Katherine said, "Our company anniversary is coming up soon. Gavin's been working hard, so I wanted to buy him a suit."

Nodding, I pulled up the dinner post she had made an hour ago—the one she had forgotten to block me from seeing.

"What about this, Katherine? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Her face instantly darkened with rage. "Are you accusing me of cheating? Yes, I lied about missing rehearsal. That's because I had to take a client out to dinner!

"Not everyone's like you, sitting around all day. All you do is make me go to rehearsals and force this wedding on me.

"Come on. One day off could mean losing million-dollar deals. I'm really busy, okay?"

Katherine's words left me completely speechless. I couldn't help but laugh.

"We've known each other since we were kids. Both our families have their own companies. If you hadn't told me that taking over Jackman Corporation would affect our relationship, do you really think I'd be working some random job at some small company?"

Katherine went pale before flushing with rage.

"So that's how it is? Did I stand in the way of you inheriting the family business? In that case, let's break up!"

With a faint smile, I walked away in the opposite direction. The truth was, I was heartbroken.

Just then, my phone buzzed. I tapped on Gavin Goodwin's message, and it popped up right away.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Jackman. I wanted to check out a new restaurant. That's why Katherine was late for your wedding rehearsal. Next time, I'll pick another day so she won't miss your 11th wedding rehearsal."

Gavin's message felt like a knife to the heart, making me feel suffocated.

Katherine had gone out with her secretary, but she lied and said she was having dinner with a client instead. How absurd.

Katherine and I were childhood sweethearts. Even our parents had been friends for years. Since childhood, they would always tease us, saying, "You two are the same age, grew up together, and are inseparable. You might as well get married when you grow up."

Back then, I was just a kid and didn't understand what marriage meant. All I knew was that if I married Katherine, she would always stay by my side, and we could keep playing together.

I clapped my hands and cheered joyfully. "Alright then. I want to marry Katherine!"

I even imitated what I saw on TV and wrote a letter, promising I would marry her when I grew up.

By the time I was old enough to understand what marriage meant, my parents would often tease me about the letter.

When I was younger, I was easily flustered, and their teasing embarrassed me so much that I started avoiding Katherine. Once she realized what I was doing, she cornered me and broke down in tears, asking what she had done wrong and why I was giving her the cold shoulder.

Seeing her break down completely melted my heart. For the first time, I felt something inside me begin to stir.

From that day on, I realized I was in love with Katherine. When we were 20, we went from being friends to lovers and started dating.

Over the next few years, after I proposed, I planned our wedding ten times, only for her to postpone it every single time.

By then, Gavin was already working as her secretary.

Katherine spent far more time together with Gavin than she did with me. All this time, I had been fooling myself, believing that it was just for work.

But now, I was done lying to myself.

Just then, my phone started buzzing nonstop, pulling me out of my thoughts. I recomposed myself and took the call.

"Hey, Brandon. What's up?"

"We are throwing a celebratory party for our second newborn this Saturday. Bring your fiancee over for dinner."

I was about to say that I would go alone, but I remembered that not only were Brandon Vance and I best friends, his wife, Layla Kemp, and Katherine were close too.

"Has Layla told Katherine about it?"

"They're talking about it on the phone right now. Huh? Aren't you with her now? Did you two just go back to your own places after the rehearsal?

"It's the perfect time to spice things up. How could you pass that up?" Brandon was perplexed.

I gave a bitter smile. Everyone knew I was a simp for Katherine, so naturally, they would assume that.

I muttered a vague reply before ending the call.

To celebrate that night, I had my friend reserve a bottle of vintage wine.

When I got to the winery, I reached for a bottle of red wine and drank the whole thing myself.

The surveillance feed on my phone was recording in real time. Katherine had hired movers to pack her things.

Perhaps she sensed that I was watching her through the camera. She turned to it and asked, "What now? Afraid I'll steal your stuff?"

I said over the feed, chuckling, "You've misunderstood me. I just wanted to remind you to take all those suits you gave me out of the room."

Katherine gritted her teeth in anger.

I exited the surveillance feed to answer Brandon's call. Before I could even say anything, he asked coldly, "Katherine postponed the wedding again, didn't she? I bet she didn't even show up for today's rehearsal, right?"

When I said nothing, he grew angrier. "You idiot! Are you just going to accept this without fighting back? Just you wait. I'm going to make Katherine pay for this!"

It wasn't that I didn't know how to fight back. I had simply given up on Katherine and wanted nothing to do with her.

After I kept reassuring Brandon, he finally calmed down.

"I'm glad you and Katherine broke up. I could tell long ago that she was no longer into you. I just couldn't say it because we're all in the same circle."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Just don't let this affect your relationship with Layla."

"That'll never happen. My wife and I are meant to be."

After ending the call, I stumbled back home. Seeing the empty house, I finally felt a weight lift off my chest.

I looked around the place and threw the photo album and perfume she had left behind out of the window. Then I slumped onto the bed and fell into a deep slumber.

To avoid running into Katherine at the celebration on Saturday, I took Friday off and went to Brandon's house.

He opened the door, put a finger to his lips, and led me to the backyard. Katherine was there, using a toy to amuse the baby while talking with Layla.

"I've already moved all my things out. I refuse to believe that this won't get to Edison. How dare he raise his voice at me!

"Who does he think he is? He must be out of his mind!"

All these years, I had kept my head down and put up with her temper. I didn't think she would actually take that as a sign of weakness.

Brandon furrowed his brows, looking even angrier than I was. I patted him on the shoulder and just smiled.

Katherine's phone rang, interrupting her conversation with Layla. She smiled, answered it, nodded at Layla, and ran out through the villa gate.

Brandon and I quickly hid ourselves. Once Katherine was gone, we followed her.

"Gavin, didn't I give you the day off? Why aren't you resting?"

Gavin pulled her into his arms, ignoring everyone around them. "I missed you. I thought about how you kept postponing your wedding with Edison for me, and I couldn't help but want to see you. I wish I could be with you all the time."

Katherine playfully swatted him on the chest. "Wasn't that your idea? How could you be so mean?"

Hearing that made my blood boil. Even though I had already guessed it, I still felt a sudden pang in my heart to hear the truth from them directly.

Gavin pinched her cheeks. "Was I really that mean? But you still like me, don't you? Also, you were the one who said you didn't want to marry Edison in the first place.

"That's why I came up with this idea. You even went along with it."

Things started getting flirty between Gavin and Katherine. If they weren't right in front of Brandon's house, I bet they would have jumped each other's bones right then and there.

I was holding Brandon back tightly, preventing him from rushing out. Once Katherine and Gavin got in the car and drove off, he started yelling at me.

"Why are you putting up with this crap? You should've just fought him!"

I shook my head, my face pale. "No need for that. I'm glad it's over between us."

The next day, I did not show up for the celebration at Brandon's house. As lunchtime approached, Katherine gave me a call.

"What kind of friend are you, Edison? Why aren't you here to celebrate such a special occasion? You're so rude!"

I knew Katherine was trying to rile me up, so I said nothing.

After a moment, Katherine continued over the phone, "I left a bottle of limited-edition perfume behind. Don't you dare keep it as a reminder of me. Bring it to me right now."

"I already threw it away." With that, I ended the call.

I thought Katherine would be upset, but I received a text from her almost immediately.

"Playing hard to get, aren't you? How ridiculous! If you've thrown it away, so be it. I don't want it anymore! Don't come looking for me again!"

On Saturday night, to thank everyone for attending the party, Brandon suggested a Sunday outing. The group chat was soon buzzing with enthusiastic replies.

I was about to opt out, but when I saw that Katherine had replied saying that she was busy on Sunday, I agreed to go.

The next day was bright and sunny. Wearing sunglasses, I grilled meat by a stream.

A few of Katherine's close friends gathered around, eyeing me with disdain. One of them even said sarcastically, "Valentine's Day is coming up.

"Did you get Katherine another expensive gift this time? What is it? Why don't you show it to us so we can take a look?"

They had no idea Katherine and I were already done. They thought I was still wrapped around her finger and would let them mess with me however they wanted.

Ignoring them, I deliberately fanned the charcoal until the fire burned even hotter. The smoke got to Katherine's friends, and they cursed under their breaths as they hurried away.

The meat was almost done. I was about to season it with some cumin and bring it to the table when it suddenly hit me that Katherine and I were already done.

Why was I still cooking food the way she liked it? I turned back and sprinkled a generous amount of chili powder onto the meat.

As soon as I set the grilled meat on the table, I saw Katherine heading my way. I took off my apron, ready to leave.

At that moment, I heard her friends chatting with her behind me. "You're late. You need to chug a beer. Oh, right. I forgot you don't drink that. Get Edison over here to drink for you instead."

With that, her friends started calling out to me from behind.

I didn't even turn around and said flatly, "I don't drink for outsiders."

Katherine's hand froze mid-air as she reached for the glass. She narrowed her eyes, her unreadable gaze fixed on my retreating figure.

I took Monday off and went back to work on Tuesday.

As soon as I clocked in, my boss patted me on the shoulder and led me to his office. I stood in front of his desk, watching him smile as he sold me a bunch of empty promises.

Goosebumps broke out all over my skin. I had no idea what this leech was up to this time, but it couldn't be anything good.

As expected, what he said next proved me right.

My boss had somehow gotten word that Katherine was my girlfriend. He insisted on sending me to her company on a "special assignment" to follow up on a project.

Sure, it sounded nice on paper, but what kind of project would Winston Corporation even have with a small-time company? The Winstons were one of the elite families in Bawton, so they wouldn't even be interested in a small firm like ours.

My boss only wanted to send me there to leverage my connections with Katherine and secure the project. I turned him down, but he refused to give up and kept trying to persuade me.

I was about to snap at my boss when he received a call from Katherine. He fawned over her on the phone. After ending the call, he turned to me and said, "Ms. Winston wants to collaborate with us on a small project. She specifically requested that you handle it."

I snorted, ripped my work badge off my chest, and slammed it onto his office desk. "I'm done with this job. I quit!"

I turned off my phone and left the city to unwind.

A week later, I finally turned my phone back on, and it almost crashed from the sheer number of messages. I briefly went through them and realized they were all from Katherine.

I opened the latest message. "Edison, I surrender, okay? Turn your phone on and call me back!"

I tapped to delete all her messages at once, but her call came in immediately.

"So now you're turning your phone on, Edison? Do you know I've been looking everywhere for you for the past few days? Where are you? Send me your location right now!"