Gabriel Black and I had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, and when we reached adulthood, our families arranged our engagement.

From the day the engagement was announced, I started counting down the days. However, Gabriel thought the whole thing was unfair.

“Other people get to fall in love a few times in their lives. Why should I be stuck with just you my whole life? You should date a few people, too. Don’t shortchange yourself.”

And he meant it.

In the year after our engagement, Gabriel went through seven girlfriends. Every time he changed partners, I would simply smile and say it didn’t matter. After all, I thought he would always come back to me.

That was until the eighth girlfriend came along. He brought her to the Black family’s annual banquet. She clung to his arm and called him Gabe.

I quietly set down my utensils. Right there in front of both families, I took out the engagement agreement and slid it to the center of the table.

“Gabriel,” I said calmly, “you were right. Staying loyal to just one person really is a loss.”

Later, I stood before him again, this time with my hand linked with the only son of the Graham family. Gabriel smashed his glass on the spot. For the first time, his eyes turned red.

“Erin, what do you mean by this?”

I smiled and said, “Didn’t you tell me to try dating, too? Well, I did, and it suits me just fine.”

I had been to the Black family’s annual banquet many times. Tonight, though, was the first time I walked through those doors without the title of “Gabriel’s fiancée.”

“Is that Erin? Why is she–”

“Who’s she holding hands with? Isn’t that the Graham family’s son?”

“Then who’s the girl next to Gabriel? What’s going on here?”

Gabriel Black shot to his feet. The movement was so sudden that the chair scraped harshly against the floor.

His eyes were red as he pointed straight at Felix Graham.

“Do you have any idea she’s my fiancée?”

Felix lowered his gaze and looked at me, as if silently asking whether I wanted him to speak. I gave a small shake of my head.

Susan Black, Gabriel’s mother, forced a smile and tried to smooth things over. “Erin, there must be some misunderstanding. Gabriel is just young and likes to have fun. In his heart, you’re still the one who matters…”

I looked at her and smiled as well. “Mrs. Black, he’s been having fun for a whole year with seven girlfriends, and I’ve never said a word. Tonight, though, he’s brought the eighth one to the family banquet. If I keep quiet again, should I start making room for the ninth next time?”

Gabriel’s father, Richard Black, turned ashen. He shot Gabriel a furious glare.

Gabriel opened his mouth to speak, but I raised my hand and cut him off.

“Gabriel, you were right,” I said. “Staying loyal to one person really is a loss, so I’ll be the one to call off this engagement.”

I pushed the engagement agreement a little farther forward, then turned to look at Father, whose face revealed nothing. We held each other’s gaze for three seconds before he slowly stood up.

“Richard, matters between the children are their own. We, adults, shouldn’t interfere. But if Erin wants to end the engagement, I’ll support her decision.”

Richard’s expression darkened immediately. He turned and roared at Gabriel, “Get out of here!”

Gabriel was driven into the study. Even through the closed door, the sound of things being smashed could be heard. Without saying another word, Susan followed him into the study shortly after.

Just like that, Whitney White was left standing alone in the hall. Under the weight of everyone’s staring eyes, she looked visibly uncomfortable and hurried out with her head lowered.

The annual banquet ended hastily after that. I walked Felix to the entrance and finally let go of the arm I had been holding.

“Thank you for tonight, Felix.”

He looked down at me, his expression gentle, his tone calm. “It was my honor to put on this little performance for you.”

Then, he got into his car and disappeared into the night.

I remained standing at the gates of the Blacks’ residence. The wind brushed past me, carrying a slight chill. A splash of red wine had stained my dress earlier, but it had dried, leaving behind a dark crimson mark.

When I got home, I collapsed onto the sofa and lay there with my eyes closed for a long time. My mind drifted back to when I was sixteen, the first time Gabriel held my hand and said I belonged to him.

At eighteen, when our families arranged the engagement, he had declared in front of everyone that I was the only one for him for the rest of his life. Yet, at twenty-two, he showed up before me with his eighth girlfriend. The person I once called Gabe was no longer mine.

I opened my eyes, picked up my phone, and opened my chat with Gabriel. The last message was from three days ago. He had sent me a photo of him and Whitney together.

“My new girlfriend. She’s pretty, right?”

I never replied, and now, I never would. I tapped on his profile and deleted the contact.

A week after the engagement was called off, I went to a tea estate on the outskirts of the city to discuss a business deal. The place was designed like a traditional garden. Just past the entrance was a small courtyard, with trees growing along both sides of a bluestone path.

As I walked through the courtyard and headed further inside, I saw Whitney. She was sitting in the corridor at a tea table, with pastries and tea laid out in front of her. She was smiling as she spoke to someone, and across from her sat Gabriel.

Whitney noticed me first. Her eyes lit up for a moment, but she quickly composed herself and continued talking as if nothing had happened. A server came over and asked how many people were in my party. I told them I had an appointment, and they led me to a table in the corner.

The table wasn’t far from Gabriel’s. From there, I could hear their conversation clearly.

I had just sat down when I heard Whitney ask, “Gabriel, what happened after Erin called off the engagement that day?”

My hand paused slightly as I lifted the teacup.

Gabriel’s voice came from across the room. “What’s there to deal with? She’s the one who canceled it. Am I supposed to beg her not to? ”

Whitney laughed softly. “But she embarrassed you in front of everyone. Where does that leave your pride?”

Gabriel chuckled. “She thinks canceling the engagement will scare me? The engagement was arranged by both our families. She doesn’t get to decide that on her own.”

I held the teacup and took a slow sip. It was camomile from this year’s harvest, and the flavor was good.

Whitney asked again, “So, will you still see her in the future?”

“What for?” Gabriel replied casually. “I have you now.”

Whitney’s voice turned playful and sweet. “Then when are you going to marry me?”

There was a brief silence from their table.

Two seconds later, Gabriel spoke, “Soon. Once things settle down for a bit, I’ll marry you.”

I swallowed the tea in my mouth and poured myself another cup. The steam from the hot tea rose and brushed against my face, leaving the air damp.

Whitney continued talking, but I could barely hear her anymore as one sentence kept echoing in my mind.

“Once things settle down for a bit, I’ll marry you.”

Once things settle down? I felt the urge to laugh. I had waited an entire year for him to come back to me. Meanwhile, he would only marry once things settled down for him.

I finished the tea in one gulp and called the server over to pay the bill. When I stood up to leave, I passed by their table, but I didn’t slow down. There was even a faint smile on my face.

Whitney’s expression shifted, probably because she hadn’t expected me to remain so calm. Gabriel watched me as I walked past. His gaze followed me the whole way until I stepped out of the courtyard.

Once I got into my car, my grip on the steering wheel tightened. My nails dug into my palm, hurting me. Then I sent a message to the client’s project manager and changed the meeting location for the business discussion. Three seconds later, I started the car and drove away.

Back at the tea estate, Gabriel pushed aside the pastry Whitney had offered him.

“Let’s go.”

Whitney was taken aback. “Go where?”

“I’ll take you home. I have something to deal with.”

Her expression changed, but she didn’t dare say anything more.

That night, the project client was finalized. It was Black Group. The next day, I received another message that the project liaison from their side was Whitney.

I stared at the message for a long time. Did Gabriel bring her into the company, or had she always worked there?

In the end, it didn’t matter. I set my phone down and continued revising the proposal.

On the day of the project kickoff meeting, I sat across from Gabriel for the first time as the contracting party. Gabriel was dressed in a sharp suit, looking completely businesslike, while Whitney sat beside him in a neat professional outfit.

I opened my laptop and began presenting the proposal. I had barely spoken for five minutes when Whitney raised her hand and interrupted me.

“Miss Stone, isn’t there a problem with this positioning?”

I paused and looked at her. “The positioning report was determined during the early research phase. Your side has reviewed and signed off on it.”

Whitney smiled slightly. “That was before. The project is my responsibility now. If I think it’s unsuitable, then it needs to be changed.”

Beside her, Gabriel nodded. “Whitney’s right. Go back and revise it.”

I paused for a second before saying, “Alright.”

Then, I continued with the presentation.

Ten minutes later, Whitney interrupted again. “This circulation design doesn’t work either. It’s too complicated. When your team made this proposal, did you visit the site?”

“We’ve been to the site three times,” I replied. “The circulation plan is based on–”

Whitney cut me off, “I’ve read your analysis report. The data sources are wrong. Redo it.”

Gabriel nodded again. “Make the changes she mentioned.”

His gaze briefly landed on my face, but he quickly looked away and lowered his head to check his phone.

I took a deep breath and agreed. “Okay.”

After that, Whitney interrupted every five minutes. The issues she pointed out became increasingly unreasonable. People in the conference room exchanged uneasy glances, but no one dared to say anything.

When the presentation finally ended, I shut my laptop.

Whitney smiled brightly, saying, “Miss Stone, thank you. Revise the proposal, and we’ll meet again next time.”

After the meeting, she stopped me in the hallway. Her smile looked gentle.

“Miss Stone, I’ll be the one handling the project coordination from now on. We’ll be communicating often.”

She lowered her voice and leaned slightly closer. “Gabriel said the success of this project will affect whether the Stone family will continue to work with Black Group in the future. Don’t worry, I’ll be more than happy to ‘cooperate’ with you.”

Looking at her smiling face, I suddenly had the urge to ask if she knew that her man had gone through seven girlfriends in a single year. However, I didn’t.

All I said was, “Then let’s play by the rules.”

Her smile grew even sweeter. “Of course, I’ll follow the rules. I’m just worried you, Miss Stone, might not be used to them.”

She turned to leave, then suddenly looked back and added, “Oh, right, Miss Stone. Gabriel said that once this project is done, we’ll officially announce our marriage.”

I stood there, watching her disappear down the end of the corridor.

For the next week, I worked overtime every night. The proposal went through eight revisions. Every time I submitted it, Whitney sent it back. My coworkers complained in private, saying Whitney was clearly doing it on purpose. However, I told them to do the revision because I knew she was doing it on purpose, so saying anything else would be pointless.

At eleven o’clock one night, I was alone in the office revising the proposal when someone knocked on the door. I looked up and saw the security guard standing at the door, saying someone was looking for me.

When I went downstairs, I saw Felix standing in the lobby, holding a paper bag in his hand.