Juliet stepped between us, pretending to smile gently.

"Margot, I only see Edward as a brother."

She walked toward the kitchen island, casually opened a can of LaCroix, and spoke like it was no big deal.

"I've always been blunt and carefree. Don't take it personally.

"He's here to help care for the baby, that's all. We used to pass out drunk and sleep in the same bed, and nothing ever happened. This is what we call bro culture."

She tugged lightly at the hem of Edward's shirt and gave it a little shake.

"But if this makes you uncomfortable, I can live on my own. I'm not fragile like most girls.

"I don't mind at all. Once the baby is born, you two will still be husband and wife, and I'll be a beautiful accident in Edward's life."

The moment she finished, she suddenly bent over and covered her mouth.

"Ugh. I'm going to throw up."

Edward rushed to her side and grabbed a trash can. He patted her back with one hand while shooting me a sharp look over his shoulder.

His voice dropped low, but the anger in it only grew stronger.

"Margot, is this what you wanted to see? I thought we already agreed on this."

Something pressed down on my chest so hard I could barely breathe.

I stayed silent, turned away, and pulled my suitcase toward the elevator.

Just as I reached the hallway, he grabbed my wrist tight.

"We've talked through this. Juliet is just a coworker. She doesn't want a relationship. She only wants to have the baby. That's it."

He sounded calm, like when he pitched at the office—rational and controlled, the kind of voice he used to turn a crisis into a so-called manageable risk.

"She's not even asking for anything. She's handling this with grace. Can't you do the same?"

Tears burned in my eyes. I clenched my teeth.

"How can I out-argue a Wharton MBA holder and a to-be partner at Sterling & Burne Capital?"

I paused, lowered my head, and whispered, "Let's break up."

Edward froze; he did not expect this.

He let go of my wrist, frowned, and sighed.

"How about this? I'll stay with Juliet three days a week, and I'll come home to you for the other four. Is that fair?"

He sounded like he was offering terms to a fund investor—negotiating conditions while setting his bottom line.

"Margot, I've already compromised a lot. Don't push it."

I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay calm. My voice came out quiet but steady.

"No need. After we break up, you can stay with her every day. Stop wasting my time."

He glared at me, his expression dark, and said, "Are you sure?"

I turned my face away and pressed the elevator button.

The elevator had not even arrived when he suddenly let out a cold laugh and shoved me hard.

"Fine. That's your choice!"

Edward shoved me hard. I stumbled back and slammed into the elevator wall. Pain shot through my back, and I gasped.

He gave me a cold look, like I was useless. Then, he turned and walked back to Juliet's apartment.

Juliet stood at the door and raised her voice, saying, "Edward! How can you talk to your fiancée like that? Women are emotional. You should calm her down. Bro, you just blew the deal!"

Edward put his arm around her like he had done it a hundred times.

"Let her go. She'll regret it. Remember how she chased me for three years? She couldn't leave me even if she tried."

He squeezed Juliet's arm and laughed.

"You're easier to be around. Just like one of the guys."

Juliet giggled and poked his chest. "Stop it. I'm a woman. I am pregnant!"

Edward smirked and touched her chest. "This small? You sure?"

They laughed and slammed the door behind them.

Bang.

The hallway went quiet. All I could hear was my heart pounding. My whole body shook with anger.

The elevator finally came.

I pressed the close button repeatedly, trying to keep calm.

Before the doors closed, my phone rang. It was Edward's mother, Mrs. Kingsley.

"Margot, I heard about Juliet and Edward.

"I've scolded him. Please don't take this personally. All couples fight. As long as he still wants to marry you, that means he still cares.

"Juliet said she doesn't want to get in between you two. Just ignore her."

My throat felt dry, and I replied softly, "We broke up."

She replied with a different tone, "Why are you so ungrateful? Do you even know your place? We were kind enough to accept you. You should be thankful.

"Why are you being harsh to him? Is it not exhausting being this stubborn? He merely made a small mistake."

I stayed quiet for a second, then replied, "You've always looked down on me, haven't you? You've always looked down on my degree, thinking it's not good enough and that my family runs a small company. I'll never be good enough for Edward. So, now that I'm leaving, isn't that exactly what you've always wanted?"

I hung up.

The Kingsleys came from a long line of professors. Edward's dad was tenured at Columbia. His mom worked at Brookings. Most of the family had jobs at Harvard or Yale.

At every family event, someone would ask, "Margot, what school did you go to? What was your GPA?"

When I told them, the room would go quiet.

Then someone would say, "Well, that brings down our family average. You know intelligence comes from the mother's side. Imagine if our grandchild got her genes..."

Edward sat nearby, sipping wine, smiling, never saying a word.

He had heard it all. He just did not care.

He had looked down on me, too.

I remembered the first time I confessed. He scanned through me and said, "My girlfriend should at least have a 1550 SAT Score. You barely made it into college, didn't you?"

He only agreed to date me after I chased after him for three years.

I slid down the wall inside the elevator. My head was heavy. My chest was tight. I could not breathe.

After what felt like forever, the elevator started moving.

The doors opened. A tall man was standing there.

I could not see his face, but I knew he was frowning—just like he always did when I got hurt.

He gently wiped the tears off my face and pulled me into a hug.

"Margot, don't let anyone hurt you ever again."

It was Nathan.

He smelled like alcohol—he must have come straight from a business dinner. I knew he had just left a deal meeting. He probably walked out on the client and his boss to go and find me.

Nathan had always been calm and polite. However, that night, he cursed for the first time.

I tried to push him away, worried the elevator doors might close.

However, he held me tighter.

"You've already said yes on the phone. You're not allowed to take it back."

My mom pulled me into a tight hug when I got home, dragging my suitcase behind me. Her eyes were red.

"That jerk doesn't deserve you."

My dad's face was cold. He had sent a voice message to his business group chat, saying, "Anyone who still works with Edward Charles Kingsley is going against me."

After calming my parents down, I collapsed onto my bed, completely drained.

The house was finally quiet again. I lay there in my room, staring at the ceiling.

Then, my phone buzzed—an Instagram update notification.

I opened it.

Juliet had just posted something—eight photos of her with Edward and his friends at a private club last night. Right in the middle, one shot showed her sitting on Edward's lap, smiling at each other.

It also included a caption.

[Capital Alliance Gaming Night: A fresh start worth celebrating!]

I stared at that photo for a long time. Then, without thinking, I tapped on the Like button.

A few minutes later, Edward called me.

"Come and play poker at the club. Juliet and I will bring you in."

I almost laughed out loud.

Back then, I had begged him to bring me to join his so-called banking social circle events.

He let me play poker once—just once—and when I made a mistake, he snapped at me, saying, "You play like an idiot. Stop wasting my time. Get out."

I wondered why he would want to invite me now.

I was about to hang up when Juliet's voice came through the speaker, all fake and sweet.

"Edward, I feel sick again. That's your fault for going too hard that night! I just wanted to see if I could feel anything with a guy. You drank too much and ruined my back for life!

"Can you stop trying to smooth things over with your fiancée for just one minute? What matters more to you—your baby or her? Pick one."

Edward said, "You know what? Say nothing if you want, but I'm done. You've used up all my patience."

He hung up.

It felt like someone had hit me over the head.

The mistake he made was more like a planned incident.

There were always signs.

He was bored with every date with me. However, he always stayed up all night gaming with Juliet on voice chat.

Juliet was there on every business trip. He claimed that Juliet could make jokes like a guy.

Juliet's chat was always pinned to the top on his Instagram. He set a special notification sound so he would not miss her updates.

Even on Valentine's Day, he got her a gift.

"She's single. It's just sad if no one gives her anything."

Whenever I questioned him, he would scoff and say, "Stop guilt-tripping me all the time. You're always making a big deal out of nothing. Take it or leave it."

I wondered if things would have ended differently if I had stood my ground earlier or if I had told him to draw the line with Juliet.

However, I always felt smaller around him.

When he said I was too sensitive, I blamed myself.

When he said I was paranoid, I forced myself to stay quiet.

When he said I was useless, I worked harder—just to prove that I deserved him.

Even when my dad gave him clients, he acted like it was an insult to his own ability.