I had been with Lars Carter for six years.

The head of Midas Capital in Eastwind City, he was a rising star in Riverton's Silver Street—the heart of this nation's financial world.

Few knew his true roots. Within him flowed the Vitalus bloodline. Lars descended from an old mafia clan from the city of Virgil in Vitalus, the Viktors.

Midas Capital was ours. We built it from the ground up together; Lars would haunt private clubs, ironing out business deals amid drinks. I would stay by his side, doing the accounts, steering the direction of the negotiations, and memorizing every detail of the high-stakes contracts.

We did everything together—a tight team.

Or so I thought. In my naivete, I was convinced I would rule the city alongside him. The woman behind the man, so to speak.

…Until Pearl Ross arrived two months ago.

His childhood sweetheart moved from Virgil to Eastwind City. It was then that I knew—she was the one he was waiting for all along. It had always been her.

"Lars, I want to get married."

Lars' face tightened; hesitation veiled in businesslike concern. "Bianca, you know the company's at a critical stage… We're mid-fundraising. I can't right now."

I smiled, calm and composed. "That's fine."

He misunderstood.

I was getting married—just not to him.

"Mom, please tell Grandpa that I'm willing to go through with the arranged marriage."

My mother, Ellena, was stunned to hear it.

"What did you say? Wait… What about your boyfriend? The one you've been with for six years?"

"We're done," I said with calm finality. "Have Grandpa arrange the marriage."

My mother went quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say.

Then…

"What's the meaning of this, Bianca? I know Grandpa worked hard to find Royce Farrell for you. He's the executive director and CEO of Radar Finance, and one of the world's most powerful heirs. An excellent man, I'm sure, but when it comes to marriage... I hope you're not rushing into things."

"I'm not being impulsive," I insisted, though my tone was frosty. "Please arrange it, Mom."

When I called my younger brother yesterday, he accidentally let the secret slip. Our family had suffered a major loss in a Biscayne real estate deal, and our cash flow was going into the negative.

An arranged marriage was the safest way out.

In the past, I turned my back on my family for Lars Carter. The me from back then would have never agreed to an arranged marriage. What a fool I was!

But now, that fool is dead.

Lars, the love of my life. The CEO of Midas Capital, he controlled a plethora of investment funds, several arms dealings, and crypto asset platforms. He was a major player in Eastwind City's financial world, mysterious and dangerous.

Few knew he was the heir of the Viktors, an old mafia clan from the city of Virgil in Vitalus.

For six years, I fought by his side and watched him rise from nothing. I thought I would be the woman standing with him, ruling this city by his side.

At least, until two months ago.

Out of the blue, Pearl Ross entered our lives. His childhood sweetheart, the darling from his younger days. Right after she arrived, she became his personal secretary.

The moment I saw her, I already knew—nothing could compete with their bond.

After that, Lars was always away on business trips or working overtime. Biscayne City, Zephyr City, Botolph City... Each time, it was just the two of them.

On the financial statements for every trip they took, I noticed that Lars and Pearl only booked one presidential suite. Upon checking the attendance records at our company's Riverton branch, they would be together in a closed meeting room almost every night.

One fateful day, I ran into Pearl in the office hallway. She wore a dazzling smile, so bright that it seared my eyes.

"Hello, Bianca," she said sweetly. "You don't look so good. Did you and Lars have a fight?"

I shot her a cold look and turned to leave.

"Bianca," she called me softly, "you're almost thirty. Don't be so childish. Radar Finance still hasn't agreed to the financing deal, and Lars is under a lot of pressure. If you can't help, at least don't make things worse, okay?"

"Are you telling me what to do, Pearl? I founded Midas Capital with him. If he can keep you, I can make you leave," I snarled.

Pearl froze, and her eyes suddenly started to redden.

"I… I was just trying to give you some friendly advice," she stammered. "If you don't like what I have to say, you don't have to listen. There's no need to say something like that…"

Lars happened to appear at the end of the hallway. His expression was frosty.

"Bianca, Pearl just came from Vitalus. She's not used to the language or culture here. Can't you be a bit more understanding with someone younger?"

Young?

I almost laughed. At most, she was just three months younger than me!

Standing under the harsh lights, I stared right back at him, locking eyes.

"Lars, I'll give you a choice. Either she leaves…or I do."

Yet, he didn't even flinch. "Don't make a fuss about this."

Pearl's eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Bianca, is there a misunderstanding here? Lars and I are just friends who grew up together in Virgil. You're from a privileged family. You grew up wanting nothing. I get that. But I never insisted on staying at Midas Capital. If you don't like me, I can pack up and leave Eastwind City…"

"Pearl…" Lars couldn't hide the tenderness in his eyes.

I laughed, but the sound was hollow and frigid.

Without hesitation, I spun on my heel and walked away from the building—the place our financial dream had started.

Long ago, my father asked me to take over the family business. In my stupidity, I refused.

I loved Lars, so I willingly gave up everything to help him conquer Eastwind City's financial world. How many times did I stay up until three in the morning, drinking and negotiating by his side, gambling away all we had for a scrap of future influence?

In the end, all I got for my trouble was: "Don't make a fuss."

That night, I video called my mom.

She sighed. "When are you coming home?"

"In about half a month."

I looked back at the brightly lit headquarters of Midas Capital.

Lars, I gave you a choice—but you abandoned me.

Now, I've made my choice.

I'll abandon you, too.

When I got back to my apartment, I sat on the sofa for a long time.

I couldn't understand how love could change so quickly.

Lars was once the man who would hold my hand through any storm. Now, he looked at Pearl with the same affection he once had for me.

Every time I questioned him about what was happening between them, he would simply say, "You're overthinking. She's just a childhood friend, and I'm just… I'm just used to looking after her."

And… I believed him every time.

I used to have absolute faith that Lars loved me.

That was, until one fateful night.

Lars got drunk, and I went to pick him up at a private club in Riverton's old district. One of his old friends was drunk too, and let something slip in front of me.

"Lars liked Pearl even before he came to Eastwind City from Vitalus. The reason he pursued you is because of your smile… It looks just like Pearl's. He's with you because Pearl turned him down back then. But don't worry, the rest of us have talked to him. We told him to treat you right. After all, you've been with him for so many years… But you have to understand something, too. It's not that easy to let go. They're childhood sweethearts, after all..."

Beep… Beep… Beep…

It wasn't until the kitchen timer went off that I was pulled back into reality and out of my reminiscence.

The medicine bottle lay in front of me, unopened. It was prescribed for my stomach pains.

I took out a pill and washed it down my throat with warm water. My stomach was aching, and I could hardly hold back the pain.

I got up and looked around the home I had designed and decorated myself. Then, I put down a clear mark on the calendar.

Fourteen days left before I leave this city.

With that, I started packing my things.

This home would become that woman's belonging eventually. I didn't want her to touch a single thing of mine—not even a hairpin.

As I soaked in the tub later that night, I scrolled through my phone and saw Pearl's latest Instagram update.

[By day, he's a stern CEO. By night, he lines up to buy cake for me. He said he wants to make up for all the years he missed. So happy!]

She posted a photo of a blueberry cake. While holding the cake, I spotted a familiar watch on her wrist. It was Lars' watch—I knew, because I had a matching pair.

That year, we managed to pull off a merger on the East Coast that startled the financial world. Lars didn't sleep for four nights in a row. I stayed by his side until we signed the contract that put Midas Capital on the map.

The same night the project ended, he took me to a luxury watch store on Fifth Avenue. He forced himself to stay awake and bought us a matching pair of watches.

I told him it was too expensive, but he put it on my wrist anyway.

"Bianca, I must be the one to give you everything you love."

He never took that watch off.

Back then, everyone knew that Lars loved me.

But now… Everything was so ridiculous.

No one knew that all those loving looks weren't meant for me. He was just using me to reminisce about someone else.

I let out a long sigh and took off my watch. Then, I snapped a photo of it and put it up for sale online for one dollar. No returns, no exchanges.

Lars didn't come home that night, either.

I slept until noon the next day. Still exhausted, I dragged myself to Midas Capital headquarters for my resignation.

Over the past two years, as the company stabilized, I stepped back from the core management and focused instead on the design and art direction.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered the design department, a few old colleagues stopped to congratulate me.

I was puzzled.

It wasn't until Candice Smith, my best friend and the company's HR director, pulled me into her office.

"Bianca, are you and Lars about to get married?"

I frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb! The florist just delivered a whole box of pink roses downstairs. Isn't Lars planning a surprise for you? Maybe even a proposal!"

My chest tightened.

Pink roses—the flowers he gave Pearl when he picked her up at the airport two months ago.

Candice suddenly noticed the document in my hand. "Is that…?"

"My resignation letter."

Candice froze. "You're stepping down? Well, I suppose it makes sense if you're getting married, my dear future Mrs. Carter!"

I didn't respond.

She signed the paperwork, smiling as she handed it back.

"Bianca, you've been the best superior I've ever worked with. If you've decided to focus on family, maybe that's for the best… Though I hope Lars doesn't let you down."

"I'm sure I'll be happy," I replied, my tone firm.

However, that happiness had nothing to do with Lars.

Right before stepping into Lars's office, I hesitated for a moment.

It wasn't indecision. I was simply figuring out the most direct and effective way to get his signature.

As the top player in Eastwind City's finance world, Midas Capital had attracted a lot of funds from the old money in recent years. Even if I were a co-founder, I had to do this by the book. To avoid future complications, the resignation process had to be clean.

I pushed the door open—before I could even say what I was rehearsing in my mind, I saw Pearl sitting across from him.

Now, I understand why her desk was empty today. She was already by his side.

"Lars…" Her voice was sugary sweet as she gently patted his shoulder. "You're distracted again!"

Lars looked at her with a kind of affection I had never seen before. "Alright, stop messing around. I still have a contract to handle."

"I'm not messing around…" she said.

Pearl shot me a challenging look, not even trying to hide it.

"Oh!" She smiled sweetly. "Bianca's here."

Lars froze; he quickly leaned back, instinctively putting some space between them.

I suppressed my anger. "Lars, I have some paperwork for you to sign."

I handed him the documents and the folder.

Seeing that I wasn't mentioning anything about him and Pearl, he visibly relaxed and nodded. "Alright."

"I shouldn't disturb you two from working. I should leave for now," Pearl said. She stood up and left, deliberately brushing past me. Her perfume was making my nose itch.

Lars opened the file, and I was about to explain my reasons—until a sudden shriek sounded behind me.

"Ah! That hurts!"

I turned around, only to see Pearl buckling as one of her heels skidded and she stumbled to the floor.

"Pearl!" Lars immediately jumped to help her, but I raised my hand and stopped him.

"Sign it," I said coolly. "It won't take more than a few seconds."

He frowned. "When did you become so vicious and heartless? Is this paperwork really that important?"

Before I could answer, I heard Pearl sobbing behind me.

"It hurts… I think I twisted my ankle…"

Lars couldn't focus at all, desperate to get past me. However, I just glared at him silently. In the end, he impatiently grabbed the pen and signed where I pointed, not even skimming the details.

Good. That was exactly what I wanted.

I just wanted to leave this city where he existed neatly.

Lars picked Pearl up and gently set her on the sofa, carefully holding her ankle and comforting her, "It's not swollen, but I'll take you to the hospital just in case."

"It's really not that serious…" Pearl murmured. While doing so, she shot me a triumphant look.

I simply walked out.

I had just reached the parking garage when someone stopped me.

Lars was running toward me, out of breath. "Bianca, wait!"

When I looked back, he used this chance to block my car door. His eyes were full of urgency. "Don't get the wrong idea. About us… There's really nothing between me and her. We just grew up together… I can't just ignore her."

"Sure," I said with a nod, my gaze dropping to his hand on the car door. He instinctively let go.

He was surprised. "You're not mad?"

I glanced at him. "Should I be?"

"I…" He hesitated before taking my hand. "I've got an event tonight, but I'll come home."

"Alright."

By now, him coming home felt like charity.

That night, I grabbed a quick bite outside, then returned home and kept packing. I was about to rest when my phone on the table buzzed.

It was a Facebook message from Pearl.

[See, Bianca? Lars still remembers my favorite pink roses! He's even more attentive than before. Thanks for training him so well.]

She even attached a photo—it was the custom Porsche I had picked out with Lars, its trunk stuffed full of pink roses and strung with sparkling lights.

At that moment, I understood everything clearly.

All the genuine love Lars had given me over the years had always belonged to someone else.