Chapter 3 Who Am I to You?

Mom was not referring to the childhood home where she had settled down with Dad.

Instead, it was the scenic rural area where she grew up.

…

I returned home to pack my belongings.

I opened the door to find Matthew and his colleagues playing a card game in the living room.

Their scrutinizing gaze darted from my face to Matthew's.

Someone asked, "Who is that, Mr. Pierce?"

A smug grin appeared on Matthew's face. He did not answer right away, deliberately keeping them in suspense.

I strode into the room and announced, "I'm Eloise's boyfriend."

Matthew's grin widened as he rose to his feet unhurriedly.

He challenged me, "Really? Eloise never mentioned having a boyfriend."

His friends snapped out of their trance and seconded him.

"That's right. We all know Ms. Harper and Mr. Pierce are dating."

"I remember you! You're the suspicious guy in the elevator the other day! You're stalking Ms. Harper, aren't you?"

In their eyes, Matthew was the true master of the house.

"Mr. Pierce, he's a psychopath! What should we do with him?"

I paid them no mind and walked into the bedroom to pack my things.

I did not expect to hear Eloise scold me.

"Hey! Get your hands off people's things. Get out of here right now, or I'm calling the police."

I turned around to look at her. The absurdity of the situation dawned on me.

We had been dating for ten years and bought the apartment with a joint mortgage. Now, she was chasing me out of my own house.

"Eloise, do you swear you don't know me?" I looked straight into her eyes.

She choked on her words, but after Matthew whispered something into her ear, she regained her composure. She confidently met my eyes. "I don't know you."

He came over to nudge me and whispered a warning. "Get lost already, you troublemaker. Stop causing Eloise any trouble."

His male colleagues rushed to drag me into the corridor.

In the end, the security guard threw me out of the building.

I waited outside for six hours.

The sweat stung the scratches on my arms, but the more painful it was, the clearer I could see the situation.

Eloise and Matthew only found me after seeing off their colleagues.

Matthew smiled innocently and said, "I'm sorry, Andrew. It's all my fault. Please don't blame Eloise."

He explained that the photo of him in a wedding suit on his social media led to the wedding date leakage.

"When I posted the photo, I didn't notice Eloise's reflection in the fitting room mirror. When they pressed us for the wedding date, I blurted out that it would be soon."

A wave of nausea hit me as I stared at his fake smile hidden in the shadows.

"Matthew, you know very well whether it was an accident or not."

He let out a sad sigh as though my accusation wronged him.

"Andrew, how could you possibly think I could do anything like that?"

Eloise tossed a tube of wound healing ointment in my face.

The guilt and regret on her face had vanished.

"I'm sick of your game, Andrew. What's wrong with letting people misunderstand? In the end, the man I'm marrying is you. Pretending to be a couple with Matthew saves us from having to explain every time. I don't see any problem with it."

It was unfair to the efforts I had poured into the relationship over the past ten years, unfair to my sacrifice to play her secret lover to avoid causing trouble for her.

"Eloise, what will I become even after we get married? Is the marriage certificate meant to appease me? Will I still be your secret? Do you even want to introduce me to your friends?"

"Andrew, admit it. All this drama is just an act to force me to make our relationship public."

She dared to look disappointed.

Her accusation did not stop there.

"You always complicate simple matters to feed your ego. You could really learn a thing or two from Matthew. Despite all the office rumours over the years, he always shrugs them off and never dwells on them."

She hooked her arm around his and started walking into the building.

"Let Andrew play the victim. We don't need to waste time entertaining him."

Matthew kept looking back at me, pretending to be concerned. "Maybe I should move out and return the apartment to its rightful owner?"

It only fueled her determination.

"No need. The two of us living together will make people believe that we're a couple. Next month, we'll announce our marriage and promotion at once."

I blocked them on every social media platform before hailing a cab to the office to submit my resignation.