Chapter 1
Chapter 1
At the company dinner, my fiancé’s assistant made a scene right in front of everyone-
She took a bite of chicken, grimaced, and tossed it straight into his bowl.
Without a second thought, he picked it up and ate it.
That night, when we got home, I told him we needed to call off the engagement.
He rubbed his temples in irritation.
“Seriously? Because I ate some chicken she gave me?”
“Chicken she’d already taken a bite of because she didn’t like it,” I corrected him.
“Lydia, you’re such a jealous psycho. Making a federal case out of nothing.”
“Fine by me. You want out? I’m cool with it. Just don’t come crawling back begging me to take you back.”
He was so sure I loved him too much to ever leave.
What he didn’t know was that even the deepest love burns out when you keep stomping on it.
This time, I was done for real.
That same day, I told my parents I wanted to back out of this corporate arrangement.
They were surprised, sure, but they respected my decision.
And after that, Caspian went into full cold-war mode with me.
Blocked my number, unfriended me on every social platform, deleted me from his gaming friends list-the whole nine
yards.
This was his signature move every time we fought,
He was confident I couldn’t live without him, that I’d come crawling back like I always did.
But this time, I stared at that “Add Friend” button and didn’t press it.
A week later, a message popped up in the company group chat:
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‘You’ll Regret Leaving Me!’-Poor Thing. You Still Think You Matter? I Already Married Better!
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“Today is Mr. Lancaster’s birthday. He’s treating everyone. Attendance is mandatory. No exceptions.”
I didn’t want to make things awkward for everyone, so I went.
The second I walked into the private room, I saw Caspian sitting at the head of the table with Tessa glued to his side.
Her lips were practically brushing his ear, like she was sharing some big secret.
They had this bubble around them, like no one else existed in their world.
A moment later, they both burst out laughing, their faces so close they almost kissed.
I couldn’t watch anymore. I found a corner seat and sat down.
Everyone started giving Caspian their birthday gifts. I didn’t bother.
I just poured myself a drink.
But a few minutes later, a shadow fell over me.
I looked up to see Caspian’s annoyingly perfect face staring down at me.
That same irritated expression I knew so well.
“Lydia, where’s my gift?”
In the past, for something as important as Caspian’s birthday, I would’ve started planning weeks in advance.
day
The most memorable time, I spent over six months hand-crafting a scale replica of the flying house from Up, his
favorite movie.
When the balloons lifted it into the air, he told me we’d grow old together, just like Carl and Ellie.
I actually believed him back then. Never thought his promises wouldn’t even last three years.
Faced with his demanding question, I simply replied, “I forgot.”
My attitude clearly pissed him off. He completely lost his patience,
“Lydia, are you done with this tantrum yet?”
“You’re seriously gonna drag this out for a whole week over something this stupid?”
I stared at the smudge of Tessa’s lipstick on his mouth, feeling like I’d swallowed a fly.
“I’m not throwing a tantrum. I meant what I said about calling off the engagement.”
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‘You’ll Regret Leaving Me!’-Poor Thing. You Still Think You Matter? I Already Married Better!
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Chapter 1
For a split second, Caspian’s expression froze. But the moment Tessa grabbed his hand, he recovered.
“Lydia, please don’t misunderstand. I only gave it to Caspian because I didn’t want to waste food. If you hate me that much, I just won’t sit at the table next time. I’ll wait and eat everyone’s leftovers instead.”
Tessa’s words immediately made Caspian’s heart melt.
“Tessa, don’t say that. You deserve the best things in this world. If anyone shouldn’t be here, it’s Lydia. Who does she think she is? Everyone has to cater to her preferences?”
“Caspian, don’t say that. Lydia might be a bit dramatic, but she’s still your fiancée. You should try to smooth things over. I really don’t want you two fighting because of me.”
“Ha! Who does she think she is? If my parents hadn’t pressured me into this family arrangement, I never would’ve agreed. She throws a fit over every little thing. It’s exhausting.”
Tessa walked over and patted my back with this patronizing, know-it-all tone.
“Lydia, honestly, woman to woman? You really are being extra this time. Caspian hasn’t been able to sleep because of how upset you’ve made him. I mean, I get that you two aren’t compatible, but you’re stuck in this family arrangement, so maybe just meet each other halfway?”
I slapped her hand away and laughed coldly.
“Tessa, you know what I admire most about you?”
“How you play both sides. How you can spout your fake-sweet BS while stealing someone’s boyfriend without even blushing.”
Tessa’s smug expression instantly froze.
Caspian exploded.
“Lydia, who gave you the right to trash-talk Tessa like that?!”
“Trash-talk? Then explain this-why does she have a copy of everything you’ve bought me? Why does she parade it around the office in front of me? Why does every fight we have get twisted and spread around the break room by
her? And how the hell does she know about that mole on your-”
“ENOUGH!”
SLAP.
Right there, in front of everyone, Caspian backhanded me across the face.
The world went muffled and blurry in my ears.
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‘You’ll Regret Leaving Me!’-Poor Thing. You Still Think You Matter? I Already Married Better!
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Chapter 1
But my eyes saw everything crystal clear-every single person in that room staring at me with pity, mockery, or
disgust.
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