Chapter 3

Freddie kept urging me to open the short-video app.

I clicked on his profile and saw that he had posted a new video just 30 minutes earlier. It was one of those popular couples' videos. Freddie lay on the bed, holding onto Emily's arm as she pulled him to his feet.

They looked incredibly close, and the comments were filled with congratulations.

"Wow, what a gorgeous couple! Wishing you two a lifetime of happiness!"

"I was too busy getting people to like my videos. I should've been shipping you two this whole time."

"I heard the CEO of Carter Group is getting married soon. Could her fiance actually be this guy?"

"Oh my god, I'm shipping them so hard!"

Similar comments filled the post.

My expression gradually hardened. Each congratulatory comment twisted the knife deeper. Freddie, meanwhile, was still grinning proudly. He even liked a comment suggesting that he was Emily's fiance.

"Richard, you've always been the best! When we were kids, I hated sleeping in a separate room from you. I'd always cling to you and say you couldn't get married until you found me a sister-in-law who'd take care of me and spoil me just like you do. I never thought you'd actually find someone like that!"

The words struck me with painful irony, each one landing like a slap across the face.

I spoke coldly. "Freddie, do you really think it's appropriate to make that video with Emily while wearing my ring?"

The mood on the other end instantly turned tense. Freddie's smile froze. "Richard, what are you talking about? Are you mad because I'm enjoying your honeymoon trip in your place? But you lost it to me fair and square…"

Mom immediately defended Freddie, holding up the phone as she scolded me. "Richard, how could you speak to your brother like that? This is the most important graduation trip of Freddie's life. Do you really have to ruin it? Do you realize how cruel that is?"

Emily's expression was grim. "Richard, apologize to Freddie."

I froze and stared at her in disbelief. "What did you just say? Do you have any idea what he did? Everyone in the comments thinks Freddie is your fiance!"

"So what?" Emily barely reacted. When she looked at me, her eyes were cold and warning.

She continued, "I agreed to make the video with Freddie. We didn't cross any boundaries. What other people think is their business. But Richard, you're his brother. It's your fault for being so narrow-minded and assuming the worst of him. Apologize to Freddie. Now."

I clenched my jaw, anger boiling inside me. "What if I don't?"

Emily's expression became noticeably colder. "Richard, I know how much effort you've put into the three projects the company is currently working on. If you insist on being difficult, I have no problem putting someone else in charge."

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes in disappointment. She knew exactly how much I had sacrificed for those three projects. I'd even pushed myself so hard that I ended up in the hospital twice because of severe stomach bleeding.

Suddenly, I remembered the day she proposed. Hundreds of balloons filled the sky, each one carrying her handwritten message.

"Emily will cherish Richard for the rest of her life."

That day, Emily stood in a white dress, looking at me with nothing but love in her eyes.

Yet less than six months later, it seemed she'd completely run out of patience with me.

"You have five seconds to decide.

"Five… four… three… Two…"

I took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things."