3
That night, I called Eric. He answered almost instantly.
“What?” he asked, his voice lazy.
“Stop buying the trending topic,” I said softly.
He paused, his tone lifting. “Why so listless? Are you sad?”
“What do you want?” I couldn’t control it anymore, my voice cracking.
He didn’t answer.
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“Are you happy now?” I asked, my voice hoarse, my body trembling. “Watching me get doxxed, being called the other woman, seeing the Burrell Group’s stock plummet? Are you satisfied?”
How could such an unreasonable madman exist?
After a long moment, he finally spoke, his voice soft. “Don’t cry, baby. Do you want to see me? I can come over right now.”
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.
I stood on the balcony, the cool night wind drying the fresh tears on my face. I was a complete and utter joke.
Finally, I managed to force out two words: “No. Don’t.”
Eric repeated my words, his tone unreadable. “Don’t?”
“What do you mean, Sarah?” his voice turned cold.
“I don’t want to see you.” I used the last of my strength to hang up.
collapsed onto my bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. The trending topic was still there, a glaring accusation.
In the family group chat, my relatives were tagging me, their messages full of blame.
Then, a younger cousin posted: [Honestly, cousin, if you can’t keep Uncle Eric, then you should just step aside. Don’t you know how much this is affecting us?]
Once the floodgates were open, my other cousins chimed in.
Another cousin posted a face–palming emoji: [So embarrassing. Letting the other woman walk all over you. If I were you, I wouldn‘
t be able to show my face in public.]
[Uncle Eric is spending all his money on that influencer. Hasn’t he ever spent any money on you, cousin?]
【Maybe you should just let someone else have the engagement. It’s not like Uncle Eric likes you anyway.]
The chat fell silent after that last message.
I laughed bitterly. I wished I could just pass the engagement on to someone else. But my father was still in charge of the Burrell
Group, and I was his only daughter. He would never let go of this opportunity to curry favor with the Stuart family.
I muted the group chat and scrolled through my social media feed. The first post was a group photo from a young heir.
In the center… were Eric and Song Ling.
Eric had his arm around her waist, a lazy smirk on his face as he looked at the camera. His friends were on either side, raising their
glasses in a toast.
What did it look like?
Right. An official relationship announcement.
I liked the post and turned off my phone.
The comments flooded in again:
[Don’t be sad, sweetie. It’s all an act! We all know the Crown Prince loves you the most.】
[Yup, after his friend posted that, he’s been checking every minute to see if you liked it.]
[He really wants to see you. He was so sad when you rejected him tonight.]
[Sweetie, call him! Tell him you’re jealous! He’ll come running, hehe!]
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Chapter 1
I closed my eyes, numb. I banished the comments from my mind.
A
After what felt like an eternity, I sat up, my body cold, and sent a message to my lawyer: [Send the annulment agreement to me first. I’ll find a Stuartce to give it to Eric later.]
I needed a day to transfer my assets without anyone noticing. After the banquet, I would take a red–eye flight to another country. The annulment agreement would be sent in two copies, one to my father and one to Eric.
If I stayed, even if I refused to marry Eric, my life would never be peaceful. My father would just marry me off to someone else.
