She had even taken out the qipao she'd treasured for over a decade.

I told her the weather was too cold, that it wasn't the right dress for New Year's.

She smiled and said it was fine. She'd just throw a coat over it, and since she'd be driven door to door, she wouldn't catch a chill.

Besides, that dress had been a gift from my father when they married.

Wearing it, in a way, meant carrying a piece of him along.

As she spoke, tears glistened at the corners of her eyes.

I fell silent for a few seconds, and let it go.

On the way to the old Swanson residence, my mother chatted and laughed with Quinn the whole time.

Then Lorraine's call came, and Quinn's smile vanished in an instant.

He suggested the two of us take a taxi ourselves. I refused.

In that heavy snow you couldn't flag down a cab, and my mother couldn't be out in the cold.

My mother saw the anxiety and urgency on Quinn's face, and shot me a look.

Dutiful as always, I didn't dare go against her wishes, and in the end I got out of the car.

But I never imagined that less than a minute after we stepped out, the cold triggered her illness, and her heart stopped.

The more I thought about it, the colder my heart went, the more it ached.

I wanted to slap myself across the face.

If I'd only stood my ground a little harder back then, maybe my mother wouldn't have died.

Seeing that I kept saying nothing, Quinn lost his patience.

"Miriam, you've disappointed me so much."

"Fine. If you insist on splitting hairs, then let's bring Mother in to weigh in, and see who was really right and who was wrong."

Just as he picked up his phone, it started ringing.

A very particular, dedicated ringtone.

Exactly the same one I'd heard in the car on New Year's Eve.

Quinn's expression shifted slightly. He strode quickly out onto the balcony before answering.

Fragments of the conversation drifted back.

"Who is this? What, Lorraine's drunk, passed out on the side of the road?"

"...Okay, thank you, I'll be right there!"

Quinn rushed off in a hurry.

He didn't even spare a word to explain to me.

Just as resolute, just as decisive, as the day he abandoned my mother and me on New Year's Eve.

A bitter taste rose to my face.

No matter when, Lorraine was irreplaceable in his heart.

That being so, it was time for me to leave too.

Before she died, the wish my mother longed for most, apart from seeing me married with children, was to take one trip to Luxembourg.

That was where she and my father had first met, a place holding so, so many beautiful memories.

All these years, taking care of Quinn had kept that wish out of reach.

I made up my mind. I would take my mother's ashes and go on a trip around the world.

The final stop would be Luxembourg.

As I was looking up information and hunting for travel guides, Lorraine's social media updated again.

I hadn't meant to look, but my finger tapped it open as if some force were guiding it.

The first photo: Quinn, who had never lifted a finger in a kitchen in his life, cooking noodles.

The second photo: Quinn feeding Lorraine those noodles, his face full of concern and tenderness, an aching softness I had never once seen him show me.

The third photo: Quinn carefully scrubbing the stains from the carpet and the couch.

My heart filled up all over again with bitterness and ache.

Last Thanksgiving, for an important Swanson Group project, I'd drunk three whole bottles of red wine with a client and thrown up until the world went dark.

Quinn had stared at me passed out on the couch, at a total loss, and in the end he'd called my mother to come help.

While she bustled around taking care of me, he stood far off with his nose pinched shut, disgusted by how foul and overpowering my vomit was.

Yet in front of Lorraine, there wasn't the slightest trace of disgust. He was more attentive than any real husband.

...

Quinn didn't come home all night, and he didn't show up for the next several days either.

None of that concerned me. I was busy getting ready for my trip around the world.

On the thirteenth day after New Year's, Quinn Swanson's secretary called to tell me the product launch would be held the next day.

I hadn't planned to go, but this was the fruit of years of my own painstaking work, so I agreed.

Seven years ago, after Quinn and I made our relationship official, I turned down a high-paying position at a Fortune 500 company and joined Swanson Group.

Through my relentless effort, Swanson Group went from a second-rate company to the top high-tech firm in Harborview City.

And it was precisely because of that the Swanson family, who had looked down on me from the start, finally offered on their own to invite my mother and me to spend the New Year at their estate and to discuss the wedding…

The launch was grand, and lively too.

Just as I was about to step onstage to give my speech, Quinn appeared out of nowhere.

He was dressed to the nines, handsome and striking.

But there was something unreadable in his expression.

He didn't explain why he'd been gone for days. Instead, he blocked my path. "Miriam Coleman, wait."

"For this speech, the company has arranged someone else."

I froze.

All this time, I had been the head of the new-product project.

In the whole company, I was the only one qualified to take the stage.

Because no one knew the product better than I did.

From design to development, I had handled every part of it, pouring in endless heart and effort.

You could say it was like my own child.

At that moment, Lorraine Galloway's voice rang out from the stage.

"Happy New Year, honored guests. On behalf of Swanson Group, I welcome you all."

"Now allow me to introduce the features of the new product we're unveiling today…"

Seeing her so triumphant, a small person basking in undeserved glory, I understood everything.

I looked coldly at Quinn. "If it was all arranged already, why bother telling me to come to the launch at all?"

Quinn explained, "As head of the new-product project, of course you have to be present."

"Miriam, the choice of speaker was the company's decision, and mine as well."

"After all, you're already a titan in the industry. You don't need this kind of flashy, empty reputation."

"But Lorraine is different. As a newcomer, she needs the credentials more than you do…"

I watched him quietly as he went on and on.

The longer I looked, the more like a stranger he seemed.

The Quinn of the past had loved me to the bone, with eyes for no one but me.

But ever since Lorraine came back from abroad and joined Swanson Group as the CEO's assistant, he had changed.

He was constantly away on business for no reason, gone all night.

Lorraine spent far more time with him than I did.

Back then I was buried in the project and didn't think much of it.

But my mother, worldly and sharp-eyed, had noticed. She'd warned me: "Miriam, Quinn is your boyfriend, but now he's out and about with another woman every single day. That doesn't sit right, does it?"

I never woke up to it. Instead, I made excuses for the two of them. "Mom, you're overthinking it. Lorraine is Quinn's assistant. It's perfectly normal for them to work together all day."

"Quinn told me Lorraine grew up with him and has always seen him as an older brother."

"The three of us were college classmates. If they had feelings for each other, they'd have gotten together long ago. Where would that have left room for me?"

Looking back on it now, I really was a pure, utter fool.

Seeing me stay silent, Quinn assumed I'd come around, and a smile crossed his face. "Miriam, tomorrow is our engagement day. Are you ready?"

I nodded numbly.

"Aunt Pansy must be so happy, so excited, right?" Quinn frowned slightly. "Though it's strange. I've been calling her these past few days, and her phone's been switched off the whole time."

"Is something wrong with her phone?"

Then, without warning, thunderous applause broke out below the stage.

The presentation was over. Lorraine hadn't just walked through the new product's features. She'd slipped in her own agenda, painting herself as the sole person behind the R&D, erasing me completely.

Inside, I gave a cold laugh. I didn't call her out in front of everyone.

But plenty of the company's longtime employees wore expressions of open indignation.

Lorraine bowed to the crowd, then came over to where we stood.

"Ms. Coleman, thank you for giving me this chance to present."

Before I could say a word, Quinn had already smiled. "Lorraine, when there's no one else around, you don't have to be so formal."

As he spoke, he reached over and smoothed the slightly crooked hem of her dress.

The gesture was practiced and easy, like a husband and wife of many years.

Lorraine looked at me, a smile on her face.

There wasn't a trace of respect or gratitude in her eyes. Only a hidden contempt, and the smugness of someone who'd won.

I didn't rise to it. I simply smiled, unbothered.

The presentation was a success. The moment the new product dropped, it shot straight to the top of the trending charts.

At the reception that followed, Quinn and Lorraine were the center of everything.

They were as close as a couple, sharing drinks and easy laughter with all the big names in the room.

And I stood alone in a quiet corner, as solitary as a bystander.

No one knew I was there, and I didn't want anyone to know.

I quietly finished a single glass and left.

Back at the office, I was packing up my personal things when a few photos landed on my phone.

They were from Lorraine.

Every one of them showed her and Quinn tangled together at a hotel.

Suggestive and explicit.

The old me would have exploded. Would have been beside herself with rage.

But now, it stirred nothing in me at all.

I didn't even care to check whether the photos were real.

Ten minutes later, I posted online, announcing that I was leaving Swanson Group for good.

One stone, a thousand ripples. The post caught fire fast, its heat climbing even higher than the launch itself.

Everyone in the industry knew I was the true developer and lead behind the new product.

Lorraine was nothing but a spokeswoman. No matter how glamorous she looked, she was just a pretty face.

Without my technical backing, anyone could imagine how dismal the product's sales would be from here.

Swanson Group's stock, which had been soaring nonstop, plunged straight to its daily limit down.

The Swanson family panicked. So did Quinn.

He rushed away from the reception to find me.

He came in and saw the empty desk in my office, and froze for a moment. Then he brushed past it and went straight to the accusation. "Miriam, why did you make that post?"

"Do you have any idea how badly the company suffered because of one selfish whim of yours?"

I answered evenly. "Assistant Galloway made it plenty clear at the launch. She's the one who developed the product and led it."

"With her here, that's more than enough."

Quinn's brows shot up, rage twisting his face. He was about to speak when a female employee suddenly ran in, flustered and breathless.

"Mr. Swanson, it's bad! Assistant Galloway's going to jump!"

"She says she's failed you, Mr. Swanson, and failed the company."

"And that she's wronged Ms. Coleman most of all!"

The color drained from Quinn's face, and he bolted out at once.

I paid it no mind. I finished packing the last of my things and left the office.

Out in the corridor, I came upon Lorraine, sitting on the windowsill.

Quinn was weeping, begging her not to do anything foolish, a large crowd of employees gathered around them.

When I saw how tightly Lorraine gripped the window frame, I thought I understood.

I was about to walk away when Quinn suddenly rushed over and seized my hand.

"Miriam, you're just in time!"