Eight years into our marathon of love, Ava Harrison said she was finally ready to announce our engagement to the world! Overjoyed, I called my mother, telling her to come to the city for our engagement party. To ensure she wouldn't be looked down upon by my future in-laws, my mother took out all her savings to buy an exquisite, custom-tailored silk dress and got ready with the utmost care. But when the moment of the announcement arrived, Ava stood on the banquet stage, her arm intimately linked with her male assistant, Ryan. "Tonight, besides celebrating a major new project for the company, I have another wonderful piece of news to share," she announced, her voice ringing through the hall. "I have decided to marry... Ryan!" As her words fell, every head in the room turned to me. Their eyes were filled with mockery, pity, and contempt. My mother, confused, stood up and asked, "Marcus, didn't you say tonight was your engagement party with Ava?" I looked at Ava, hoping for an explanation from her own lips. But in the next second, her voice cut through the air, cold and sharp. "A country bumpkin thinking he can marry a princess. Utterly ridiculous." 1 After she spoke, Ava didn’t spare me another glance. She and Ryan descended from the stage, mingling warmly with the guests who were now laughing at my mother and me for not knowing our place. I was left standing there, paralyzed by grief, while my mother began to blame herself. "Son, is it our fault? Did we hold you back? Is it because of your humble beginnings that they look down on you?" I wanted to comfort her immediately, to tell her no, that even though we came from the countryside, we had built our own wealth with our own two hands and were no less than any of them. But suddenly, my mother clutched her chest and crumpled to the ground, her face so pale it trembled. As she fell, she accidentally bumped into a woman in a tight black dress standing behind her. It was Ryan’s sister, Chloe. "Hey! You old hag! How dare you bump into me and spill wine all over me!" Chloe’s face was a thundercloud. When she looked down at my mother, her voice was pure venom. "Oh, it's you, the pathetic pauper!" "What, your son isn't good enough to marry my sister-in-law, so now you're playing dirty behind her back?" "Do you have any idea how expensive this dress is? It was custom-made for me by Ava herself! You've ruined it! You're going to pay for this!" Before I could stop her, Chloe slapped my mother across the face. "Chloe, stop it!" "I'll pay for the dress, but my mother didn't do it on purpose. You apologize to her." The commotion we were making was loud enough to attract Ava's attention from across the room. She stormed over with security guards in tow, her face dark. Without even asking what had happened, she began to yell at me. "Marcus, must you ruin everything for me?" "This was supposed to be a perfect evening, and you've completely destroyed it!" In her rage, Ava threw the contents of her wine glass in my face. Seeing this, my mother’s self-blame only intensified. She tried to stand up to apologize for me, but the pain in her stomach was so severe she couldn't even speak. "Ava," Chloe whined, "it was his mother! She threw wine on me on purpose and said my brother stole you from him!" Hearing Chloe's blatant lies, my anger boiled over. "You're lying—" "Apologize!" Ava roared, cutting me off. We had done nothing wrong. We would not apologize. Right now, my only concern was my mother. I knew her chronic stomach condition was flaring up; I had to get her to a hospital. Seeing that my mother had no intention of apologizing, Ava's fury reached its peak. She ordered the security guards to seize me, trying to force my mother to apologize to Chloe. "Marcus, make your mother apologize to Chloe right now! Everyone is watching!" "Are you determined to humiliate me?" "Ava, my mother's stomach condition is acting up! Tell them to let go of me! I need to take her to the hospital!" Ryan sauntered over, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, what a coincidence. No stomach problems before, no stomach problems after, but the moment she's asked to apologize to Chloe, she suddenly has a flare-up. You must think we're idiots." "So that's it! You're just trying to make a scene!" I started to explain, but Chloe interrupted me. "Since she won't apologize, let's just give her a taste of her own medicine." She suddenly produced a pair of scissors and started walking towards my mother. I struggled frantically, terrified, but I couldn't break free from the guards' grip. 2 SNIP! Chloe snipped at the silk of my mother's dress, tearing at the fabric with her hands. "Ava, make her stop!" This humiliation was worse than death for my mother. She cried and struggled, but she was in too much pain to even resist. In that moment, I felt a profound despair. I had wanted her to come here and celebrate, to be happy. I never imagined she would be subjected to such casual, brutal cruelty. Ava Harrison, I was so wrong about you. A crowd was gathering, but Ava just watched, unmoved. She even leaned back into Ryan’s arms, ignoring my desperate calls. My mother, overwhelmed with shame, gave me one last, deep look, and then the pain became too much, and she fainted. Perhaps sensing the icy chill that emanated from me, Ava finally pulled away from Ryan. She glanced down at my unconscious mother and told Chloe to stop. I kicked the guards away and rushed to my mother's side. I touched her face, my hands trembling with fear, terrified that something was terribly wrong. I scooped her into my arms and ran. Ava chased after me, blocking my path. "Marcus, I had my reasons for what happened tonight." "Take Mom home first. I'll come back later and explain everything." As Ava turned to leave, I called out to her. "Ava, I don't care what your reasons are. My mother has fainted. We don't have a car. You need to drive us to the hospital. Now." All I wanted was for my mother to be safe. Nothing else mattered. Ava seemed about to agree, but Ryan walked over and wrapped his arms around her. "Ava, don't go," he pleaded. "Don't leave me to face all these guests alone." Ryan's plea was all it took. Ava chose to stay. No matter how much I begged, she turned and walked away. Since she was so cold, so indifferent, I stopped begging. I carried my mother out into the night. We were on a hillside, and it was hard to find a taxi. By the time I finally flagged one down and we reached the hospital, my mother had stopped breathing. The doctor said she was brought in too late. If we had arrived just a little earlier, they could have saved her. That night, I held my mother's body and cried until dawn. Looking at the regret etched on her peaceful face, my own guilt was a crushing weight. I know you can’t turn back time, but I wished with all my soul that I could. Just then, Ryan updated his social media. It was a picture of him and Ava, exchanging engagement rings, locked in a passionate kiss. "I finally get to marry the most beautiful and wonderful woman in the world!" I saw that Ava had liked the post, giving her silent approval. My heart turned to ash. I took the matching ring she had given me years ago and threw it out the window. Then, I left a comment under Ryan's post: "Wishing you a happy marriage and a long life together." After that, I turned off my phone. I handled my mother’s funeral arrangements alone, then took her ashes back to our hometown to be buried. Once everything was settled, I returned to the city. There were still loose ends to tie up. When I turned my phone back on, I saw hundreds of missed calls from Ava. My messaging apps were flooded with her texts. I deleted them all. The moment I was done, Ava's call came through. 3 "You finally turned your phone on! I was starting to think you were dead!" Even through the phone, I could feel Ava's nervous excitement, and beneath it, a hint of relief. When I didn't speak, she softened her tone. "My engagement to Ryan… it was because he helped me land a huge project. His only condition was that I agree to an engagement." "Don't worry! It's just an engagement. We're not actually getting married." "So you don't need to be angry anymore. You're such a jealous one." I gripped my phone so tightly the veins on the back of my hand bulged. That project—I was the one who had secured it. The client had insisted on a drinking contest with hard liquor. I drank with them until my stomach felt like it was bleeding, but I got the contract signed. While I was recovering in the hospital, Ryan had swooped in and claimed the project as his own. I never had a chance to set the record straight because Ava had announced she was going public with our engagement, and in the excitement, I’d forgotten all about it. What infuriated me even more was that if she had agreed to Ryan's demand, why didn't she tell me sooner? I never would have brought my mother to that party. Now, after my mother's death, I'd had a few days to think. A lot of things had become painfully clear. "Ava, it doesn't matter. Even if you do marry him, I have no objections." Ava's voice immediately rose, her tone sharp. "Marcus, don't push your luck. I'm not playing these games." "And stop with the sarcasm. If you don't, I might just make this engagement real, and you'll regret it for the rest of your life." Regret? I laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. The biggest regret of my life was ever being with you. It cost my mother her life. "Fine. I'll support you completely. I won't stand in your way." "And now, I'm breaking up with you." Ava was stunned into silence. This was the first time since we’d met that I had spoken to her with such coldness, the first time I had ever suggested breaking up. Suddenly, Ryan's voice, smug and close, came through the phone. "Ava, can you bring me my underwear from the bed? I'm completely naked over here." "You don't expect me to walk out like this, do you?" I had already guessed they were living together. This casual, intimate request only confirmed it. I could hear Ava walking over, the rustle of fabric, and then Ryan's playful voice again. "Why don't you help me put them on, Ms. Harrison?" Ava agreed without a moment's hesitation. Then, her voice turned cold as she spoke into the phone. "Marcus, you want to break up? Fine. I'll grant you that wish." "But you remember this. When you come crawling back, full of regret, I won't take you back—" I hung up before she could finish. I didn't need to guess what they would do next. But for the first time, I felt no pain, no heartbreak. Ava never returned to the home she once claimed was her sanctuary. She used to be so clingy. When I cooked, she would wrap her arms around my waist from behind and wait for her meal. Now, when I looked at the kitchen, all I saw was a cold, empty space. The laughter and joy that once filled it were gone, vanished without a trace. Ava, I'm giving up on you. I rolled up my sleeves and began to purge every trace of her from my life. When I was done, I took a shower and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. The next day at the office, my colleagues looked at me strangely. 4 "Director Cole, you're finally back!" "You're still calling him Director? Be careful Director Pierce doesn't hear you. He'll have you fired. Didn't he warn us?" "Marcus's just Ryan's assistant now. You should get his title right." Hearing these whispers, I realized that Ava, for Ryan's sake, had demoted me without my consent. She had given Ryan my position and made me his assistant. A rage unlike any I had ever felt before surged through me. I stormed into the conference room where Ava was leading a meeting. I dragged her out into the hallway. "What is the meaning of this?" Ava bit her lip and pulled her hand away, unable to meet my eyes. "I just think Ryan is a better fit for the position." I laughed, a strangled, incredulous sound. From the day this company started, I had worked like a dog for her, tirelessly building the business. Where was Ryan then? He was nothing but a useless parasite who relied on women to get ahead. And now she wanted me to be an assistant to that waste of space? Was he even worthy? If it hadn't been for her, I would have accepted a high-paying position at a major corporation years ago. But I turned it down to help her build her dream. And for what? So Ryan could reap the rewards. "Come on, it's not so bad being Ryan's assistant." "How about this? When things slow down, I'll go back to our hometown with you to see Mom. I'll apologize to her." I stared at her as she prattled on, and the woman before me became more and more of a stranger. The love I once felt for her scattered like stardust, gone forever. "Ava, my mother is not fortunate enough to receive a visit from you." "And when I said I was breaking up with you that night, I meant it. And my resignation, right now, is also real." Ava froze, then her brow furrowed in annoyance. "Marcus, how long are you going to keep this up?" "I'm not keeping anything up. I've just seen things more clearly. Isn't it better for me to get out of your way?" Ava's face flushed with anger. Just as she was about to speak, Ryan walked out. "You can't leave yet. The project is secured, but someone still needs to manage it." "If you walk out, I'll fire every single employee who came up with you." "I'm sure you wouldn't want to see them all unemployed, would you?" I narrowed my eyes, my gaze sharp and dangerous as I looked at Ryan. "And you? Do you agree with this?" I said, my words directed at Ava. She didn't speak. Her silence was a clear endorsement of his threat. In that second, my heart turned completely to ash. For the sake of my colleagues, I swallowed my pride and stayed. Seeing me relent, Ava smiled, relieved. "That's better. Just work hard under Ryan. When he gets promoted to manager, I'll give you your director position back." "Come on, don't be angry. I've already had a designer create a new custom dress for Mom. I'll give it to her myself." After that, Ryan treated me like a dog. One moment he was demanding coffee, the next he was forcing me to give him a massage. When Chloe came to visit, she would join in, ordering me around as well. I kept telling myself to stay calm, not to be impulsive. Because I was secretly contacting the company that had tried to recruit me years ago. I recommended all my former colleagues to them. If Ava didn't appreciate their talent, I would find them a better stage on which to shine. The other company, recognizing their skills, agreed without hesitation. After I had arranged everything, I received a video call from Ryan. The moment I answered, the sound of grotesque, labored breathing filled my ears. On the screen, Ava had shed her usual icy demeanor. She was writhing beneath Ryan, lost in a shameless act of passion. Strangely, I felt no anger. Looking at her, I felt only a profound sense of calm. It was as if she were a complete stranger. Ryan had sent this to provoke me, to make me lose control and cause a scene, to make Ava hate me even more. But he miscalculated. At that very moment, I was sitting in an airport lounge, about to embark on a journey I had long dreamed of. I blocked and deleted all of Ava's contact information. By the time Ava and Ryan returned to the office, her new assistant, Chloe, ran up to her. "This is bad, Ava! Marcus and all his people just quit! They didn't even take their final paychecks!" "And the client for the new project is here. He's saying he'll only continue to cooperate if Marcus is managing the project."
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