Chapter 4

My heart plummeted. Her smile grew sweeter.

“You thought he kept your secrets?”

“Sorry, he tells me everything when he’s tucking me into bed.”

“He said you were trapped as a child, so you never sleep soundly when it rains.”

“He said you seem tough, but deep down, you’re still that little girl afraid of darkness and water.”

My ears buzzed. These words were colder than the storm itself.

Ethan and I had been together for three years.

I had shielded him from the board’s power grabs, secured overseas financing for him, and revised acquisition plans for him at four in the morning.

The night he had a stomach hemorrhage, I stayed by his side in the hospital all night.

When he was framed by Julian Vance for embezzling public funds, I found the accounting loopholes and pulled him out of the mess.

He knelt before me and said, “Aria, without you, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

“When I reclaim the Vance Group, I’ll marry you.”

I thought it was a promise, but it turned out, to him, I was just a useful tool.

Someone who would work tirelessly for a little kindness.

Tiffany tapped on the glass.

“Aria, don’t blame me.”

“I just want you to recognize your place.”

She looked up at Ethan, her voice suddenly softening.

“Ethan, you won’t blame me, will you?”

Ethan stubbed out his cigarette. “Don’t go too far.”

Tiffany immediately pouted, looking wronged.

“How am I going too far? You clearly promised me I could have fun tonight.”

“You even said the engagement was just a temporary arrangement.”

‘Temporary arrangement’ cut through my heart like a dull knife.

I looked up at Ethan. “Is she telling the truth?”

Ethan frowned. He seemed not to have expected Tiffany Blackwood to let it slip in public.

But quickly, he regained his aloof composure.

“Since you heard it, there’s no need for me to hide it.”

I was drenched, standing in the icy water, looking at him.

“So tomorrow’s engagement party is also a sham?”

He said calmly, “It’s not a sham, it’s just an engagement, not a marriage.”

“Aria, you should understand that a Vance family marriage can’t just be about love.”

“Tiffany has the Blackwood family behind her. She’s the most suitable person to stand by my side.”

My nails dug into my palms. “Then what am I?”

A hint of impatience finally flickered in Ethan’s eyes.

“Do you have to ask such unpleasant questions?”

“I haven’t treated you badly these past three years.”

“You wanted a position, I gave you Vice President.”

“You wanted respect, who in Vance Group dared not call you Miss Hayes?”

“As for marriage, I can’t give it to you, and there’s no need to deceive you for a lifetime.”

He spoke calmly, as if my three years of dedication were only worth a Vice President title.

Tiffany laughed, leaning close to him.

“Aria, you should be grateful for what you have.”

“Someone with no connections, no family name, no parents to back you up, to get as far as an engagement with Ethan, that’s already incredibly lucky for you.”

Someone nearby echoed, “Exactly.”

“If Mr. Vance really married her, where would the Vance family’s reputation be?”

“What good is being capable? High society wives are all about pedigree.”

“Aria should wake up. She’s at most a meritorious figure on Mr. Vance’s path to power. A loyal servant doesn’t become the queen.”

I looked at those who had once nodded and deferred to me in meeting rooms.

They called me Miss Hayes when they respected me.

Now, seeing Ethan not protect me, they immediately changed their tune.

A man in a grey suit, Mark, smiled and raised his phone.

“Miss Hayes, would you like me to take a picture for remembrance?”

“After all, starting tomorrow, Miss Blackwood will be standing by Mr. Vance’s side.”

“This look tonight, it’s your last time as the leading lady.”

I didn’t say anything more because the most intense wave of fear had passed.

When a person hurts to the extreme, they often become clear-headed.

I raised my hand to my right ear; my earring was still there.

It wasn't an ordinary earring.

Three months ago, when I noticed irregularities in the Vance Group’s internal accounts, I had my security team create an emergency device for me.

By pressing it three times consecutively, it would automatically pinpoint my location and send an alarm to my lawyer, assistant, and private security.

Ethan didn't know. He always thought I had entrusted all my trump cards to him.

But he forgot that someone who had climbed out of a ruin would never truly surrender their life into anyone's hands.

I lowered my head, pretending to be choked by the rain, and raised my hand to cover my ear.

Once, twice, thrice.

The earring vibrated slightly. The signal was sent.