The next morning, Bowen finally managed to pull himself away and returned to our downtown apartment.

As he opened the door, a sense of emptiness greeted him.

The slippers were neatly arranged, but the warm water he usually drank was not on the table.

In the walk-in closet, more than half of my section was empty.

An inexplicable pang hit Bowen's heart.

He took out his phone to call me.

It rang for a long time before it was answered, but it wasn't my voice on the other end. It was Brice's.

"What's up?" Brice's voice sounded lazy and hoarse, with a hint of a morning nasal tone.

Bowen was stunned instantly. "Brice, why are you..."

"She's still sleeping," Brice replied nonchalantly. "She was exhausted yesterday."

His words left Bowen utterly puzzled.

"What do you mean? She stayed over at your place? You and she..."

The call was abruptly ended.

Bowen was furious and almost smashed his phone.

He rushed to Cloud Manor angrily and burst into the dining room.

I had sent my clothes for cleaning, so I had to put on Brice's white shirt. Its oversized hem barely covered my thighs.

The exposed part of my calf was strikingly attractive.

I was sipping porridge slowly.

Brice sat beside me. He was peeling shrimp with his long fingers and placing them naturally into my bowl.

The sight pierced Bowen's heart.

He strode forward and grabbed my wrist tightly. He seemed to be trying to crush the bones.

"Leyla!" Bowen gritted his teeth. "Are you so desperate for a man that you'd even go after my brother?"

Even though I had decided to move on from Bowen, his humiliating words still pierced my heart.

He cheated on me first, but now he was righteously accusing me?

Thinking about how I had devoted myself to him for seven years, I felt it was like a joke.

Just as I was about to retort, Brice beat me to it.

He stood up and gripped Bowen's wrist with a slight force. "Let go."

His voice carried an undeniable authority.

Bowen winced in pain and had no choice but to release his grip on my wrist.

He was annoyed and asked, "Brice, what do you mean? Leyla is my fiancée!"

Brice took a wet wipe and carefully cleaned my hands. He didn't even spare a glance for Bowen. "You are at Cloud Mason. It's not a place for you to act wildly."

Bowen glared at Brice with a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Although Brice often cleaned up Bowen's messes, the latter didn't dare act too recklessly in front of the former, the eldest son of the family, who still commanded respect.

Watching Brice attentively clean my fingers without any further intimate gestures, Bowen felt a sense of relief.

Brice wouldn't be with me, Bowen's fiancée.

He felt it must be me throwing a tantrum over yesterday's engagement party fiasco. It was just my way to draw attention.

With this thought, Bowen said in a softened tone, "Alright, Leyla. I was wrong to leave you yesterday. But it is too much for you to team up with Brice to upset me. I'll let it slide this time. Come back with me, and stop embarrassing yourself here at Brice's place."

Bowen, in a patronizing tone, reached out to take my hand.

Just as I was about to evade, his phone rang.

It was Rosie again.

"Bowen, I fell and bled so much..." Her voice, with sobs, came through the receiver.

Bowen's expression changed instantly.

He looked at me and then at his phone.

In the end, Rosie won.

"Wait. I'm coming right away." He turned to leave before warning me. "Leyla, I'm running out of patience. You'd better know when to stop. Don't forget that your family is counting on the Green family to save them financially this time."

With that, he hurriedly left.

Watching his retreating figure, I suddenly found it amusing.

He still thought that it was just my way of trying to get his attention.

Brice offered the last peeled shrimp to me. A hint of amusement flashed in his eyes. "It seems that he still doesn't know what was going on. No worries. He'll figure it out soon enough."

The Green family's monthly gathering was an unbreakable tradition.

Brice intended to take me to the Green's old mansion.

I couldn't refuse him.

He not only invested a significant amount of money into the Yates Group but also leveraged his connections and resources to bring in several major clients for the struggling business of the Yates Group.

My father was so grateful to Brice that he practically flattered Brice.

In front of my parents, Brice said coldly, "The money and the business were given for Leyla's sake. If I hear even a whisper of you coercing her for your own benefit…"

His gaze swept over my parents' faces. "The Yates Group may have risen today, but I can make it vanish from the city overnight."

My mother's face turned pale with fear, and she repeatedly assured him that I was their most cherished and that they would never dare to hurt me again.

Just days ago, she had scolded me for being useless. But with Brice backing me now, I had suddenly become their most cherished.

How ironic it was!

Leaving the Yates home, Brice held my hand and didn't let go.

As the car pulled into the courtyard of the Greens' old mansion, I immediately noticed Bowen's flashy silver sports car.

The moment Brice and I stepped into the living room, the atmosphere was suffocatingly tense.

Brice's parents sat on the sofa and looked grim.

James, Brice's grandfather, sat at the head and leaned on his cane. His eyes were closed, and he gave no hint of his emotions.

To my surprise, Rosie was seated next to Bowen.

She wore a simple white dress and looked pitifully delicate.

Bowen was protectively beside Rosie and announced with excitement, "Rosie is pregnant." It's the eldest grandson of the Green family. I can't let the baby of the Green family stay homeless."

The last trace of sentiment in my heart was gone as soon as I heard those words.

It turned out that I could be in despair in an instant.

As I watched Bowen, who was now utterly devoted to Rosie, he felt like a stranger.

He was not the young man who had once danced with me and vowed to marry no one else.

James slowly opened his eyes and said in a commanding tone, "The Green family doesn't welcome just any woman."

Rosie trembled, and tears immediately fell. "Grandfather, I truly love Bowen…"

"Shut up!" James's cane struck the floor hard. "I only recognize the baby born to Leyla as one of the Green family. I refuse to acknowledge any other illegitimate children."

Bowen became anxious. "Grandfather, this is the modern age. How can you still be so stereotyped! Leyla and I were arranged to be engaged by the families. There's no love! Rosie and I truly love each other!"

Brice's father, Ivan Green, slammed the table and said, "You scoundrel! If Brice hadn't cleared up the mess for you, the Green family's reputation would have been utterly destroyed by you!"

Bowen was somewhat not convinced, but he dared not argue back with Ivan.

He turned to look at Brice and me. "Leyla, come over here." Bowen beckoned to me. He seemed to be summoning a pet. "You will be my wife and the mother of my baby. Rosie will need your care in the future, so don't make a fuss this time."

He really dared to imagine. How could he expect me to take care of his pregnant mistress?

Seeing that I wasn't moving, Bowen became impatient. "Leyla, don't be ungrateful. I've already given you the position of my wife. What more do you want?"

Rosie, seizing the moment, came over with teary eyes. She humbly lowered herself in front of me. "Ms. Yates, I won't fight you for the title. I just want to stay with Bowen. After my baby is born, you can be its mom. I truly love Bowen. Please take pity on me…"

With that, Rosie emotionally held my hand and looked so humble.

I shook her hand off in disgust. But she suddenly let out an exaggerated cry, stumbled backward dramatically, and fell to the floor heavily. "Ah! My belly… It hurts so much!"

Everyone in the living room was startled.

Bowen rushed over. As soon as he saw Rosie groaning on the floor and me standing nearby, his rationality snapped instantly.

Rosie's face was pale. She weakly clutched his sleeve, and tears streamed down freely. "I just lost my balance. It's not Leyla's fault..."

It was a cunning move to make herself seem innocent.

Bowen abruptly lifted his head, and his eyes were burning with anger. "Leyla, how could you be so vicious? Rosie is pregnant, and you dared to push her!"

I looked up at everyone in the living room.

Bowen was fuming, and even his parents had a hint of resentment on their faces.

Couldn't they see through such a basic trick?

In fact, they simply chose not to.

I let out a light chuckle and met Bowen's gaze. "I merely pulled my hand back. She lost her balance herself. It has nothing to do with me."

I calmly uncovered the facts, though my heart felt empty and desolate.

"We all saw it with our own eyes, and you're still trying to argue!" Bowen was livid. He raised his hand to strike my face.

I didn't dodge. In that moment, I saw clearly the guy I'd loved for seven years.

However, the expected pain never came.

A large hand intercepted Bowen's wrist midair.

Brice stood in front of me and gave off a commanding aura. His eyes were cold. "Who do you think you're trying to hit?"

Bowen's wrist throbbed with pain, yet he remained defiant. "Brice, don't be fooled by her! She's jealous of Rosie's pregnancy and wants to harm the baby!"

Brice sneered and looked at Bowen as if the latter were an imbecile. Then Brice pointed to a corner of the ceiling. "Bowen, is your woman pregnant and stupid, or are you just following suit without a brain? This place is covered in 360-degree surveillance. Do you think she'd dare to put on an act here?"

Rosie's sobs were held back instantly in her throat as she looked up in terror at the blinking red light. She shook like a leaf in the wind.

Brice took out his phone, brought up the security camera footage, and shoved it to Bowen.

On the screen, Rosie was shown falling backward on her own, trying to grab me, while I never even touched the hem of her clothes.

The truth was laid bare.

Bowen's parents were angry. James was so furious that he pounded his cane on the floor. "What a disgrace! Take that lying woman and get out!"

Rosie panicked. She clung to Bowen's leg and wailed. "Bowen, I was just so afraid of losing you... My belly really hurts..."

Bowen looked at the footage, and his face alternated between livid and pale. "Anyway, Rosie is pregnant. Her health is the most important."

In the end, he bent down, picked up Rosie, and left.

Brice said coldly, "Bowen, discipline the woman you bring back. If it happens again, I won't mind helping you get rid of her."

Bowen's back stiffened as he left hastily.

The farce concluded, and my dress was torn by Rosie. So I couldn't stay in the living room.

Brice took me upstairs to change clothes, so we entered his bedroom.

As soon as the door closed, I whispered, "Thank you..."

"Thank me for what?" Brice's eyes were deep and intense as he stepped closer. He cornered me against the wall.

I turned my head uneasily.

In the next moment, he grasped my chin with his fingers and forced me to look up. "Leyla, don't be so distant with me."

With those words, he lowered his head and kissed me.

The kiss was filled with a long-repressed desire for possession and dominance, leaving me weakly clinging to his neck.

Meanwhile, Bowen put Rosie in the car.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off.

Brice was usually aloof and was uninterested in meddling in others' matters. But he had been so angry a moment ago and even humiliated Bowen for Leyla.

Driven by an inexplicable impulse, Bowen returned.

The door to Brice's room on the second floor was slightly ajar.

At that moment, through the crack, Bowen clearly saw Brice, who was usually emotionally distant, pressing his "fiancée" against the wall.

We were kissing passionately.

I was flushed, and my eyes were dazed. She was so charming, which Bowen had never witnessed.

His blood ran cold, and his mind went blank.

The car keys in his hand dropped to the floor. "What... what are you doing?"