At the engagement party, the champagne tower is only half-built when Marcus Harrison answers a phone call. He glances at me and says, "I have to go. Lily collapsed at the airport."

I say, "If you leave, we're done."

He leaves anyway, in front of 200 guests.

He carries Lily Bardot in his arms, wearing the coat I gave him, as he drives away in my car.

The next day, he sends me an email that reads, "Lily will be moving into my apartment. She needs me, and I hope you can understand. Once Lily gets better, we'll get married. Please trust me."

I stare at the screen and suddenly laugh.

So what he wants isn't someone who loves him. It's someone who needs him. And I'm too independent, so I don't make the cut.

That evening, I scroll through my contacts and find a number I've never given a second glance to. It belongs to someone who's been waiting for me for 23 years.

I dial it.

"Tomorrow night, 7:00 pm. Meet me at the restaurant by the sea."

I didn't know until the engagement party that in Marcus Harrison's heart, a former girlfriend who "needed him" mattered more than his fiancee.

In the ballroom of the Royal Hotel, servers carefully stacked glasses onto the champagne tower. In ten more minutes, we would announce our engagement in front of 200 guests.

My mom and her friends occupied the lounge area on the left, comparing whose daughter married better. The board members from Marcus's family business sipped whiskey on the right, discussing the prospects of merging our two companies after the wedding.

The DJ tested the sound system while the lighting technician adjusted the spotlights. Everything was perfect, up until Marcus's phone rang.

I watched his expression change. I knew that look too well. His brow furrowed, his lower lip tightened, and his eyes flickered.

He said, "I... I need to step out for a moment."

"Where are you going?"

"Lily's at the airport. She collapsed, and the paramedics said it's serious."

"Marcus," I cut him off. "We're announcing our engagement in ten minutes."

"I know!" He grabbed my hand. "Claire, this is an emergency. Lily just lost her husband three months ago, and now she's collapsed. I can't..."

"She has family."

"Her mother's out of town. She can't get here in time!" Marcus's voice grew urgent.

"Claire, I can't just leave her there."

"What about our engagement?"

"We can announce it later! One hour. I promise I'll be back in an hour at most."

"Ladies and gentlemen." The DJ's voice suddenly boomed through the speakers.

"Please make your way to the main stage area. We're about to begin the most important moment of the evening."

Marcus looked at me. His eyes held pleading, anxiety, and something else I didn't want to acknowledge. It was almost like a relief.

"Claire, please. Just one hour, and I'll be back. We can announce it later. No one will mind."

"I mind."

"What?"

"I said I mind." I enunciated each word. "Marcus, there are 200 people here today. My parents, your parents, our friends, and our business partners. Everyone's waiting for us to announce our engagement.

"And you want to leave them, leave me, for your ex-girlfriend."

"She's not my ex-girlfriend!" Marcus's voice rose. "She's my cousin! My aunt's adopted daughter. She's family, Claire."

"Family?" I laughed coldly. "Marcus, you dated her for two years in college. Your aunt didn't officially adopt her until after you broke up. You think I don't know this?"

His face changed. "Even if she was my ex, so what? She just lost her husband and needs help! Claire, when did you become so cold?"

"I'm cold?" I laughed and stepped back, releasing his hand.

"Go ahead. Go be the hero."

Marcus stared at me. His eyes showed shock, anger, and struggle. Meanwhile, his phone kept ringing.

"Claire, I'll come back. We'll talk properly once I'm back."

"Ladies and gentlemen." The DJ's voice came through again.

"Please welcome tonight's guests of honor, Mr. Marcus Harrison and Ms. Claire White."

Marcus turned and left. I simply stood there, feeling every pair of eyes on me. That was when the whispers began.

"Where's the groom going?"

"He got a phone call and just left..."

"At a time like this?"

"Ladies and gentlemen," the DJ repeated, his voice strained with awkwardness. "If everyone could please..."

Everyone stared at me, waiting to watch the spectacle. They were all waiting to see how Claire White, the proud investment banker, would handle being abandoned by her fiance at her own engagement party.

I took a deep breath and walked toward the stage. My heels clicked against the marble floor, the sharp sound hammering at my heart with every step.

The blinding spotlight hit me. Mom stood there with an ashen face as Marcus's mother, Diana Lowe, covered her mouth. Even the board members exchanged glances.

The DJ handed me the microphone, his eyes full of confusion and pity. I took the microphone, looked at the 200 puzzled faces below, and began speaking.

"Everyone." My voice carried through the speakers across the entire ballroom.

The room fell silent.

"I'm very sorry to announce that tonight's engagement ceremony is canceled."

There was dead silence before chaos erupted.

"What?"

"Canceled?"

"What happened?"

I continued in a steady voice, "Marcus just left to pick up his ex-girlfriend, Lily, from the airport. So I've decided to call off our engagement."

The murmurs grew louder.

"Ex-girlfriend?"

"During the engagement party?"

"Is he insane?"

"Thank you all for coming tonight. Please enjoy the dinner and drinks."

I handed the microphone back to the stunned DJ and walked off the stage through the uproar.

I leaned against the elevator wall, staring at my reflection in the metal doors. I was wearing a black Valentino cocktail dress, Cartier diamond earrings, and a ten-carat engagement ring on my left ring finger.

With a bitter, self-mocking smile, I slipped the ring off and dropped it into my clutch. I pushed through the hotel's revolving doors. The cool night air hit my face, and a chill spread through my chest.

The valet recognized me, his eyes flickering. "Ms. White, do you need your car?"

"No, I'll walk."

I walked two blocks before stopping. Leaning against a building's wall, I finally pulled out my phone.

There were 22 missed calls, from my mom, Diana, a few friends, and Marcus. He'd sent five texts.

"Claire, I'm at the airport."

"Lily's in bad shape. The doctor says she needs to be hospitalized for observation."

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

"We'll talk properly when I get back."

"Claire, call me back."

I turned off my phone, suddenly feeling both ridiculous and pathetic.

…

The next morning, a phone call woke me up. It was my assistant, Emily Johnson.

"Claire, have you seen the news?" Her voice was urgent.

I rubbed my eyes and opened my phone.

The highlight "Claire White Calls Off Engagement" was already trending.

I clicked on it, and videos and photos from last night flooded the screen. There were pictures of my expression on stage, Marcus's retreating figure, and one blurry photo of Marcus at the airport, holding Lily Bardot.

The comments kept multiplying.

"Did you see that airport photo? He's holding her so tight!"

"So he really abandoned his fiancee for his ex?"

"Claire did the right thing. You can't keep a man like that!"

There were people criticizing me too.

"Isn't that too impulsive? He went to help someone, and she just flipped out?"

"I think Claire's quite calculating. She deliberately made a scene in public."

"Claire?" Emily was still on the line. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. "What's on the schedule today?"

"There's a video conference at 10:00 am." She paused. "And Marcus wants to see you."

I frowned. "Tell him I'm busy."

"I did," Emily said. "But he said Ms. Bardot wants to apologize to you in person."

I laughed coldly. "Apologize?"

"They're downstairs right now. They've been waiting for an hour."

I glanced at the time. It was only 9:00 am. "Send them to the conference room."

Marcus looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot, stubble covered his jaw, and his suit was wrinkled. He clearly hadn't slept.

Lily sat beside him. She wore a beige dress, her hair falling softly over her shoulders. Her face was pale, and her eyes were red and swollen. She looked fragile and pitiful.

"Claire." Marcus stood up the moment he saw me. "We need to talk."

I sat down across from them. "You have ten minutes."

"Last night was a misunderstanding, Claire. Lily really did collapse. The doctor said her blood pressure was dangerously low and her pulse was unstable. If I hadn't gone..."

"Marcus," Lily interrupted weakly, her voice soft. "Stop. This is all my fault."

She turned to me, tears pooling in her eyes. "Ms. White, I'm so sorry. I had no idea last night was your engagement party. If I'd known, I never would have called Marcus."

Her voice trembled. "I suddenly felt sick at the airport. I was dizzy and couldn't breathe. I didn't know who else to call.

"Marcus is the only person I know in this city. I really didn't mean to cause trouble."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Marcus immediately handed her a tissue. "Lily, don't get worked up. The doctor said you need to rest."

"No." Lily shook her head, tears flowing freely.

"I need to apologize to Ms. White. This is all my fault. If I hadn't called, Marcus wouldn't have left, and you two wouldn't have..."

She couldn't even finish and buried her face in her hands as she sobbed.

Marcus gently patted her back. "Lily, this isn't your fault."

Then he looked at me with pleading eyes. "Look, Claire, Lily really didn't mean for this to happen. Last night was genuinely an accident."

I leaned back in my chair, watching the scene unfold. My voice was calm as I said, "Ms. Bardot, you don't need to apologize."

Lily looked up. There was a flicker of hope in her eyes. "You... You forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive because you didn't do anything wrong. You were sick, needed help, and called someone you knew. That's perfectly normal."

Lily's eyes brightened further. "Ms. White, you—"

"But Marcus made a mistake," I said as I turned to him. "He chose to leave during our engagement ceremony, in front of 200 guests. That was his choice."

"But..." Lily's voice grew weaker. "Marcus was only trying to help me."

"I know. I don't blame you. But I also can't accept a man who abandons me at our own engagement party."

"So you're calling off the engagement?" Marcus's voice hardened.

"Just because of this, Claire? I was just helping someone who needed it."

"This isn't the first time." I cut him off.

"What?"

"This isn't the first time," I repeated. "Marcus, Lily's been back in the country for three months. What have you been doing for her during those three months?"

He froze.

"The first time, she needed someone to pick her up from the airport, so you ditched our anniversary dinner. The second time, she said she was scared to be home alone, so you drove over at 3:00 am.

"Then, the third time was when she was moving. You spent the entire weekend helping her and missed my dad's birthday."

Marcus's face went pale.

"It's been 18 times in total, Marcus. 18 times. Every single time she said she 'needed help,' you immediately took off."

"That's because she really was in trouble—"

"And I'm not?" I asked. "Last month, when I had a 102℉ fever, where were you? You were helping Lily move. Marcus, you never once asked if I needed you."

"That's because you..." He couldn't finish.

"Because I what? Because I'm too independent? Too strong?" I stood up.

"While Lily..." I looked at the woman, who was still crying.

"She's exactly the type you like. Someone who needs you, depends on you, and makes you feel important."

"Claire, you..." Lily's expression changed. "What are you trying to say? Are you implying something about me?"

"No, Ms. Bardot. I'm simply stating facts. You said you didn't know last night was our engagement party?"

She hesitated. "Y-Yes. That's right."

"But three days ago, Marcus posted about it on Instagram. The picture was of the engagement party invitation. It clearly showed the time and location."

The air froze.

"You liked it," I continued. "You even commented, 'Congratulations! Can't wait to celebrate with you guys!'"

Lily's face went completely white.

"Claire!" Marcus suddenly slammed the table and stood up.

"What are you implying? Are you saying Lily deliberately sabotaged our engagement?"

"I'm simply stating facts."

"This is slander!" Marcus's voice rose.

"Lily just lost her husband, so her emotions are shaky. She needs help, and you're questioning her? Claire, when did you become so vicious?"

Lily suddenly spoke, her voice tearful yet carrying an undertone of something else. "Ms. White, I know you have some misunderstandings about me, but..."

She lifted her head. The flash of satisfaction in her eyes was quickly masked by a look of grievance.

"Actually, Marcus already told me he'll take care of me. I might be staying at his apartment for a while."

"What?" I looked at Marcus.

"Claire, it's not safe for Lily to live alone. The doctor said she needs someone to look after her." Marcus's voice held a trace of guilt.

"Marcus said that as family, this is what he should do." Lily's hand gently touched Marcus's arm.

Marcus didn't pull away. Meanwhile, Lily looked at me, her eyes glowing with victory.

I looked at Marcus and suddenly felt exhaustion overcome me. "Get out. Please just leave."

"Claire..."

"I said get out." My voice was cold. "Or I'll call security."

Marcus stared at me. His expression was a mix of anger, unwillingness, and a hint of hurt. "Fine. If that's what you want, then so be it.

"Claire White, you're going to regret this."

He pulled the still-crying Lily toward the door. Just then, Lily suddenly turned back, and our eyes met.

In that instant, all the fragility disappeared from her face, replaced by naked triumph. After the door closed, I sank back into my chair. My hands were trembling.