Chapter 3

The "home" Natalya had spoken of wasn't the quiet suburban town where she'd settled down with my father. She meant the picturesque coastal town that my grandmother used to tell me stories about.

After seeing Natalya off on her bus, I returned to our apartment to collect the rest of my belongings.

The moment I unlocked the front door, I was greeted by an unexpected scene. Lucy was sitting in our living room, playing poker with a crowd of her coworkers as though she owned the place.

Their conversation stopped when I walked in, and several curious glances shifted between Lucy and me.

"Lucy, who's this?" one of her colleagues asked.

Lucy's eyes dimmed, and she shot me a subtle, pleading look, silently begging me to play along. But after everything that had happened, I had no intention of helping her maintain the charade.

"I'm Levi Meyer's girlfriend," I announced.

Lucy's face went pale, though she quickly forced out a strained laugh. "That's strange. I've never heard Levi mention having a girlfriend like you."

Her coworkers exchanged knowing looks, and the atmosphere shifted almost immediately.

"Right? The only official girlfriend Mr. Meyer has ever had is Lucy."

"Wait, I remember now! She was the woman lurking outside the elevators the other day. A stalker, aren't you?"

Having already decided that Lucy was the rightful lady of the house, they turned to her with concern.

"Lucy, this woman is clearly out of her mind. What should we do?"

I didn't bother arguing with them. Since I had only come to collect my belongings, I turned away from their accusations and headed straight into the master bedroom to pack my clothes.

Lucy's sharp voice rang out behind me. "Hey! Don't touch other people's stuff! Get out right now, or I'm calling the police!"

I turned to face her, suddenly struck by the absurdity of it all.

Lucy was my best friend. She had witnessed every twist and turn of my ten-year relationship with Levi, yet now she was treating me like an intruder in my own home.

Her coworkers rushed forward and began grabbing and shoving me. By the time Levi emerged from his home office, my shoulder strap had been torn, and half my top was in tatters.

A flicker of hesitation crossed his face as he took in the scene.

However, when everyone began shouting that I was a stalker and threatening to call the police, he looked away.

"I don't know her," he said coldly.

With Levi refusing to acknowledge me, the building security had no reason to let me stay. In the end, they dragged me out of the complex.

With nowhere else to go, I sat on the sidewalk outside the gated community and waited. Six hours passed, and the deep scratches covering my arms began to sting as sweat seeped into the wounds.

Yet as the physical pain grew sharper, my thoughts became strangely clear.

Levi and Lucy finally came out to see me after they'd sent their guests home.

Lucy hurried toward me with tears streaming down her face.

"Emilie, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault. Please don't blame Levi."

She then explained how she had posted the bridal photos on her social media account earlier.

"I didn't realize the fitting room mirror had captured Levi in the background. Everyone kept grilling me about when Levi and I were getting married, so I just blurted out that it was coming up soon."

I watched her tearful performance with growing disgust. "Whether you posted those pictures by accident or on purpose is something only you know."

Lucy faltered, her tears momentarily forgotten. "Emilie... don't you trust me?"

Before I could answer, Levi tossed a tube of ointment onto the ground in front of me. Whatever guilt or sympathy he'd briefly felt had disappeared.

"How long are you going to keep throwing this tantrum?" he snapped. "Let them misunderstand if they want to. At the end of the day, you're the one I'm marrying, and that's all that matters!

"Besides, making an official announcement now would save us the trouble of dealing with endless gossip and unnecessary explanations. I don't see what the problem is."

I stared at him, indignation rising in my chest.

For ten years, I'd stayed out of sight to protect his reputation and avoid complicating his career. Yet now, he was treating my desire to be acknowledged as a selfish demand.

"In what capacity am I even standing by your side?" I demanded. "Am I your girlfriend, or am I some secret mistress who has a marriage certificate but no public recognition? How much longer do you intend to keep me hidden?"

"So, you finally admit it." He shook his head, looking at me with open disappointment. "You've been pulling all these stunts just to force me to go public with our relationship?

"You always have to overcomplicate simple things just to satisfy your own selfish demands. You could learn a thing or two from Lucy. She's endured years of office gossip, yet she always brushes it off with a smile and moves on."

He slipped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and turned toward the building. "Her emotional breakdown is her own problem. There's no reason for us to stand around wasting our time on her."

Lucy kept glancing back at me with a look of exaggerated concern. "Maybe I should move back to my old place and let Emilie come home?"

Her suggestion seemed to have the opposite effect on Levi, making him even more determined to keep her by his side.

"There's no need. Living together is the most efficient way to make our relationship clear. Next month, we'll announce our marriage at the same time as the company's IPO."

His answer made one thing clear: he had no intention of changing the arrangement.

I opened my phone, pulled up Levi's and Lucy's profiles, and blocked their numbers and social media accounts across the board. Then I called a cab and headed back to the company to submit my resignation.