Chapter 3

Taking the bouquet of flowers Brandon handed me, I let him lean down, lift the hem of my shirt, and stick a heated pad onto my lower abdomen.

“Sweetheart, I cleaned up your place. Besides making this spread of your favorite dishes, I also stocked your fridge with three days’ worth of groceries...”

The warmth spreading across my skin paired with the aroma of the food instantly melted away my exhaustion.

Brandon wasn’t just vastly more domestic than Jaden; his sculpted, Greek-god physique was enough to make any girl drool on the spot.

Wait.

Hold on!

I swallowed hard and blinked. “Aren’t you spending my birthday with me this year?”

Ever since Lily, the college girl Brandon had been financially supporting, graduated, his schedule had completely cleared up. He practically begged to see me every single day.

Juggling three boyfriends was a thrilling high, but honestly, it was exhausting as hell.

I had already decided to keep just one. Jaden, tangled up with his first love, had been painfully crossed off my list first. Brandon, the sweet, domestic dreamboat, had been my top contender.

Yet now, guilt flitted across his face as his eyes shifted away. “Lily ran into some trouble with her job. She didn’t pass her probationary period. I need to pull some strings and use my connections to help land her something stable. I probably won’t have any free time over the next few days. And... we’ll have to put the house hunting on hold for a bit longer...”

His tone was firm. His mind was already made up.

My enthusiasm plummeted instantly. I realized Brandon might actually be worse than Jaden.

He had already proposed to me, promising he’d put down a deposit on a house so we could renovate it and move in together once we tied the knot.

Except right after he saved up the down payment the first time, he handed it all over to Lily so she could study abroad. He claimed he saw Lily as a little sister and that paying for her education was his moral duty.

At first, I thought he was just remarkably responsible. Plus, once Lily graduated, he really hadn’t fussed over her as much, which earned him massive bonus points in my book.

Now, after busting his butt to scrape together a down payment again, he was throwing it right back into Lily’s career. If I actually married this guy, would I end up having to use the cash I squeezed out of Jaden to subsidize his charity case?

*Knock, knock—*

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts.

When I opened it, there stood Lily holding a gift, beaming sweetly at me. “Sorry for dropping by unannounced, Mia.”

“Brandon’s been stressing himself out trying to sort out my job, pulling all his savings together to work his connections. I knew he wouldn’t have enough cash left to get you a proper gift, so I brought you this fifty-dollar skincare set. You don’t mind, do you?”

The heavy, smug provocation in her voice made my face turn cold.

Sasha dropped over two hundred grand for her man, and you think fifty bucks is enough to brush me off?

I stepped aside, let her in, and immediately looped my arm intimately through Brandon’s right in front of her. “Why would I mind? I’m thrilled you brought me a gift.”

“Brandon and I are getting married soon anyway, and once we do, everything he makes is marital property. You better work super hard at your new job, little sis. If you’re foolish enough to fail probation and get fired again, your brother won't have any money left to bail you out.”

Lily’s knuckles turned bone-white. “Brandon, just stop helping me. You two aren’t even married yet, and she’s already throwing a fit over you spending money on me! If you actually marry her, who knows what kind of screaming matches she’ll put you through!”

Brandon’s smile froze. He didn't take anyone's side, awkwardly heaping food onto both our plates while desperately changing the subject.

After dinner, while Brandon was washing dishes, I flashed the massive diamond on my finger, turning it under the light.

“Gosh, look at this thing! Wearing a rock this huge every single day is going to exhaust my poor hand.”

“Little sis, you better clear your schedule for our wedding day. I’m counting on you to be my maid of honor—”

Unable to stomach it any longer, Lily cut me off through clenched teeth. “Brandon won't even buy you a house because every dime he has goes to me! Don't you get who matters most to him yet?”

I rubbed my fingers together in the universal gesture for cash. “Oh, I get it completely. Problem is, after being with Brandon for this long, walking away empty-handed just feels... so unfair...”

Lily caught on instantly. Gritting her teeth, she wired over the forty thousand dollars she’d set aside for her job search just to get rid of me.

Sigh. I suddenly found myself missing Sasha.

Still, a few tens of thousands were better than nothing.

That night, scanning through my contacts, the only boyfriend left standing was Sean, my "Soulmate."

He was also the youngest and hottest of the three!