02
I spoke coldly, my tone resolute: “Then let’s end it. There’s no need to continue.”
Sensing the tense atmosphere, his friends stood up, their faces plastered with smiles, trying to persuade us to continue.
I slowly removed my white gloves, then pulled off my veil, and turned to walk away.
Lucas abruptly stood up, shouting angrily: “With so many people here, you think you can just end it and leave? Get back here right now!”
Tessa’s eyes welled up with tears, her voice choked with sobs: “Lucas, did I make Lily angry? Lily, you’re the main character today, how can you leave first?”
Lucas gently comforted her, then yelled at me again.
“There you go again with your princess attitude. If you don’t want to get engaged, then don’t!”
I stopped in my tracks but didn’t turn around: “Fine, if that’s the case, there’s no need to force it.”
He didn’t speak again, just roughly pushed me out of the banquet hall.
The door slammed shut with a “bang,” and I heard his voice seeping through the crack, tinged with a hint of smugness and mockery: “Just wait and see, she’ll be back begging for forgiveness within five minutes.”
I stood still, turning to look at the tightly closed doors of the banquet hall.
I could imagine the looks of pity or derision on his friends‘ faces, as I was all too familiar with them.
Lucas had often mocked me in front of his friends, saying I had thrown myself at him, and that when my dad died all my assets would be bis
10:31 AM
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Although he never said it to my face, after hearing it so many times, I knew most of what was said.
Just now, his friends were staring at me like I was some kind of joke, while Tessa was still nestled in his arms.
1, the supposed star of the engagement party, had become a superfluous bystander.
What should have been a romantic scene left me feeling cold all over, shaking uncontrollably, as if I were standing in a biting wind.
My feet felt as heavy as lead, but I still walked away without looking back. Lucas didn’t come after me.
I sat alone by the river until late at night, until the cold wind triggered my migraine.
My phone vibrated, and a message from an unknown number popped up.
I opened it to find a video of Tessa in a short skirt, being held in Lucas’s arms.
He looked like an anxious father, rubbing her hands to warm them, covering her face, and muttering, “It’s okay, I’m here with you.”
But I clearly saw Tessa stick out her tongue playfully.
It was obvious that she had planned this with someone else to show me.
In the past, her numerous provocations aimed at angering me and making me give up and back off had made me break down countless times.
But now, I couldn’t find that hysterical feeling anymore. I guess once your heart dies, it can no longer be stirred.
My phone lit up again, with a series of voice messages from Lucas.
I played one of them, and his angry voice echoed along the riverbank.
“Where the hell are you? How dare you walk out with so many people waiting? Are you out of your mind?”
“Tessa’s been crying. Is this how you act as an elder? Stop being so dramatic and come back to apologize to her right now!”
I laughed bitterly. Right, as the fiancée who had thrown herself at him, how could I be worth cherishing? I only fueled his arrogance.
Just last month, he had thrown Tessa a birthday party, complete with celebrity performances and a drone show. He even forced me to go on stage and sing for her.
When I said I had a headache due to my period and didn’t want to sing, he told me to leave if I was going to be an eyesore.
Afterward, he even gave my new Chanel handbag to Tessa to cheer her up.
I scrolled through my phone contacts, and finally couldn’t resist calling my father.
“Dad, do you want to retire? Your daughter wants to come home and take care of you.”
