Even though this is my eighth time proposing to Beverly Galvan, she still coldly turns me down again.

She says that she isn't ready yet and that she needs more time. Since that's the case, I tell myself I will wait as long as it takes.

That's when I see it—her and my brother's marriage certificate, posted for everyone to see on her social media.

When I question her about it, she merely says in a calm voice, "Timothy's unwell. He can't get too upset, so you'd better not start anything!"

They are wearing wedding rings in that photo, and there is a barely visible bump on her belly.

In that moment, the storm within me dissipates. Hitting the like button on the post, I type out a comment.

"I wish you both a lifetime of joy. May the two of you grow old together!"

A year later, a desperate-looking Beverly shows up in front of me, begging that we get back together.

Unfortunately for her, her best friend, who was clearly pregnant, steps in with a smile and pushes her aside.

"Give it a rest, will you? My husband already has a wife. We can have kids of our own. There's no need for him to be someone's fallback guy."

Beverly called immediately after I commented,

Without so much as a hello, she started yelling at me over the phone.

"Raymond Osborn, have you already forgotten what I said? I just said not to make a scene, and you made such a comment on the post? Since you have such capabilities, resolve the company's issues!"

The way she spoke was like she was a boss lecturing a subordinate, detached and unfeeling.

I had always thought Beverly and I were in love.

At the very least, I thought she had feelings for me, enough to agree to be my girlfriend.

We were together for eight years. I'd been by her side since the day she graduated from university.

She went from nothing to becoming the chairman of a company.

We had gone through so many hardships together.

When she first started the business and was strapped for cash, I borrowed from every bank and loan company just to keep things afloat for her.

After that, as I was unable to repay the debts, my phone was bombarded with calls. Debt collectors came knocking at our tiny apartment.

They even texted all my family and friends, resulting in everyone knowing I was in debt.

Even through all of that, I didn't flinch, because that night, when Beverly found out what I had done, her eyes filled with tears from heartache.

Holding me tightly, she sobbed in my ear.

She had said, "Raymond, I'll never wrong you for the rest of my life!"

Thinking back now, it turned out that "the rest of her life" was a mere eight years.

I gripped my phone tightly, my fingertips pale from the force.

"What's wrong with my comment? My girlfriend just registered her marriage with my younger brother—surely, I had to offer my well wishes. If I didn't, wouldn't I seem like a rude boyfriend and a bad brother?"

The other end went silent.

Soon after, Timothy Osborn's murmur could be heard, along with Beverly's comforting words.

I found myself smiling bitterly, feeling as if I could even taste the bitterness in my mouth. For a second, I had thought that she felt bad about treating me this way and was too ashamed to speak to me.

However, it turned out that she was just busy consoling her newlywed husband.

"Raymond, how can you say that?" came Timothy's comment. "I only asked Beverly for such a favor as my hands are tied. Don't you worry.

"Once I have made a full recovery, Beverly and I will divorce right away so that you two can be together!"

Before I could even say anything, Beverly's furious voice rang out again.

"Timothy is still a patient—he can't get too agitated! Raymond, you need to stop! I can't believe how heartless you are! How could you even be jealous of your own brother?

"Honestly, just drown in your jealousy! If Timothy's condition worsens because of you, I'll never forgive you for the rest of my life!"

The words I was about to say got stuck in my throat.

As I listened to her barrage of verbal attacks, I was full of bitterness.

By the end, when my heart felt like it had been torn to shreds, I rasped out a question. "Beverly, have you ever really considered me your boyfriend?"

The other end of the line went quiet.

I weakly nodded to myself. Without waiting for her to speak, I uttered, "I understand."

That pause was as good an answer as I could have hoped for.

To be honest, in the eight years we were together, I had more than once felt that Beverly didn't truly love me.

Yet, in front of others, she always managed to do everything that a girlfriend should.

Whenever she spoke to me, her eyes would be bright, and her every gesture felt full of affection, even if she was doing something trivial.

For instance, if I forgot my umbrella on a rainy day, I only needed to make one phone call, and Beverly would drop everything to get me.

Even though she had rejected my proposal eight times in the last eight years, everyone still believed we would eventually get married.

However, now that she had posted that marriage certificate with Timothy's name instead of mine, it would definitely leave everyone in shock.

Timothy was my brother—my biological brother.

Growing up, he always had a habit of taking what was mine.

And once he got his hands on something, no amount of screaming could make him give it back.

Why was that? Because my parents didn't like me. They regarded me with disdain, and they certainly never took my side.

This was probably due to the fact that Mom nearly died from excessive bleeding when I was born.

Since then, everyone said I was a jinx.

Being aware that I wasn't loved by my family, I studied hard, desperate to prove my worth. Yet, every time I came home with top grades, all it got me was a beating because it made Timothy sad.

It took a few beatings for me to finally wise up.

From then on, I dared not score higher than my brother on exams.

And over time, I became the troublemaker and underachiever in everyone's eyes.

It wasn't until my fourth year of university that Beverly showed me a glimmer of hope. She was the first person to help me, not caring about my looks or my past.

I was working a part-time job in the campus cafeteria at the time when Timothy came to humiliate me.

"Raymond, you're washing dishes now? Are you so broke that you want to take the leftovers here back home so that you could eat them in secret?"

The moment he said that, laughter erupted all around me.

Even with a mask on, I could feel my face turning hot and red.

He couldn't stand the sight of me. To be precise, ever since he found out my grades were better than his, he began secretly targeting me.

He waved a hundred-dollar bill in front of me.

"If you take one bite of the leftovers here, I'll give you this!"

I stayed silent, but he wouldn't let up.

Beverly was the student council president back then. The moment she showed up, she stood up for me before scolding Timothy harshly.

From that day on, she kept coming to see me.

She was the one who invited me to join the student council and helped me get tutoring gigs outside to make money.

Beverly told me not to be afraid, that living meant being brave and always moving forward.

I took her words to heart.

I refused to stay stagnant, especially not for someone else.

The sudden ring of my phone snapped me out of my thoughts. It was a call from Erika Hayes, one of the company's other shareholders.

"Raymond, are you okay? I just finished work and saw Beverly's post…"

"I'm fine. Don't worry, Ms. Hayes. Whatever happens between Beverly and me, it won't affect the company in any way."

As I spoke, a thought suddenly formed in my mind.

"If you're interested," I added, "I'm willing to sell you all of my shares."

Erika fell silent.

After a long pause, she muttered that she'd think about it before hanging up.

It was only after I hung up that I realized Beverly had returned and was already standing behind me.

In the same detached tone she had always talked to me with, she asked in surprise, "Raymond, who were you talking to? What are you selling?"

I kept a straight face, but deep down, my heart lurched.

I chose not to tell her what I was planning.

"It was Erika. She called to talk about the company's recent business deals and what products had been sold."

"She usually communicates with me about those kinds of things. Why would she call you?"

Beverly frowned, staring at me as if trying to catch me in a lie.

For the first time ever, I found the person in front of me a bit hard to deal with.

Raising a brow, I deliberately mocked, "Are you not my sister-in-law? Why are you suddenly concerned about me? If you think about it, our current relationship is pretty scandalous by society's standards.

"With how you're so busy these days with taking care of Timothy, when will you start caring about the company for once?"

Sure enough, Beverly's focus shifted upon hearing what I said.

She furrowed her brows, her gaze instantly turning cold.

"I've already explained myself many times. I don't want to discuss such a pointless topic with you anymore."

With that, she turned and walked into the bedroom. Moments later, she came out with a change of clothes.

"You clearly need some time to calm down. Once you're calmer, I'll come back and talk things over with you."

Just before she left, through the gap in the closing door, she added with disappointment, "Raymond, I'm disgusted by how petty you are now."

With a bang, the door slammed shut.

At that moment, my mind started to buzz all of a sudden.

Pointless topic? Petty?

I never thought she'd come to be this disgusted with me.

As I felt the familiar sting in my eyes again, the chill returned to my barely warmed fingers. I sat blankly on the couch, not knowing how much time had passed.

What Beverly didn't know was that the current me was the calmest I had ever been.

I checked the company's recent business operations on my phone and estimated the value of the shares I held.

Suddenly, a local trending news alert popped up on my phone.

It featured two very familiar people and a few candid photos.

"Renowned entrepreneur Beverly Galvan is living with her husband after marriage. The couple was seen together, and she is possibly pregnant!"

In the photo, Beverly was smiling radiantly, walking arm in arm with Timothy in a park.

At the end, the two entered the same villa together.

A surge of betrayal overwhelmed me once again.

No wonder she could walk out so easily with just a few clothes—telling me to "calm down" was merely an excuse to leave.

Once I was calmer and exited the trending news page, I received a message from Beverly.

"Raymond, I forgot a box in the safe. Could you bring it over for me? I'm at Timothy's villa."

Though I was surprised she would suddenly message me like this, I knew the items in the safe were important.

After thinking it over for a while, I decided to bring the box to her, afraid I'd be delaying something.

…

In front of Timothy's villa, Beverly was sitting on a swing, and Timothy was patiently pushing her from behind.

The moment I showed up, it was like I had ruined their peaceful, beautiful moment.

"Raymond, you're here. I haven't seen you in ages."

Timothy spoke as he went around the swing, whereas Beverly's face instantly clouded over.

She glared at me, eyes wide and blazing with fury.

"Who told you to come? Raymond, you're seriously unbelievable! Are you actually stalking me now?"

Before I could even say a word, she already looked ready to tear me apart.

"Beverly, I asked Raymond to come. Since you said that the heirloom in the safe was for me, I couldn't wait any longer and asked him to bring it to me. If you're going to yell at someone, you can yell at me."

Upon seeing how pitiful Timothy seemed, Beverly instantly relaxed her tightly furrowed brows.

Even her tone softened when she answered, "How could I ever yell at you? I already said it was a gift for you. Since Raymond is already here with it, I'll put it on you now."

Beverly approached me before coldly snatching the box from my hands.

That was when I realized that there wasn't anything particularly important inside the box that was business-related—it was the only bracelet her mother left behind after passing away.

Back when the company was at its lowest, Beverly had pawned it.

I once saw her staring at a photo of it on her phone in a daze. I then decided to sell my blood to raise money and get the bracelet back for her.

Later, she told me that this bracelet could only be passed on to the future son-in-law of the Galvan family, so I waited for a long, long time.

Never did I expect that today, she would give it to Timothy. Her message couldn't have been clearer.

I bit down hard on my tongue. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth as I struggled to suppress my emotions.

"Now that the item has been delivered, I'll take my leave."

I had just taken two steps when Timothy suddenly grabbed me.

The bracelet was already on his wrist, swaying with his every move.

"Raymond, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Do you not want to see me? I know you've never liked me since we were children.

"You always thought our parents favored me, and you resent me because of that!"