On New Year's Eve, I returned home.

At the welcome party, my boyfriend, Grayson Caldwell, suddenly appeared, holding a bouquet of red roses and a diamond ring, dropping to one knee.

"Although this proposal comes a full three years late, our love will never be late," he said. "Alexa, marry me!"

Friends cheered from the sidelines, all expecting me to nod through tears and say yes.

But they had forgotten that three years ago, on New Year's Eve, he had promised to propose.

That night, I dressed to the nines and waited until dawn—but he never showed up. Instead, there was only a cold phone call. "Tanya is sick. I'm busy taking care of her. You'll have to wait a little longer for the proposal."

And so, on New Year's Day, I left the country alone, bound by a family-arranged marriage.

I had already married someone else three years ago.

I stepped back subtly, keeping my expression calm, and tilted the wine glass in my hand.

"Grayson," I asked with a faint smile, "are you proposing to the wrong person? Isn't your proposal supposed to be for Tanya?"

"I knew you were still jealous of Tanya." Grayson Caldwell's expression shifted slightly at my words. "It's been three years. You still haven't gotten over it? How many times have I told you…"

"You only see Tanya as a sister. There's nothing between you two," I finished the sentence for him, my voice steady.

There was no other reason—I had heard this line a hundred times before.

Every time Grayson left me, his official girlfriend, for this so-called "sister," he would say the exact same thing.

He paused, caught off guard by my words, then softened his tone.

"Three years ago… I wasn't in a good state. Didn't I explain it to you? Tanya was seriously ill. She needed someone to care for her, and I was afraid our marriage would upset her.

"Who knew that the very next day, you'd throw a tantrum and leave without a word, making me wait three long years?

"But thankfully, today, you came back for me.

"This time, marry me and stay. Be my wife, officially, in the Caldwell family."

He spoke with such certainty that it almost made me laugh.

"When did I ever say I came back for you?" I replied. "I will not marry you."

Grayson froze, disbelief flashing in his eyes before giving way to a look of stubborn certainty—he clearly didn't believe me.

"You're still angry, aren't you?" He stood, reaching for my hand, but I lightly pulled away.

My friends quickly stepped in, trying to reason with me.

"Alexa, just forgive him. He had his reasons back then."

"Yeah, these past years, Grayson has been looking for you. When he heard you were coming back, he prepared this proposal as a surprise."

Buoyed by their support, Grayson smiled with that determined look and lifted the ring toward my hand.

I let a cold smile tug at my lips and, in one swift motion, slammed the ring onto the floor.

It bounced and rolled away, but my gaze landed on the red roses in his hand.

"Grayson," I said, mercilessly piercing through his pretense, "I like white roses. Red roses… those were always for Tanya."

The words barely left my lips before the room fell silent. The entire private room froze.

Then, a familiar voice called from behind me.

"Alexa, please forgive Grayson!"

Tanya stepped forward, picking up the ring, tears welling in her eyes as she turned to Grayson.

"It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you two wouldn't have missed out on so many years. If I had known it would come to this… I might as well have died back then."

She coughed, panic overtaking her, her pale face growing even paler.

Grayson immediately stopped thinking about confronting me and rushed to support her, worry etched on his face.

"Why are you here? Weren't you supposed to stay home and rest?"

Watching their closeness, I let out a quiet sigh.

Had I known this drama would unfold at today's welcome party, I wouldn't have come at all.

I nodded to the others in the room. "I just got back from abroad and need to adjust to the time difference. I'll leave first and rest. We can meet again another time."

As I turned to leave, Grayson tried to stop me, but I ignored him, pushing open the door to the private room and walking out without a hint of hesitation.

I reached the hotel entrance, about to call my family for a ride, when I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"Alexa!"

Grayson came rushing out, Tanya trailing after him, her face pale and drawn.

"What exactly are you trying to do?" I frowned.

"You've gone too far today," Grayson snapped, taking the offensive. "Again and again, you've rejected me. I know you're angry, but if you keep this up, I'll start taking it seriously."

I rolled my eyes, took a deep breath, and said firmly, "I am serious. Grayson, I'm not accepting your proposal. I stopped loving you three years ago. Besides, I'm already married."

Unexpectedly, Grayson let out a short, incredulous laugh. "You don't have to play the married act in front of me. I'm really getting angry."

"Yes, Alexa," Tanya chimed in, moving closer. "Everyone knows you love Grayson. How could you possibly marry someone else? Grayson loves you too. So, I'm willing to let you two be…"

She said this while putting on the same tearful, pitiful expression she always did.

Grayson opened his mouth, muttering, "Impossible… how could you be married? You're wearing the red dress I love most, wearing the perfume I adore—it's obvious you knew I would propose today."

For some reason, trying to reason with them felt utterly futile.

"I am married," I said evenly. "Grayson, we ended things three years ago. Stop harassing me—if anyone sees this, it'll reflect badly.

"My husband loves me. We're happy. And as for the red dress and perfume? Sorry, I don't even remember what you like anymore."

Tanya interrupted, her voice cracking, "Alexa, why do you keep lying to us and hurting Grayson? If you have a husband, why did you come back alone today?"

Grayson's eyes lit up instantly. He looked at me with a spark of hope, as if believing I must still be madly in love with him.

Back then, Grayson and I were childhood sweethearts, our families well-matched. Being together had seemed natural. I, a pampered heiress, had once been willing to cook and tend to him.

Even after his so-called "sister" Tanya appeared, I forgave him over and over, defending him in front of both families.

And what did he give me in return? Repeated betrayals.

He said he only saw Tanya as a sister, but what kind of brother cares for a sister in bed?

Looking back, I must have been completely blind.

But now, facing Grayson, all I felt was annoyance. Not a flicker of anything else.

"Say whatever you want," I said, walking forward without looking back, ignoring the hurt in his eyes. "Just stop bothering me. I don't want to see either of you again."

I had thought I had made it perfectly clear to Grayson: there was no longer any possibility between us.

But the next morning, I was woken not by an alarm, but by an onslaught of messages.

[Alexa, are you getting engaged to Grayson?!]

Confused, I clicked the link my friend had sent—a trending topic on social media.

The moment I saw the headline, my brow furrowed.

[The Caldwell and Hartman Families Unite in a Grand Marriage! Childhood Sweethearts' Love Becomes Reality!]

Below it, a flood of clueless netizens gushed over our supposed romance.

[I'm dead from this cuteness!]

[So the prince-and-princess love story is real!]

[Turns out I'm just an NPC in this world…]

I was about to contact the media to have it taken down when Grayson's call came through.

"Did you see the trending topic? Happy now? I knew you cared about your image. Feeling better?" His voice oozed self-satisfied arrogance.

"Did you leak this?" I asked coldly.

"What's with that tone? Our engagement was already set in stone," he said, his words dripping with condescension. "Let me tell you, agreeing to this engagement is me giving you face. The Caldwell Group is about to enter the international market and become the leading enterprise in the country."

Impossible. Caldwell Group's finances had been shaky for years. I had come back precisely to take over the company!

Feigning casual curiosity, I probed, "Oh? I didn't realize Caldwell Group was doing so well. But I heard from my father that there might be some financial trouble recently?"

"Hmph." Grayson let out a short, dismissive laugh. "Let me be honest with you. I've already contacted internationally renowned investors—they're willing to collaborate with Caldwell Group."

He actually found investors for the Caldwell Group?

If he succeeded, my acquisition plan could be completely ruined.

My pulse tightened, but I masked it with flattery. "I see… so the Caldwell Group is really about to reach a new level. Is there any chance I could meet this investor?"

"Of course," Grayson replied without hesitation. "I've already made the engagement news public. Caldwell Group's stock price has stabilized, and the investors just informed me they'll attend our engagement party in three days."

His voice dropped low. "So, three days from now, you must attend the engagement party. Otherwise, I can't guarantee how it'll affect your company. That's someone you can't afford to provoke."

Hearing the threat in his tone, I pondered silently. A plan began to take shape in my mind.

After a long pause, my voice came out steady and controlled. "Grayson… I'll be there on time for the engagement party in three days."