In a dimly lit corner of the banquet hall, George and Julie sat together.

Julie was wearing a sexy slip dress that perfectly accentuated her toned figure. She leaned back against George, and he naturally reached out, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her close. With their backs turned to the rest of the crowd, the two of them were laughing and talking animatedly.

In the photos, they were smiling at each other, and George was pressing a tender kiss onto Julie’s cheek. Even looking through a phone screen, I could see the affection radiating from George’s eyes. It was a look he had never once given me, and it tugged at my heart painfully to learn that George was truly in love with Julie.

Sophie’s updates kept flooding my screen. The next photos showed the crowd cheering and egging them on to dance together. At first, they maintained a respectful distance, but suddenly, someone bumped into Julie, and she fell into George’s arms.

With everyone watching them, Julie’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. George, however, wasn’t shy. Instead, he took advantage of the moment to kiss her, and it wasn’t until the song finally ended that the two of them broke apart.

Staring at the couple on my screen, tears streamed down my face. It felt as though my heart was being ripped out of my chest.

Sophie’s voice came through the line. “Annie, did you see that? I told you a long time ago that George is in love with Julie.”

She had clearly walked outside to find a quiet spot to talk. “Annie, now that you’ve seen it with your own eyes, are you going to give up on him?”

I opened my mouth to reply, but my throat was so dry that no words would come out. All I could do was shake my head violently.

In the past, George was the only person who existed in my world. I believed absolutely everything he said. I had even greedily looked forward to marrying him one day, eagerly anticipating the moment the Alfonso and the Costa families would merge.

Now, I was finally waking up from the dream, and it turned out that everything had just been a delusion on my part.

“George is an absolute jerk. He knew exactly how much you loved him, so he deliberately dropped those breadcrumbs to make you think he felt the same way. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too. He wanted Julie on one side, and you on the other. In his dreams!

“Annie, everything you just saw is real. That is who George truly is. Are you really going to waste more of your life on a guy like him?”

I let out a bitter, hollow laugh. “Sophie, I’ve made up my mind. I’m not going to the Costa family banquet tonight, and I won’t get involved in the family business either. There’s a corporate position open over in Londres. I’ve submitted my application. But please don’t tell anyone else about this just yet.”

Late that night, I gathered every single document required for my application and hit send. The company belonged to an old friend of my father’s based in Londres. It was a legitimate business and utterly disconnected from the mafia and criminal networks back home.

I took a quick screenshot of the confirmation page and texted it to Sophie. She was ecstatic. For the longest time, her biggest wish was for me to give up on George, leave Solaria behind, and live a peaceful, normal life far away from all this chaos. However, I had always stubbornly refused.

Simply to be near George, just to catch a few fleeting moments with him, I had turned down multiple life-changing opportunities abroad. Instead, I stayed by my father’s side, forcing myself to learn how to manage a family business I never actually wanted any part of.

Looking back now, I was incredibly foolish. Because our families had been good friends for many years, everyone naturally assumed that George and I would eventually get married. Behind closed doors, they had begun negotiating our future alliance, mapping out turf boundaries, and agreeing on which operations to merge. It was an unwritten, mutual understanding.

Everyone thought George and I were endgame, and for a long time, so did I. However, things were different now. By choosing a path opposite to George’s, an overwhelming sense of relief washed over me. From now on, my priority was myself, and I was going to make choices for my own future, rather than constantly compromising to accommodate George.

After taking a shower, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at the intimate marks left on my skin. The vivid memories of that night began replaying in my mind like a movie on loop. I quickly put on a freezing cold shower, desperate to snap myself out of it. Unfortunately, it was entirely useless; the memories kept flashing back anyway. That night had officially become the greatest regret of my life.

Needless to say, I suffered from insomnia that night. Around dawn, I checked my phone to see that there wasn’t a single notification. Unable to stop myself, I tapped on George’s profile picture and scrolled through years of our chat history. We used to talk about absolutely everything. Every single night, he would find an excuse to message me—sometimes about family business and sometimes just random nonsense.

A person’s desire to share their life wouldn’t just vanish into thin air without a reason, and it proved that George had someone new to talk to now. However, that was fine because the sooner I faced reality, the sooner I could wake up from this illusion.

I tossed my phone aside and forced myself to sleep. Yet, just as I was drifting off into a hazy blur, I suddenly felt someone kissing me. My eyes snapped open, and to my absolute shock, a familiar face was hovering right over mine. It was George.

I ran my fingers through my hair, and only then did it dawn on me. George was incredibly close with my family, so my father’s bodyguards wouldn’t dream of stopping him at the door. In their eyes, George was already the Alfonso family’s future son-in-law and the next Don of his family.

Seeing that I was awake, George reached out and pulled me tightly into his chest. I instantly shoved him away, and instead of getting mad, a smirk played on his lips.

“What’s this? Aren’t you a little late to be playing shy now?”

I didn’t say a word, stubbornly keeping as much distance between us as possible.

George grabbed my wrist, pulling me right back into his arms. “Annie, you haven’t sent me a single text. I came all the way here to see you, and you’re still trying to dodge me?”

I struggled desperately to break free, but against his physical strength, I stood absolutely no chance.

“Look, I went out of my way to bring you that gourmet cake you love today. Didn’t you use to throw a tantrum whenever you wanted to eat it? Well, I bought it for you. Though, having tasted it, I think you’re still much sweeter than the cake.”

With that, George leaned down to kiss me.

I used every ounce of strength I had left to shove him back, leaving myself completely out of breath. I glared at George and couldn’t seem to figure it out. Since he was already happily together with Julie, why on earth was he still coming over here to mess with my head?

George stared back at me. “Where is this massive attitude coming from? Did Sophie run her mouth to you again?”

Silently, I got out of bed.

George followed right behind me. “Didn’t I tell you to stop hanging out with her? Aside from trying to drive a wedge between us, what else is she actually good for? Look, all we did tonight was share a single dance. Julie didn’t have a date for the event. Was I supposed to reject her in front of everyone? You know her father controls those shipping routes up north. The Costa family needs that territory, so we had to show them some respect.”

Staring at George’s righteous, unapologetic expression, I realized it was entirely impossible to communicate with him anymore. He didn’t even bother to hide it from me.

Seeing him step forward to close the distance again, I threw all notions of politeness out the window and aimed a brutal kick straight between his legs.

“Annie!” George roared. “My patience has its limits!”

I ignored his shouting, put on my clothes, and walked out. However, George grabbed my arm. His face was dark, furious, as he tried to kiss me.

“Did you take the morning-after pill like I told you to the other day? Your health isn’t great. Taking the pill is for your own good.”

I met his gaze and let out a cold, mocking laugh. My reaction clearly rattled him.

“Annie, what the hell is wrong with you lately?”

"None of your business,” I replied flatly.

George finally snapped. “Annie, who exactly are you throwing this attitude at? We slept together once, and now you’re acting like you’re my official fiancée with the right to control my life? Do you have any idea how many business deals I have to manage out there, or how many high-profile people I have to deal with daily?”

His words stung, and before I could stop them, tears streamed down my face.

Seeing me cry, George reached out an anxious hand to wipe away my tears, his tone softening as he said, “I’m sorry. I messed up.”

I flinched away, refusing to let him touch me. Just like that, George’s hand froze mid-air, and neither of us said a word until his phone suddenly started buzzing loudly.

He glanced down at the screen, immediately answering it. His tone shifted instantly into a professional business register. “The shipment has arrived? Is the inventory count correct? Good. I’m heading over right now.”

Hanging up the phone, he turned around and said one last thing before walking out the door.

“Annie, stop throwing these childish tantrums. It’s high time you learned to control that temper of yours.”

Exactly one hour after George left, I saw Julie post an update on her social media.

The caption read: [How sweet! A cake that people normally would have to wait in a long line for was sitting right in front of me the moment I opened my eyes.]

I stared at the photo of the cake, then looked at mine. Sure enough, it was the exact same kind.

I wiped away my tears and looked around the room. This space held far too many memories of him and me. It was finally time for a clean slate. With that, I called the servants and ordered them to redecorate the entire room with brand-new furniture and decor.

I also left strict instructions that George was no longer allowed to set foot inside this house whenever he pleased. Anyone who let him in would be fired on the spot. While the Alfonso family might not be as powerful as the Costa family, outsiders didn't get to come and go as they pleased under our roof.

The servants worked tirelessly all day. By the time I stepped back into the room, not a single trace of the past remained.

Meanwhile, George didn’t text or call, so I figured things were going incredibly well between him and Julie. Besides, he was never the type to swallow his pride and coax me. In fact, he had never backed down once in his life. Every single time we disagreed, I was always the one who swallowed my pride to make amends. Unfortunately for him, I was exhausted now, and I was done swallowing my pride.

I gave my father a call, letting him know that I wouldn't be joining the family business after all and that I was moving to Londres instead. My father fell silent for a very long time, and I knew exactly what was running through his mind. He was thinking about the partnerships between the Alfonso and Costa families, the unspoken agreements regarding their respective business territories, and the strategic marriage alliance he had meticulously planned for us.

Yet, in the end, he asked one question. “Have you made up your mind?”

“I have,” I replied.

After another brief silence, he sighed. “Very well. Londres is Matthew's territory, so he’ll look after you. Just focus on your life and don't worry about the business affairs here in Solaria anymore. The Alfonso family hasn't sunk so low that we need to rely on trading my daughter's marriage just to keep our footing.”

The moment I hung up the phone, I booked the earliest available flight.

As I grabbed my luggage and headed out the front door, I happened to run straight into George’s mother, Fiona Costa, who was arriving for a visit.

Seeing me, she greeted me warmly, as usual. “Annie! Why aren't you out having dinner with George? He mentioned a little while ago that he wanted to take you out to clear your head. He said you've been feeling cooped up here in Solaria. Have you two finalized your vacation plans yet?”

I frowned, finding her words bizarre. Back in the winter, I told George that I wanted to go somewhere warm for a few days. However, he had turned me down, claiming he was far too busy with end-of-the-year business and couldn't spare the time. And now, going on a trip together was completely out of the question.

Checking my watch, I realized I was running dangerously late, so I offered her a couple of vague excuses and rushed out the door. What I never could have anticipated, however, was running straight into George at the airport.