Not long after the call ended, the doorbell rang. A man in a black suit stood at the door, carefully cradling a large gift box in his arms.

"Miss Delilah Watson, this is from Mr. Ludwig."

I nodded and accepted it.

When I stepped into the banquet hall, a group of young girls from the company were huddled together, whispering and stealing glances.

Their eyes were full of envy as they looked toward Alison, who stood dazzlingly beside Blake.

"I wish I could be as lucky as Miss Rainford. President Jennings is so handsome and rich and he spoils her to the bone. Just today's outfit alone must cost over eight figures!"

"What's there to envy? No matter how much he pampers her, she's still just a mistress. President Jennings already has a wife!"

"Wife? I heard after Miss Rainford’s miscarriage, President Jennings flew into a rage and even forced his wife to abort her baby too! Looks like the position of Mrs. Jennings will be replaced soon..."

I stayed silent, quietly making my way to the poolside, a glass of wine in hand.

As I sipped, Alison’s voice floated over from behind me. She deliberately sized me up from head to toe, her eyes gleaming with jealousy and malice.

"You’re really shameless. Blake forbade you from coming, yet you still sneaked in."

"In Blake’s heart, you aren’t even worth a toe of mine. I casually faked an audio recording blaming you for my miscarriage and he believed it without a second thought. He even tied you up and forced an abortion in front of everyone..."

"Speaking of which, your first miscarriage wasn’t my fault. It was just bad luck. I only had someone smear oil on the stairs to embarrass you. How was I supposed to know you were already carrying that bastard child?"

"If I were you, I would’ve packed up and left a long time ago. Oh, and did you know? The only bottle of special medicine that could have saved your mother’s life. Blake bought it at a high price, but not for you. He used it to save my little kitten instead."

As my face drained of color, Alison’s smugness only grew stronger.

She shoved her phone in front of me.

On the screen, Blake and Alison were beaming, lighting candles in celebration, a tiny kitten nestled in her arms.

My eyes caught the date stamped in the corner, the very day my mother died.

I could no longer hold back the fury burning inside me. With a surge of anger, I grabbed Alison by the throat.

Startled, she struggled desperately and dragged me into the swimming pool with her.

Water splashed everywhere and the crowd quickly gathered around.

"I think that’s Mrs. Jennings! She came here with President Jennings; I recognize her!"

Blake rushed over in panic, leaping into the pool without a second thought.

Underwater, when our gazes met, I saw the shock flicker across his face.

But in the next instant, his expression hardened. He grabbed Alison’s hand and swam toward the shore.

Seizing the opportunity, Alison kicked me down deeper into the water, then wrapped her arms around Blake’s neck.

Alison had been a member of the university swimming team; Blake knew that all too well.

Yet, he still chose to abandon me, the one who couldn't swim.

I fought against the suffocating pressure in my chest, struggling to inch my way toward the edge of the pool.

Just as I felt myself slipping into darkness, I was pulled into a warm, firm embrace.

I caught a fleeting glimpse of Blake diving back into the water.

But even if he drained the entire pool, he would never find me again.

When I woke up at Maximilian Ludwig’s estate, my first instinct was to reach for my phone.

There were countless messages, all from Blake.

[Delilah, you pushed Alison into the water. This isn’t over!]

[Bitch! Get back here and apologize to Alison!]

[What? Water got into your brain and you forgot where you belonged.]

With that, I deleted every message, blocking his number, uprooted everything we had built over the last five years.

Blake stared at his phone, frowning tightly when no reply came for a long time.

I had never been out of contact like this, disappearing for days without any news.

In the past, even if I ran away from home, I would obediently return within three days.

But this time, ten whole days had passed.

A vague unease gnawed at Blake’s heart and he even began to guess wildly. Could something really have happened to me that day?

In the days that followed, even when he accompanied Alison, Blake remained distracted.

Even in bed, he found himself absent-minded.

Until the day before his birthday, unable to bear it any longer, he called my number.

"Tomorrow is my birthday. If you don’t come, then—"

But the continuous cold, busy tone on the other end made him swallow the threat he was about to say.

He had never felt so defeated before. Slamming his fist heavily onto the table, he gritted his teeth.

"Assistant Mathias, find Delilah for me!"

"Damn it, Delilah, when I find you, you’re dead!"

We had been childhood sweethearts and I always accompany him on every birthday.

Even later, when he fooled around with other women, I never failed to appear.

The next day, on Blake’s birthday, he extravagantly rented out an entire floor of a club for the celebration.

Alison dressed up meticulously, playing the hostess, fluttering among the guests like a lively butterfly.

As time ticked by and midnight approached, Blake’s gaze remained stubbornly fixed on the entrance, as if waiting for someone so focused he didn’t even seem to hear Alison speaking beside him.

Realizing I probably wouldn’t come, his heart sank inch by inch.

Just as his expression completely darkened, the club door swung open.

Blake’s heart clenched sharply and he immediately stood up, only to slump back onto the sofa in defeat when he saw it was just Assistant Mathias.

Mathias, carrying a folder, walked over to him.

"President, this is from the Madam..."

Hearing my name, Blake instantly perked up and eagerly tore open the package.

"I knew Delilah wouldn’t dare! See, she still obediently sent me a birthday gift..."

The corners of Blake’s mouth twitched upward until he saw what was inside, his smile faltering into complete stillness.