.

Three days later was my birthday party, the same day we had secretly agreed upon for our wedding.

So, the wedding would proceed as planned, but the bride was someone else.

Elias didn't seem to notice the tense atmosphere as he took the marriage agreement. He even carefully lifted Leah, unable to hide the smile on his face.

"Thank you, Mr. Everett. Thank you, Sophia."

It took me a while to come to my senses. Since I was not interested in watching them being affectionate, I followed my father and brother back to the mansion's living room.

"Sophia, why did you stop me just now? If it weren't for you using your personal connections several times, he would have been taken down by his opponents in the remote market long ago."

Marcus ranted further, "Last time he was ambushed in the warehouse, you led the bodyguards in to save him and got your wrist cut and scarred. Now you can't even hold a pen steadily. Elias, on the other hand, has forgotten this favor as soon as he turned around!"

"You waited for him,” he continued, “pushed away the cooperation with the top companies, and missed the best opportunity to develop your own career. So why does he treat your sincerity like this?"

My brother was so angry that his chest heaved violently, wishing to immediately bring Elias over to question him.

Back when the news about Elias and me had spread, everyone strongly opposed it.

At that time, I had just received my master's degree in business from a prestigious school. I also had the resources to start my own business, and as long as I signed the deal Marcus mentioned, I could stand on my own two feet.

But for Elias, I pushed away all opportunities and waited for him to come back.

Now that he had finally made a name for himself in his career, the first thing he did was to come back to break off the engagement with me.

I smiled bitterly, glanced at the pile of love letters and cooperation invitations from the upper-class young people on the coffee table, and casually pulled out a gold card with a man's portrait on it.

"Dad, it's him. I'm marrying him."

The card featured a face that was full of wildness and a look of so much arrogance.

My brother's face changed immediately when he saw it.

"Lucas Soren?"

Without allowing me a second to respond, he exclaimed, "No way! Sophia, this kid has always been against you since childhood. He used to tease you at the private elite school, and now, in the world of investments, he's known for being flamboyant and uncontrollable in the circle. You can't control him at all!"

I listened quietly to my brother's objections without saying a word. He and father looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

After a long silence, I heard a sigh from my father.

"Fine..."

Finally, my father, who had been silent for half a day, spoke, his tone full of tenderness.

"Sophia, this time, Dad will listen to you."

I looked at my father's tired face and knew deep down that he was blaming himself for letting Elias go overseas to develop the market, which delayed me.

But more than anyone else, I knew that if Elias was really determined to marry me, no amount of temptation would make him change his mind halfway.

He just wasn't firm enough from the beginning.

At this point, there was no point in saying anything about regret.

When Elias found me downstairs in the bedroom, I was having the servants move an old box out.

He looked at the things in the box and froze.

"Sophia, you... you still kept these?"

I put down the coffee cup in my hand and glanced coldly at the box.

Inside were the handmade keychains he made for me in school, the movie tickets from our first date...

All these little things he had given me over the past eighteen years.

I never lacked expensive jewelry and luxury goods since I was a child. I had seen everything expensive.

When I was in a good mood, I could easily give those valuable things to the servants, but these inexpensive little items he gave me were carefully hidden in the back of the storage room.

I cherished them for a long time.

I thought he would always understand these intentions.

But I forgot, in his eyes, I was always the spoiled, unappreciative young lady.

"I kept them before, but now they're just in the way. I'll throw them out."

After hearing this, Elias's face turned ugly. His hand, raised in the air, froze and then dropped.

"Sophia, you're not young anymore. It's time for you to mature."

His serious lecturing tone made me unable to suppress my laughter.

After all these years, he was still the same, always thinking he had the right to control me.

I used to listen because I loved him.

But what was he to me now? Did he even have the right to meddle in my affairs?

"Elias, my dad should have arranged a hotel suite for you and Leah, right? Why are you here with me instead of being with your sweetheart?"

Elias clearly heard the sarcasm in my words. He turned his head and, after a while, took out a pen from behind him.

"Sophia, I know I've wronged you, but Lea is not like you."

Then, as though he was talking to a child, he added, "You are the young lady of the Everett family, always being pampered by everyone. Mr. Everett and Marcus protect you. But Leah is different. Her family is ordinary, and she is always ostracized in the company. It's just like my situation when I first entered the Everett family. Now, she only has me left."

"Last time,” he continued to explain, “I was cheated by my opponent in a remote market. She desperately helped me get the evidence, and I promised to marry her. A promise is a promise."

I stared at the familiar pen, and the emotions I had been holding back for a long time suddenly surged up.

It was a limited-edition pen I received on my eighteenth birthday, engraved with the initials of our names. It was the token of love I personally gave him, and I had even stuffed it into his suitcase when he left.

At that time, he took the pen, hugged me, and said that when he came back, he would use this pen to sign our marriage agreement and treat me well for a lifetime.

I suppressed the discomfort in my throat and looked up at him.

"You want to keep your promise to her, but what about your promise to me?"

Then, with an even tone, I said, "You know very well that the company Leah used to work for had engaged in unfair competition with our Everett Corporation, and I despise their methods the most. So, why do you have to bring her in front of me?"

Elias's lips moved a few times, his eyes avoiding my gaze. But there was a hint of justification in his tone when he replied, "Sophia, you don't understand. It's not easy for Leah, an ordinary girl, to struggle outside. I can't just ignore her. She can't survive like this. How can I just watch her have no way out?"

"I know I have let you down,” Elias said with an earnest tone. “It's all my fault. Tell me what it takes to have your forgiveness. I will do anything as long as you can forgive me."

I looked at his sincere look and couldn't help but smile.

What a hypocritical man, a wolf in sheep's clothing.

There were a million ways to help her, but he chose the one that hurt me the most.

On the day that should have been our wedding day, he chose to marry another woman and even got her pregnant.

"Anything?" I asked.

"Yes, anything." He nodded earnestly, a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes.

I smiled, looked into his eyes, and said, "Make Leah leave here, never to appear in front of me again. Can you do that?"