On Frankie Sutton's birthday banquet in the tenth year of us being together, all of our family, friends, and relatives were confident that I'd propose to him again.

After all, I gave up on my family's assets that are worth tens of millions of dollars back in Glufford just so I can travel all the way to Arkvine with Frankie in order to start a pig-rearing business. I've been clinging to him for ten long years so that I can marry him.

But even when the clock hits 5:00 am, I'm still nowhere to be seen in my wedding gown. All Frankie receives is a text from me, stating that I'm breaking up with him.

In ten years, I've reared countless batches of piglets and watched them grow into full-fledged pigs. Alas, I can never warm Frankie's heart up with my love.

Now, I choose to abandon him and the piglets I'm forced to rear.

After ten years of wasted time, I felt surprisingly light once I made the decision to leave.

I booked the next flight back to Glufford.

Before I left, I contacted the lawyer to handle the company Mom and Dad had set up for me here.

They were worried I'd struggle when I came here, so they set up this new company for me. Dad hand-picked every project, so it was a guaranteed success.

At the time, my boyfriend, Frankie Sutton—who had the title of top graduate—was all proud and insisted he'd never rely on handouts.

To spare his fragile ego, I ended up living with him in a rural cave-like house where even the toilet was open-air. We scraped by and made a living by raising and selling pigs.

Now that I was finally leaving, there was no point in keeping the company running anymore.

I used the gold card Mom and Dad gave me and contacted the lawyer. Things went smoothly.

Looking back, I realized how foolish I'd been. I could've used money to solve my problems, but instead, I stuck it out to protect Frankie's fragile, sensitive feelings. I was barely in my 30s, yet I had turned myself into a common village woman.

As I grabbed my documents and prepared to leave, I ran into Frankie, who looked exhausted as he walked in.

"Oh, now you're looking for me? It's too late! Renee, don't blame me for not giving you a chance to marry me. I waited all day yesterday, and you didn't show up. Don't come crying to me asking me to marry you now!"

Frankie's tone was as self-righteous as ever, like he was doing me a huge favor by even thinking about marrying me.

If it weren't for the lipstick marks on his shirt, I might've actually believed he'd waited for me all night.

"I know you were with Evie. Were you looking for me to bring you contraception? And Frankie, we're already broken up. You don't deserve to marry me!"

I looked up at him. My eyes were cold.

Frowning, Frankie tugged at his tie in annoyance. "This again? I've told you so many times. Evie and I are just classmates. Our relationship is not as dirty as you think it is.

"She was with me while I was waiting for you all day yesterday. The piglet we're raising caught a cold. Go buy some medicine for it. Do that, and I'll pretend nothing happened yesterday."

Frankie said all this so casually. He didn't even notice that my eyes were fixed on the hickey on his neck.

I couldn't help but let out a sneer. Once the illusion broke, some men were honestly worse than animals.

Even though I saw through him, hearing the man I loved for ten years say things like that still made my heart ache.

I turned away and looked at the sycamore tree outside.

It was late fall. The tree, which had once shaded the whole yard, now stood bare with its leaves all gone, leaving behind only skeletal branches. It looked just like the ten wasted years I spent with Frankie.

When Frankie noticed that my eyes were lingering on his neck, his cold, piercing gaze suddenly betrayed a flicker of panic.

Something must have occurred to him. He rubbed his neck uncomfortably and then tried to appease me.

"Renee, I know you're upset about me leaving you to decorate the birthday party venue alone the day before yesterday, but you made me wait all day yesterday. We're even now.

"You've always wanted me to go back with you to talk to your parents about our marriage, right? Well, I promise that once we get that investment for our pig ranch, I'll go with you to meet your parents.

"Alright, enough of this. Go buy the medicine. You've been feeding the pigs long enough. You know what they need when they're sick. Evie's probably worried by now."

I scoffed.

I'd always known Frankie as someone quiet, but suddenly he was sweet-talking me so much.

It turned out that it was all for his precious first love, Evie Dotson. To be precise, it was for her pig.

I pretended not to hear him and walked past him to leave.

"Renee, that's enough! I already promised to marry you. What more do you want?"

When I didn't look back, Frankie kicked the door so hard it shook the whole building.

I turned to face him. Seeing his furious eyes, I smiled faintly. "Frankie, this is the last time we'll ever see each other."

With that, I walked out.

"Renee Miller, you'll regret this!"

I didn't turn back, leaving him to scream after me in a fit of rage.

The moment I arrived at the hotel, I got a call from my lawyer, Gael Levine.

"Ms. Miller, there's been a bit of a situation with the handover at the company. You should come down to avoid any misunderstandings."

My heart skipped a beat.

At the time, Frankie had refused to take over the trading company because he didn't want to be seen as someone who couldn't make it on his own. So, in order to support him with the pig ranch, I had to find someone else to manage the company.

As I recalled that the person managing the company was someone Frankie had recommended, a bad feeling crept over me. I rushed to the office.

Sure enough, as soon as I stepped out of the elevator, the front desk was swarming with people.

"Ms. Miller, you're finally here. This lady says the company is hers and won't let me continue with the process," Gael said while looking to the side.

I took a step forward. When I saw Evie sitting in the executive chair, I was too stunned to speak.

A fire of rage burned in my chest. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay calm.

Memories flashed through my mind of when Evie first returned to Arkvine, and Frankie had attended her company's ribbon-cutting ceremony.

At the time, I'd wondered what kind of woman could start a company the moment she came back. With the way Frankie kept praising her, I actually thought she was some kind of powerful businesswoman.

I didn't expect that Frankie, who had always sworn he wouldn't accept charity, had handed my company over to Evie.

Suppressing the rising rage within me, I glared at her arrogant face, ready to reveal who I really was.

However, before I could speak, Evie beat me to it. "Frankie gave me this company. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home feeding pigs?

"I remember Frankie saying that all you know how to do is feed pigs. I, on the other hand, have to work hard. I manage the company by day and serve him by night. You're the one who gets to live the good life."

With a smirk, she casually adjusted the large diamond ring on her finger. Her voice dripped with pride and mockery.

I took a deep breath and said slowly, "This is my company. Please leave now."

Upon hearing that, Evie sized me up as though I had just told her the funniest joke. "Renee, did spending all that time with pigs actually turn your brain into mush? Look at yourself. Your company? Do you even deserve it?"

She waved her hand and called for security. "Captain Dillon, how is it that any random frumpy villager can just waltz into my company building and cause a scene? Is this the level of security we're paying for?"

A uniformed, overweight man quickly stepped forward, positioning himself between Evie and me. He gestured for me to leave.

I slapped his hand away when he tried to grab my wrist. "I told you, this is my company. Can't you hear me?"

Seeing that Captain Dillon didn't recognize me, Gael quickly handed over the documents I'd given him.

"Everyone, these are the legal documents for the company. The information clearly shows that my client, Ms. Renee Miller, is the rightful owner. Please—"

Before he could finish, Evie stood up and ripped the papers to shreds.

It was lunchtime, so a crowd of onlookers quickly gathered.

"Honestly, with the economy in such a slump, all sorts of lowlifes are coming out of the woodwork!"

"Tell me about it! Bernee Trading has been around for ten years. Mr. Sutton and Ms. Dotson have always managed it hands-on. Everyone knows that. And now some random person is claiming to be the owner? She's probably desperate for money."

"Is she one of Mr. Sutton's side chicks? But those village rags… Mr. Sutton surely isn't so starved that he'd settle for just anything."

Their gossip was loud enough for me to hear, and I felt a suffocating tightness in my chest.

Gael noticed my discomfort and quickly led me to the window.

Just then, the elevator doors opened again, and the crowd fell silent.