When I found out the investor was Lincoln, I knew I was going to lose to Mia. She was Lincoln's first love—the one he could never forget. After the meeting ended, Lincoln chose Mia's proposal, just as I expected. Mia looked at me and sneered, "Even if you're his wife, in his heart, I'll always come first." "Everything you schemed so hard to get comes effortlessly to me." She and I had been rivals since our student days, ever since her mother stole my father. And she could just as easily occupy Lincoln's heart. I glanced wearily at Lincoln in the distance, suddenly unwilling to fight Mia anymore. This time, I was giving up on him. Between Lincoln and my career, I chose my career. The company's new investor caused quite a stir among the young women because he was incredibly handsome. The investor was Lincoln, my husband. The moment I learned this news, I knew my competition with Mia was already lost. In the break room, my colleagues were gossiping about the new investor. "This investor is the CEO of Zenith Group, the heir to the company—Lincoln himself." "If our team's design catches his eye, we won't have to worry about performance metrics going forward." "I bet Mia's team will get it. I heard that Lincoln's first love is Mia." "Mia and Lincoln were college classmates, each other's first love. Lincoln's investment this time is all for Mia." Hearing these words made my heart tighten. I returned to my office feeling lost. News that Lincoln was the investor had already spread throughout the company. The director called Mia and me to his office. "Jane, Mia." "The investor for our project is Lincoln from Zenith Group. You two will each lead your teams to design a proposal. Submit them in one month." The director looked at Mia with meaningful appreciation he couldn't hide. It seemed he too had heard those rumors and understood why Lincoln had chosen our company. Before I even left the office, I knew our team's design proposal would be a waste of effort. Competing against Mia, I'd likely just be there to make up the numbers. Outside the office, Mia stopped. We stood facing each other. I met her gaze. She smiled slightly. Her smile was triumphant and bold. "Jane, may the best woman win." Yet her demeanor showed absolute confidence in victory. Because she knew very well that between her and me, Lincoln would definitely choose her. Watching her walk away with her head held high, I turned and left. The design department erupted in excitement. If my team's design proposal was rejected, I'd spend the next period working under Mia, swallowing my pride and accepting all her guidance. I didn't want to humble myself under her. Before the end of the workday, everyone gathered around Mia, praising her endlessly. "Mia, you're amazing." I made eye contact with Mia through the crowd. She was surrounded, the center of attention. Compared to her, my corner seemed cold and desolate. I stood alone in the corner, no one beside me. She smiled at me, lips pressed together. I looked away, put on my coat, and walked out.
Lincoln came home. His expression was its usual cool indifference. I still couldn't help but ask. "Lincoln, you invested in our company?" Lincoln looked up at the sound. He met my eyes briefly, his expression bland, and hummed softly in acknowledgment. I continued asking, "Why did you choose our company?" I used a joking tone, "Will you give me special treatment?" Lincoln's brow furrowed slightly, his expression serious. There wasn't a trace of amusement in his eyes. After a moment's thought, he said, "This was a decision by the company's senior management." "The proposal isn't my decision alone." The implication was that even being his wife didn't matter. I didn't ask any more questions. He was always this cold and distant, following his own rules and logic, never willing to make exceptions for me. And I always humiliated myself hoping to become his exception. Lincoln turned and left, entering his study. The study door wasn't completely closed. I could hear him talking on the phone. The voice on the other end was Mia's. Lincoln occasionally laughed softly in response to Mia. After hanging up, he pushed open the study door. He walked to the entryway and grabbed his coat from the rack. Putting on his overcoat and changing into dress shoes. He straightened up and said to me, "I have a business dinner tonight. I'm going out." I nodded. Lincoln was extremely handsome, with deep-set features, a high-bridged nose, and thin lips. The dark overcoat over his perfectly fitted suit made his figure even more imposing. He disappeared through the front door. He came home very late that night. The words I wanted to ask died in my throat after seeing the post Mia shared on social media. Mia's post showed a group photo. Four people in the photo: Mia, Lincoln, and two of their college classmates. Seeing this photo, I realized I didn't need to ask that question. I wanted to ask Lincoln if he would favor Mia. I knew he would. I used to leave a light on for Lincoln when he came home late from business dinners. After turning off the light, I slept soundly. When I woke up, Lincoln and I didn't run into each other. We each went to our respective companies. Everyone in our design department fawned over Mia, orbiting around her. Everyone knew that without Mia, Lincoln wouldn't have chosen our company. My conflict with Mia was my own business. My colleagues only needed to care about their year-end bonuses and whether performance targets would be met. Today Lincoln appeared at the company as the investor. The director called Mia over. When Mia returned, everyone's eyes were on her. "Mia, is Mr. Lincoln intimidating?" Mia's lips curved slightly, her answer vague and ambiguous. "Mr. Lincoln and I have known each other for quite a while. He's not intimidating." "Everyone can relax." Several people exchanged glances and smiled knowingly. I had already clicked the link and read through Mia and Lincoln's love story once. If I weren't Lincoln's wife, I too would sigh about how beautiful young love was. Unfortunately, reading the love story between Lincoln and Mia compiled by their college alumni, I could only feel heartache. Mia still had a social media account from her college days that she hadn't deleted. It was full of posts documenting their relationship. I masochistically scrolled through all these posts. The more I read, the more I realized Lincoln had truly loved her. Lincoln would patiently read through each of her posts, then comment and like them. And it was Lincoln who had pursued Mia first. It took me a whole year to pursue Lincoln. When I learned that Lincoln's ex-girlfriend was Mia, a flash of satisfaction crossed my mind—a sense of revenge against Mia. But I quickly realized I had lost completely. That Lincoln still had his ex-girlfriend in his heart was utter humiliation to me. This let Mia gain another advantage over me.
Mia and I had been rivals since middle school. We were like fire and water, incompatible. Her mother had wormed her way into my family, and my mother became depressed and attempted suicide. I nearly lost my mother. In high school, we ended up at the same school again. She was one point short of getting into First High. My father, Jason, pulled strings to get her in. That year in high school, Mom went abroad. I stayed at the Jane house. I thought if I went too far, Mia and her mother would know when to back off. My methods weren't sophisticated—rather stupid, actually. I poured ink into their cups. I was afraid they'd actually drink it, so I used colored black ink. I just wanted to scare them, to establish my authority in front of Mia. Unexpectedly, Mia complained to Jason, whose face darkened as he scolded me with furrowed brows. I hated them but didn't dare do anything truly excessive. And everything I did only made Jason feel he'd wronged them. After high school graduation, Mia and I finally weren't at the same school. What made me completely give up on Jason was during my first winter break in college, when Jason brought Mia to a gala. He didn't deny that Mia was his daughter. He even wanted Mia to take the Jane surname. I told him that if he let Mia take the Jane surname, I would change mine to my mother's maiden name. His eyes filled with fury as he looked at me, his arm raised in midair about to strike me. But a tall figure blocked it. That person was Lincoln. After graduation, I encountered Lincoln again. I pursued him for a whole year. Just when I was about to give up, he relented. It wasn't until after marriage that I learned Mia was his ex-girlfriend. And that Lincoln had visited the Jane house as Mia's boyfriend to meet Jason. So when Jason learned I had married Lincoln, his face darkened, clutching his chest, barely able to breathe. "Did you do this on purpose?" "You knew full well that Mr. Lincoln was Mia's ex-boyfriend, yet you still married him?" I was stunned for a long while. During New Year's, I didn't want to return to the Jane house, but Lincoln insisted on taking me back. At the Jane house, Mia and I got into another conflict. We fell in the Jane house courtyard. Lincoln reacted quickly, striding forward to catch Mia. I took a fall. At the hospital, I stubbornly asked Lincoln with red eyes why he didn't catch me. He cut fruit with an indifferent expression. "I didn't see." When Lincoln left the hospital room, Mia came to see me. She smiled as she looked at me lying in the hospital bed, recounting everything about her and Lincoln in college. In her telling, it was a side of Lincoln I didn't know. My heart constricted. After I was discharged, Mia and I crossed paths again. We even ended up working at the same company. She and I competed neck and neck, neither willing to submit to the other. She wore the identity of Jason's daughter, making the director treat her with utmost respect. Now she had an additional identity—the heir's ex-girlfriend. Everyone fawned over her even more. I knew my design proposal would most likely be rejected in the end, but I still led my team working overtime, rushing to complete the design proposal.
A month later, I walked into the conference room with the proposal. Everyone was present except Mia. She arrived with Lincoln. Light fell perfectly on the two of them. Lincoln occasionally bowed his head, accommodating Mia's height to hear her speak. The man's profile was illuminated, his features sharp and defined. His eyes were dark, his smile faint. In that unintentional moment our eyes met, I wanted to read something different in his gaze. But there was nothing—still the same cool indifference. The lottery determined the presentation order. I was before Mia. I calmly took the stage and opened my PowerPoint presentation. I explained all my design concepts and inspiration. During the presentation, I was completely focused. When I stepped down, sparse applause sounded. The most enthusiastic applause came from Nora, a young woman who had been interning with me since graduation. Lincoln showed no expression. No one could read his thoughts. The director tried to gauge the meaning in his expression with sidelong glances. It was Mia's turn to present. She naturally made eye contact with Lincoln. They smiled at each other. Colleagues below exchanged glances with gossipy smiles. Nora leaned close to me and whispered, "Jane, is our team's proposal going to be rejected?" I pulled at the corners of my mouth, forcing a strained smile. After Mia's presentation ended, her applause was clearly much louder than mine. The director enthusiastically applauded her. Lincoln's lips curved slightly upward. There was a thirty-minute break midway. Recently, I'd been caught up in the rumors about Lincoln and Mia, barely able to breathe. The way he looked at me was too cold, making my heart tighten. Through office gossip, I learned more about Lincoln and Mia's past. Lincoln had actively pursued Mia. He unfailingly walked her back to her dorm and brought her breakfast. All their classmates at Preston University knew how much Lincoln loved Mia. I sat motionless in my chair. Watching Lincoln and Mia walk out side by side, my nose tingled. The man I'd schemed so hard to get held my most hated person in his heart. Only Nora and I remained in the conference room. Nora held my hand. The thirty minutes ended. The results were in. Lincoln and the Zenith Group team had already left. Our director announced the results. Three votes total. All three votes went to Mia. When the results were announced, my eyes stung, welling with tears. I forcibly held back those tears. The director and Mia exchanged glances, expressing his approval. Several colleagues surrounded Mia. "Mia, you're incredible." I left with a lonely silhouette. But Mia chased after me. "Jane." I stopped. Her eyes curved in a smile. "Even if you're his wife, in his heart I'll always come first." "Everything you schemed so hard to get comes effortlessly to me." Yes, at fourteen, Mia could easily take Jason's love for me. Now she could occupy Lincoln's heart too. In the distance, Lincoln was ushered into the elevator by the director, his posture lazy and casual. Suddenly I felt exhausted. I didn't want to fight Mia anymore. I didn't want Lincoln either. The elevator stood still. The director, very observant, quickly called out for Mia and me to enter the elevator together. The elevator slowly descended. The director kissed up to Lincoln. "Mr. Lincoln, you and Miss Mia are a perfect match. Made for each other." Others chimed in. "Exactly. I heard Mr. Lincoln and Miss Mia are already married. Mr. Lincoln really dotes on his wife, specifically choosing our company for Miss Mia." I numbly listened to these flattering words, unable to summon any reaction. Sensing a covert but burning gaze from beside me, I looked over. Lincoln's face stiffened. The director nudged my arm, hinting that I should say something too. "Jane, don't you agree? Mr. Lincoln and Miss Mia are such a perfect match." The elevator doors opened. I calmly met Lincoln's eyes. "Indeed, a perfect match." Panic flashed in his normally indifferent eyes, his thin lips parting as if to say something.
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