Less than a month after moving into the Reid estate following our engagement, my fiancé, Spencer Reid, had already shredded three of my silk nightgowns. He was devoted to his career, waiting until nearly thirty to finally commit to me, and once the seal was broken, the flood was torrential. After losing consciousness for what felt like the tenth time, I was once again kissed awake deep in the middle of the night. I pleaded with him to stop, my voice hoarse and laced with a sob. His fingertips traced the curve of my earlobe, his voice a low, gravelly sound: “Say it, Ellie. Call me yours, and I’ll let you go.” I buried my face into the pillow and whispered the word: “Yours.” A month later, I was pregnant. I was planning how to surprise him when my phone buzzed with a trending headline: R.E. CEO and Star Designer Caught in Late-Night Embrace. In the photo, he and his ex-girlfriend were locked in an intimate hug. I sat in the empty great room until dawn. Then, I requested to dissolve the engagement with the Reids. 1 “The disgrace! Spencer Reid caught in a tryst with his ex-girlfriend while neglecting his fiancée—what good is the Reid family name now!” Grandmother Reid slowly read the headline aloud. As her voice dropped, the heavy riding crop in her hand slammed down hard across Spencer’s back. Her voice thundered with rage. “Incompetent fool!” Spencer knelt perfectly straight, his expression unmoving. “I will clean up the mess.” “PR is pulling every single headline.” After he spoke, Grandmother Reid’s face turned an even deeper shade of iron-gray. “I’m not talking about the headlines!” She raised her voice. “Eleanor is pregnant! How could you have the heart to leave her alone at home?” Only then did Spencer notice me, slumped in a distant corner, his eyes flashing with a complicated mix of emotions. I was too drained to even lift my eyelids, staring mechanically at my phone screen. My fingers were stiff as I scrolled, every word of the gossip feeling like a slow, excruciating cut. I clung to a veneer of composure, maintaining a fragile peace, until a new notification popped up. Golden Couple: He Conquers the Boardroom, She Guards His Heart. My heart spasmed. I clicked the link, unable to stop myself. The photo of the two of them, a stolen shot from a passerby in the restaurant, filled the screen. Genny Bell, in a white cocktail dress, was adjusting the slightly crooked tie of a disheveled Spencer. The look they exchanged—a silent, thousand-word conversation—was painfully clear. The comment section was a frenzy of celebration: OMG, Spencer still loves Genny! Soulmates 4EVA! Right? They're the only perfect match. The fiancée is the real side chick, isn’t she? Suddenly, I felt ridiculous. That photo was six years old. Six years ago, all I wanted was to marry Spencer. I had believed that time would nurture love, but six years later, Spencer still only loved his ex-girlfriend, Genny Bell. A suffocating pain seized my chest, and I fled to the bedroom, barely breathing. I had just finished showering when Spencer pushed the door open. I silently stood by the mirror, blow-drying my hair, refusing to speak. Finally, a large hand reached out and gently took the dryer from me. Spencer skillfully worked the heat through my damp strands, a familiar gesture. After a long silence, he spoke, his voice wooden. “Are you still upset?” I didn’t answer. He continued, regardless. “I’ve had the PR team scrub the headlines. I guarantee there won’t be any more gossip.” “The position of Mrs. Spencer Reid will always be yours.” I snatched the dryer back from his hand and looked him directly in the eye. “What about Genny Bell? What are you going to do about her? Do you intend to keep this messy dynamic with her even after we’re married?” Spencer’s expression soured with impatience. “Don’t be so dramatic, alright?” The word ‘dramatic’ struck me as faintly absurd. To ask him to cleanly break ties with his former lover—that was ‘dramatic’ to him? I stayed silent. He pushed on. “The situation is handled. This is the best possible outcome for a PR nightmare. Why are you dragging your feet and making it worse?” “Besides, Genny is innocent in all this. Why do you have to be so relentless?” My eyes welled up, and my chest felt like it was being squeezed by an iron vise. I couldn’t articulate a single word. After what seemed like an eternity, I managed a fragile half-smile. I didn't argue. “Yes… you are always right.” I didn’t sleep a wink. As soon as the sky grew light, I drove straight back to the Jensen family home. The moment I saw my mother, I couldn't hold back anymore. I rushed into her arms, choking back sobs. “Mom, I want to call off the engagement.” My mother sighed softly and held me close. “Whatever you decide, your mother stands with you, Ellie.” The tense wires in my brain finally slackened. My family’s support eased the ache in my heart, just a little. I immediately drafted a notice of termination for the engagement and sent it to the Reids. When I got back, I ran into Spencer, who had come looking for me. He ceremoniously handed a gift-wrapped box to my parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, I’m here to take Eleanor home.” Thinking I might as well go back and pack my things, I spoke before my mother could. “Fine. Let’s go.” I remained silent for the entire car ride, desperate to just get to the Reid estate quickly. Halfway there, however, Spencer suddenly announced, “A business partner is back from overseas. I thought I’d take you to meet him.” I paused. Six years engaged, and he had never introduced me to his social circle. He’d never even mentioned my existence in front of them. When we reached the destination, I saw a group of people gathered in a private booth, and seated center stage was Genny Bell. I turned to him and demanded, “You didn’t say she would be here.” A flicker of awkwardness crossed his face. “Genny and the rest of them are old friends. It just worked out that way.” I scoffed silently. I was the outsider. The accessory. But since I’d already decided to end the engagement, I no longer cared to argue. I simply stated, “There’s too much cigar smoke in that room. I’m pregnant, so I shouldn’t stay long. I’ll wait for you downstairs.” I walked out of the booth before Spencer could respond. Near the elevator, I heard a conversation from around the corner: “I heard the CEO rented out the whole floor. He and his friend must be really tight.” “What friend? Reid booked the whole place because his ex-girlfriend won the Golden Spire design award today! This is her victory party. The ‘friend’ is just a side note.” Spencer really was something else. He made up an elaborate excuse just to trick me into coming. Inviting his fiancée to his ex-girlfriend’s celebration party—he truly was a special kind of monster. And those so-called ‘friends’ were nothing but dogs lining up to kiss Genny Bell’s ring. I let out a self-deprecating laugh and turned to call a ride-share. As I reached the elevator bank, Genny Bell approached, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on her face. She looked me up and down, a challenging gleam in her eye. “I just casually mentioned that I’d love to see you, and I can’t believe Spencer actually dragged you here.” “I told him not to make a huge fuss, but he insisted. You don’t mind, do you, Miss Jensen?” I glanced at her, my voice flat. “Is that right? Well, I’m not the type to cling to someone else’s fiancé like a cheap coat check ticket.” “I happen to have self-respect. I don’t do shameless things.” Genny Bell’s face fell instantly. She looked down at my slightly rounded abdomen and sneered. “Stop playing the saint! Tell me, if you lost this baby, would Spencer finally have a reason to divorce you?” No sooner had the cruel words left her mouth than she lunged forward, feigning a trip, and shoved me. I instantly grabbed her sleeve, and we both tumbled down the last few steps of the marble staircase. A violent, sickening clench seized my lower abdomen, a pain so sharp it stole my breath. Genny Bell immediately began to wail, sounding terribly wronged. “I was trying to help you down the stairs, why did you push me!” Before she finished, Spencer came barreling out. The excruciating pain in my belly was already soaking me in cold sweat, leaving me speechless. Spencer rushed past me, eyes wide with panic, and anxiously helped Genny up. Genny’s tone became even more pained. “Spencer, I just saw Eleanor was struggling with her pregnancy, so I tried to help her, but she just shoved me down the stairs!” Spencer immediately spun on me, his voice sharp with fury. “Genny is kind and honest! She isn’t someone for you to bully!” “When did you become so malicious? If anything happened to Genny, I swear I will never forgive you!” Watching him so fiercely protective of her, my heart plummeted into a pit of despair. I used the wall to slowly pull myself up, a gasping sound escaping my lips from the intense pain. I managed to speak in broken fragments. “Yes! I’m malicious, and she’s the innocent one! Then don’t marry me! Go marry her, you pathetic coward!” With that, I savagely tore the engagement ring off my finger and flung it onto the floor between them. The ring struck the marble with a single, sharp chime, and Spencer froze. He made a motion to come to me, but the woman in his arms let out a soft, whimpering cry. “Ah! My forehead hurts so bad, did I hit it?” In an instant, I vanished from his sight. He gently scooped Genny up and rushed her out to the car. I stood there, clutching my lower abdomen. A sudden gush of warmth spread between my legs. Within moments, the fabric of my dress was stained crimson. As my consciousness faded, the last thing I saw was Spencer Reid’s back, disappearing with Genny Bell in his arms. When I woke up again, I was staring at the stark white ceiling of a hospital room. My mother was sitting by my bedside. Seeing me, her eyes filled with unbearable pain. She choked out the words: “The baby… we lost the baby.” My breath hitched. After a long silence, I ran a trembling hand over my now flat abdomen. I whispered to myself, “Maybe it’s better this way. One less person to be unwanted by its own father.” Just then, I overheard the low murmur of nurses outside the door. “I saw how Spencer Reid looked at that designer, Genny Bell. They’re definitely still a thing.” “I know, right? I heard they had this incredible, dramatic romance before he got engaged. He’s been carrying a torch all these years. I mean, that’s real love, isn’t it?” I listened to their chatter, numb. My heart had long since been shredded into a thousand pieces. I stayed in the hospital for twenty days, and Spencer Reid never showed his face once. Back at the estate, I went to the safe and pulled out an old notebook. Every line documented my foolish love for Spencer, along with countless stolen pictures I’d taken of him. I had always cherished these things, guarding them with a possessive devotion. I flipped to the very last page, where I’d written a personal vow to myself: [To love someone means giving your whole heart, but if they wound you a hundred times, you must never look back!] Tears streamed down my face. Over the six years of our engagement, Spencer had given me too many heartbreaks. The first was the night of our engagement party, when he ditched me to be with Genny. The second was my birthday, which he spent on a 'business trip' with Genny. … The ninety-ninth was choosing Genny over me, which cost me our child, and he never even looked my way! I wiped the tears from my eyes, and beneath the vow to ‘never look back,’ I scrawled a determined, shaky ‘YES.’ Then, I tossed the notebook into the trash can. I pleaded with my mother: “Mom, I want to leave the country and start over.” She didn’t ask why. She simply began making the arrangements. The next morning, I returned to the Reid estate to pack and immediately bumped into Spencer. Our eyes met. Spencer’s voice was instantly cold. “You finally decided to show your face? Go apologize to Genny immediately!” I jerked my hand out of his grasp. “I did nothing wrong. Why should I apologize?” “Ellie, you…” Before he could finish, his phone rang. The name ‘Genny’ flashed on the screen. Spencer forgot all about me, answered the call, and strode away. I stood at the doorway, watching his figure disappear. I only felt a profound pity for the woman I used to be. … Spencer didn’t return until the evening. He had sent me several messages throughout the day, demanding I apologize to Genny. I hadn’t replied to a single one. He pushed the door open, his face stormy, ready to confront me. He froze. In the living room sat three people: Grandmother Reid and my parents. His expression shifted instantly, his whole body rigid. My mother was the first to speak, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. “Spencer, we have discussed it and agreed to terminate your engagement to Eleanor.” “You and Eleanor no longer have any relationship.” Spencer swayed violently, as if hit by a physical force. He managed a strained, terrifyingly artificial smile. “Mrs. Jensen, are you joking? Terminate the engagement? Just because Eleanor is having a little tantrum?” He instinctively looked at me, his eyes filled with his usual arrogance and a barely concealed hint of panic. “Ellie, stop playing games. I know I shouldn’t have taken Genny to the clinic first, but I explained—she could have been scarred. You were pregnant; you only fell…” “Only fell?” My father lunged to his feet, slamming his teacup onto the floor near Spencer’s feet. The hot tea splashed Spencer’s trousers, and the sound of porcelain shattering in the dead silence was deafening. “You selfish bastard!” My normally composed father was shaking with rage, pointing a finger directly at Spencer. “Eleanor was pushed down the stairs, she hemorrhaged, she nearly died, and where were you? You were coddling the woman who caused it over a mere scratch!”
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