Heart Dead, Ready to Leave, Cold-War Boyfriend Says Marry

Three years after our breakup, out of nowhere, a message from Alden Mason lit up my phone:

"Letitia Swanson, it's been three years. Time to let it go. I'm flying home tonight—come pick me up, bring your parents, and we'll settle a date to get the marriage license."

"For the wedding, how about Penny Isle, the place you always wanted to go... Honestly, though, if you ask me, there's really no need to travel that far..."

I stared at the messages piling up one after another, and slowly typed out a single question mark.

"?"

"Didn't we break up three years ago?"

The other end went quiet for a moment, then a message came through.

"Who said that? We never actually said the words."

"You didn't date anyone for three whole years. Wasn't that because you were waiting for me to come home and marry you?"

"Relax, I'll definitely marry you. That's my promise to you. As for Evelyn, be gracious about it. It's perfectly normal for a man to have more than one woman. She was the one by my side these three years abroad. From now on, one of you here at home, one of you overseas—I'm sure you two will get along just fine."

Swallowing the helpless urge to slap a face that wasn't even in front of me, I blocked and deleted him on the spot.

A few lines of danmaku suddenly floated across my mind:

"Don't be fooled by Alden going abroad for three years without a word—deep down he's still carrying a torch for the heroine."

"Alden put out word that he's coming home to get engaged to Evelyn, but it's all just to surprise the heroine. See? He hasn't even landed yet and he's already rushing to tell her!"

I pursed my lips, speechless. Alden was out of his mind.

Skip three days of work and you're considered to have quit on your own. Go three days with no contact and you're broken up by default. Did that really need spelling out?

Besides—my gaze drifted to my daughter, fast asleep in her stroller.

A gorgeous husband, a sweet, adorable daughter. What on earth would I want to marry him for?

……

I put my phone away, took a shower, and came out of the bathroom to find it still buzzing nonstop.

Afraid a ringing phone would wake my daughter, I hung up on each call one by one.

At three in the morning, relentless knocking and shouting jolted me awake.

"Letitia, open up! If you don't open this door, I'm leaving—and don't come crying to me later!"

The noise was unbearable. Thoroughly irritated, I pulled open the front door of the villa, and there stood Alden, looking like a wreck.

His eyes were bloodshot, fixed hard on my face. Then he craned his neck to peer at the house behind me and let out a scornful laugh:

"Tsk. Without me, you've sunk so low you're sharing a rental with someone?"

Only then did I notice the baby things scattered around the living room. Naturally, Alden assumed I was splitting the rent with a roommate, and that all the baby products belonged to someone else's child.

I was about to explain when Alden cut me off with a wave of his hand:

"Enough. Seeing as you waited all these years, and I'm back now, I won't hold that little rich-girl tantrum of yours against you."

Then something crossed his mind. The smile dropped, and his tone shifted:

"But that time you pushed Evelyn down the stairs—I can't forgive you for her. The only reason I'm even able to come back is because she was gracious about it. In a few days, go buy a bag. Next time you see her, give it to her as an apology."

"Evelyn's always been gentle and generous. She took care of me the whole time I was abroad, tended to my every need. But because of my promise to you, I can't give her a proper title. Still, I hope the two of you can coexist peacefully, and the three of us can build a good life together."

My fist loosened, then clenched again, as I fought down the anger and held my expression in place.

I wasn't the reckless little heiress I'd once been. Hitting people was against the law—it meant paying up, and Alden wasn't worth it.

And if I got angry, with that unearned confidence of his, he'd surely decide I was just jealous.

I made myself stay as calm as I could.

"Alden, no one in this world is irreplaceable to anyone else."

"And besides, three years have passed. I've long since married and had a child."

Only then did Alden give me a slow, thorough once-over, scoffing in contempt: