chapter 1: My Proposal Day

Ariana Pov

"Miss, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting," the receptionist said as she handed me a silver wristwatch in a velvet case that I had reserved a few months earlier.

All my skipped takeout orders, late nights freelancing, and the essential things I had gone without had gone into the velvet case resting in my hand.

I smiled, rubbing my thumb over the ribbon on the case as butterflies fluttered in my stomach. In less than two hours, I would be Adrian's fiancée.

He had promised to propose to me.

A month earlier, while I was looking for my hair clip in Adrian's bedroom, I accidentally bumped into his bedside table, knocking a framed photo to the floor. As I bent to pick it up, I noticed a receipt sticking out of the drawer.

I gently pulled the drawer open and slipped my hand inside. I found a receipt for a diamond ring he had purchased weeks ago—the same day he had promised to propose to me on my birthday.

Warmth spread through my chest as I traced my fingers over the receipt.

I still remembered looking at the small details printed on the paper, my pulse quickening with every word I read.

Adrian had never been careless with important things, so finding the receipt felt less like an accident and more like destiny giving me a glimpse of our future.

He had always noticed the little things about me. Whenever I felt down, he knew before I even said a word. He always noticed when I was anxious because I would play with my ring around my finger.

He listened whenever I talked about my dream of becoming a jewellery designer and celebrated my small wins. He always reminded me to believe in myself whenever rejection letters filled my inbox.

Just a week earlier, I had felt an immense desire to take our relationship to the next level, but he had only smiled, gently brushed my hair back, and told me he wanted to wait for the right time. He didn't want to rush things, so I had gone to bed believing that the right time was coming.

Today was our anniversary. Adrian didn't come to pick me up, so I was now in a cab heading to his house.

I glanced at my phone. He was supposed to pick me up from my apartment. That was how it had always been.

I glanced at my phone for the fifth time in the past hour. Adrian still hadn't called or even replied to my text messages.

It was unlike him.

I gently shook the thought from my head and stared out the window as the cab drove through the evening traffic.

Maybe he was preparing a romantic dinner for the two of us. Maybe he was setting the table and lighting candles. Maybe he was standing in front of his mirror, trying to decide which outfit to wear.

I clung to those thoughts, repeating them like a rhyme in my head to silence the unease creeping into my chest.

I closed my eyes, thinking about his handsome face—those mesmerizing dark blue eyes that had captivated me since our college days.

"Miss, we have reached your destination," the cabman said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I had been expecting Adrian to call me back. After stepping out of the cab and paying the driver his fare, I was about to leave when my phone rang.

My heart skipped a beat. Thinking it was Adrian, I answered without checking the caller ID.

"Hey, Anny," my best friend, Serena, said through the line. "Have you reached his apartment yet? How's the proposal going?"

"Calm down," I said with a small laugh. "I had barely answered the first question before you asked another."

"I just got to his apartment. I'll tell you everything when I get back," I said.

"Okay... I will be waiting," Serena replied.

"Are you back from your bakery yet?" I asked.

"No, not yet. I still have a lot of orders coming in. Anyway, I have to go now. Bye."

The call ended.

I took a deep breath as I reached Adrian's apartment and pressed the doorbell. It rang several times, but there was no response.

Disappointment lingered on my face. I had been expecting to hear his familiar footsteps on the other side. I slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Adrian?" I called out, but silence answered me.

He never left his door unlocked.

I walked into the living room and passed the dining area.

There was no romantic setup, no candlelight, and not even my favorite flowers. The table was empty, with no signs of the romantic evening I had spent the whole day imagining.

Did he forget what today was?

I was lost in thought when my eyes landed on a white button-down shirt lying crumpled on the floor near the hallway. I bent down to pick it up. It was the shirt I had bought him for his birthday.

"Seriously, Adrian?" I murmured, shaking my head.

He must have gotten home late from work and tossed his clothes on the floor. That was one of his many bad habits.

For someone who always remembered my coffee order and every tiny detail about my life, he was terrible at keeping his apartment tidy.

A man would always be a man.

I headed toward Adrian's bedroom to put his clothes in his wardrobe when a sound of laughter drifted down the hallway.

It was a woman's voice.

I was certain of what I had heard, but for a moment, I thought I was mistaken. Who else would be in my boyfriend's apartment besides me?

My mind raced through a hundred explanations at once. Maybe I was hearing things.

But then I heard the same voice again, this time louder, clearer, and impossible to mistake.

"You seem good at playing your game, Adrian. What if she finds out?"

My brows drew together as I wondered what she meant. It sounded like she was talking about me, but I couldn't quite understand what she was saying.

Then Adrian's voice drifted out too.

"She won't." He chuckled. "She is too dumb and naive. I have her wrapped around my finger."

"A few guys put up fifty grand and dared me to make her fall in love with me before the semester ended. I won."

"She's just a bet I won years ago. I was done with her the moment I got the money."

A faint, shaky gasp escaped my lips before I could press my palms over my mouth. My knees threatened to give way, and I pressed my back against the wall for support.

I could never mistake his voice for anyone else's.

It was the same voice that had lulled me to sleep countless nights.

I couldn't hold it anymore.

I pulled the door wide open, my jaw dropping as I froze.

Earlier, I had thought they were only having a conversation.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Adrian was with another woman on the bed, confirming the betrayal I had just heard in his voice.

For a moment, I couldn't move.

The man I had come here believing would propose to me had been lying to me all along.