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.

Felix walked over and handed me a paper bag.

“I was passing by, so I got you something to eat,” he said.

I opened the bag. Inside was a pizza and a cup of coffee. I looked up at him.

“Felix, did you install a surveillance camera on me or something?”

He paused to think about it before replying, “That is illegal.”

“Then how did you know I hadn’t eaten?”

He simply smiled and didn’t answer.

After that, I lowered my head and started eating the pizza, which filled me up. Meanwhile, he stood beside me quietly, not saying a word.

Suddenly, I let out a small laugh.

He glanced at me. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I just haven’t laughed like this in a long time.”

He looked into my eyes, his gaze gentle, as if he were afraid of disturbing something fragile, but I didn’t press on.

That night, after I got home, I revised the proposal again for the ninth time. At two in the morning, I submitted it, and by eight the next morning, I received a reply stating its approval.

The project milestone celebration was held in the ballroom of a five-star hotel in the city center. The moment I stepped inside, I heard people whispering nearby.

“Isn’t that Erin? Wasn’t she engaged to Gabriel of the Black family? Why are the Blacks making things difficult for her?”

“I heard the engagement was called off, but no one knows the details.”

“Gabriel’s been bringing Whitney around lately. She looks pretty favored… I bet it won’t be long now.”

The comments drifted into my ears one after another, but my face remained completely expressionless.

At exactly eight o’clock, Whitney entered the ballroom with her arm linked through Gabriel’s. She was wearing a red evening gown that complemented her fair skin and delicate features. She was glowing. Gabriel, on the other hand, stood beside her in a sharp suit, a polite smile resting on his face.

Someone finally worked up the courage to ask, “Gabriel, we heard that the engagement between you and the Stone family has been canceled. Is that true?”

Every gaze immediately turned toward Gabriel and then toward me. Gabriel was just about to speak when I set down my wine glass.

“It’s true,” I said. “The engagement between the Black and Stone families has been canceled.”

The entire room erupted. Gabriel’s expression sank as he stared at me, but I met his gaze without a hint of emotion.

Suddenly, he laughed and wrapped an arm around Whitney’s waist. Then, right in front of everyone, he lowered his head and kissed her. Whitney froze at first, but the delight eventually spread across her face, and she wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him back.

Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd. When the kiss ended, Gabriel lifted his head and looked straight at me.

“Miss Stone is right,” he said. “The engagement between the Black and Stone families has been canceled. The person I’m going to marry now is her.”

The room erupted into chaos.

Whitney’s eyes reddened with excitement as she clung tightly to his arm, practically leaning into him. However, Gabriel didn’t look at her as his eyes stayed fixed on me. He was waiting to see my reaction, waiting for me to crack, but my expression never changed.

I was just about to speak when a voice suddenly sounded from behind me.

“What a coincidence.”

I turned around to see that Felix had stepped out from the crowd, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, and was walking toward me. His gaze passed through everyone in the room and settled on my face. Then, he stopped in front of me, reached out, and took my hand.

Lifting his head, he looked at Gabriel and then at everyone in the room.

“I’m going to marry her.”