When I met Blake Pearson, he was broke. I stood by him as he built his business from scratch, helping him become a shining star in the business world. Just when I thought our love was finally bearing fruit, I saw him proposing to another girl with utmost sincerity. Standing at the doorway, I heard laughter erupting from the private room. “Mr. Pearson, we all thought you’d marry Zoe Chapman. Why are you marrying Lily White now?” Blake slammed his glass on the table. “Don’t mention that clingy bitch! It’s been 7 years, I’m sick of playing with her!” The people around burst into laughter, echoing his sentiments. “I always thought Zoe Chapman looked so high and mighty, turns out she’s just a hypocrite!” Blake downed another drink. “You guys don’t know the half of it. She used to ask me when we’d get married every day, like a desperate puppy!” Seven years of unwavering devotion, shattered in an instant. Applause thundered around me as I gently pinched the base of my ring finger. There was a pale mark there, left by a makeshift ring Blake had crafted from a guitar string. I turned to leave but someone grabbed me. “Zoe!” Blake slowly descended from the stage. He wore the navy blue suit I had carefully ironed for him. The bowtie was a birthday gift from me, and even his hair was styled the way I had spent hours perfecting this morning. He gripped my wrist with surprising force, dragging me onto the stage without a word. Then, with practiced ease, he adjusted my collar. His hot breath brushed against me, his eyes brimming with joy. He cleared his throat and spoke solemnly. “This is my best friend, Zoe Chapman.” “I wouldn’t be where I am today without her…” My smile froze on my face, ears ringing. The strange looks from the audience below felt like knives stabbing my face. Fighting back tears, I remember forcing a smile for what felt like an eternity before quietly leaving the stage. In a daze, I returned home and made myself a cup of instant noodles. I stared blankly at the bowl. There was a chip on the edge of the bowl, from when Blake had smashed it in a drunken state last week. The image of Blake placing his pinky ring on Lily White’s finger kept replaying in my mind. Before I knew it, tears were mixing with the noodles in the bowl. I should have never gone out for that walk. The small room was dimly lit, with a thin layer of cobwebs on the window outside. The house was in a crowded old neighborhood, a birthday gift from Blake three years ago. During the early days of his startup, when he was poor, I accompanied him in this tiny rented apartment. Back then, he had blushed as he gave me this house filled with our memories, then held my hand and promised. “Zoe, thank you for staying with me all these years. In the future, I’ll buy a bigger and better house, and you’ll be the lady of that home.” Three years had passed. Blake could now afford bigger and better houses, but it seemed I was no longer the intended lady of the house. After finishing my tear-seasoned noodles, I numbly cleaned up the dishes when suddenly I heard the sound of a key turning in the lock. Blake was back. I quickly wiped my tears with my sleeve and turned my back, pretending to be busy. He didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, naturally hugging me from behind. The familiar scent of his cologne mixed with alcohol wafted over me. “Zoe, why are you eating instant noodles again? It’s not good for your health to eat too much of that.” His tone was as intimate as ever, as if the man who had just proposed to someone else was a different person entirely. I wriggled out of his embrace, my voice trembling. “Now that you have a fiancée, you should keep your distance from other women.” Blake’s confused voice came from above my head. “What do you mean by ‘other women’?” I turned to face him, only to see him pull out a box from behind his back as if performing a magic trick. Inside the box lay a plain women’s ring, the kind often seen in mall clearance sales. He took my hand and slipped it onto my ring finger. “Zoe, you’ve been with me for so many years, I really don’t know how to repay you.” “I saw this ring and thought it would suit you perfectly. I hope you like it.” Looking at the ring on my hand, tears spilled from my eyes. I raised my hand and wiped them away forcefully, managing a strained smile. “If you don’t know how to repay me, why don’t you marry me then?!”
Blake’s smile froze on his face, his voice dropping to a whisper. “What are you saying… you’re my friend.” I forced out a smile uglier than crying, dodging his attempt to touch my hand and yanking off the ring to throw at him. “Blake Pearson, what do you take me for?” “Which friend would sleep with you? Which friend would give you so much money to start your business?!” Blake’s expression changed, his voice filled with disbelief. “Zoe, how can you think of me like that?” He took my hand, raising it to swear to the heavens. “All these years, I’ve been sincere to you, I swear.” This was how Blake always coaxed me whenever he did something wrong, and this time was no different. I pressed down on his hand, persisting with my question. “Then when are you going to marry me?” Blake’s lips pressed into a thin line, and after a long while, he finally spoke. “Zoe… you’ve already enjoyed my best years. All my firsts were yours, you already have so much.” I stood there stunned, unable to believe my ears. He looked up, ruffling my hair as if to appease me. “Don’t be angry… I’ll make it up to you, okay?” “I have to meet a client tomorrow, have you ironed my clothes?” Tears finally broke through the dam, and I bit my lip hard, keeping my head down to avoid looking at him. He pushed me, forcing me to look up. Seeing my expression, he suddenly frowned deeply. “Tsk, what are you crying for…” “Zoe Chapman, I’m not going to marry you.” “You’ve been by my side for so many years, aren’t you satisfied yet?” With that, Blake left in anger, pausing to wipe his leather shoes that had been dirtied by the wooden door – those shoes were the birthday gift I had given him last month. My mood was far from good, so I slumped down on the floor, examining the ring on my hand. It was the simplest women’s ring, without even a diamond, probably worth less than a hundred dollars. Yet Blake had just closed a million-dollar deal a few weeks ago. Perhaps… in his eyes, this was all I was worth. My phone kept buzzing. I saw the company group chat exploding with congratulatory messages. “Congratulations on Mr. Pearson’s successful proposal!” I opened the video to see Blake kneeling before Lily White on a yacht deck covered in rose petals, holding out a ring. It wasn’t a diamond ring. It was the pinky ring he had worn for seven years. His voice trembled with tenderness. “Because I met you, I finally realized…” “It wasn’t that marriage couldn’t bring me happiness, but that I hadn’t met the right person.” I stared at the screen many times until my eyes stung. On my birthday during our senior year of college, I had secretly tried on that pinky ring while Blake was asleep. He had suddenly woken up and snatched the ring back. “Don’t touch this, it’s very important to me.” So it was because I wasn’t the right person. I lowered my gaze, casually placing the ring aside. The sound of metal rolling on the floor rang out crisply. All these years I had accompanied Blake, sharing my connections, taking care of his daily needs, paying attention to his hobbies. In return, all I got was a statement that we were just friends. Initially, it was a bet with a friend that sparked my interest in Blake. Who knew that one bet would last 7 years.
In college, Blake was a special recruit. With his good looks, he was adored by many girls. But from the start of school, he wore a simple pinky ring, declaring himself a believer in staying single, telling others not to get close to him. Friends often said Blake would surely end up alone for life. But I took a particular interest in him and secretly approached him. Unexpectedly, Blake didn’t reject me alone, and even actively stuck to me. I was skinny, so he would work at the cafeteria window I liked, always giving me extra meat. I had trouble waking up, so he would run far every morning to buy my favorite breakfast, coaxing me to get up and eat in various ways. It was my first time falling in love, and I naturally fell for his caring gestures. We often appeared as a pair on campus, and although he never explicitly stated our relationship, I was content. I felt sorry for him and often used money from home to supplement his living expenses while we were in school. After graduation, I was even willing to break ties with my parents to be with him. Thinking back now, I feel very resentful. Resentful of my years of dedication, but what’s done is done, and I don’t want to continue anymore. Blake was a believer in staying single, and I had asked him many times when we would get married. Now, I guess I’ve finally got my answer. Since that’s the case, I don’t need to dwell on it anymore. It’s better to cut your losses on a mistake early. As I walked out of the Pearson Group building, the sunlight was so bright it hurt my eyes. In my bag was the newly signed equity transfer agreement. As the daughter of the Chapman family, I always kept my word. Back then, I had a big fight with my family to be with Blake. But parents always have a soft heart despite their harsh words, and they had been secretly sending me money over the years, so I had some savings. In the afternoon, Blake’s call came through, his tone unpleasant. “Zoe, what’s going on? People in the company say you’ve resigned?” “That’s impossible, don’t joke around.” “And why did Mr. Lee suddenly cancel? Go smooth things over quickly.” Blake’s tone was rushed, but still composed. After all, no matter what happened before, I would always clean up his messes. But not anymore. I brushed Blake off with a few vague responses and hung up the phone. Looking at the files sent to my computer, they contained the information of Pearson Group’s core employees, with several names highlighted in red – these were the backbone staff who had joined the company because of my abilities. I took a sip of coffee and the screen showed that Blake had recently hired a female assistant with zero work experience, but her monthly salary was higher than that of department managers. My phone lit up again, this time with a message from an unknown number. “You think it’s over just because you left? Mr. Pearson says you’re just a dog that comes when called and leaves when told!” The attached image was of Blake kissing Lily White. A dense, sour feeling spread through my heart. I took a deep breath and blocked the number.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “296429”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic #重生Reborn
Leave a Reply