Chapter 3: The Man She Chose Over Me

Seeing the transfer record, Lincoln threw the phone on the ground.

"Gina! I'm looking out for you, but you're still hung up on your ex. Forget the checkup. I don't need it. I hope my leg just breaks off!"

He stormed away in anger.

Gina, who was decisive and commanding at the company, did not dare argue with him. She moved to pursue him.

Then, as if remembering something, she stopped herself abruptly. She turned back, gently took my hand, and shook it. Her tone was earnest.

"Nathan, just two more days. Please be patient. I'll make it up to you properly after this."

This was her favorite way of acting sweet. In the past, when she showed me this vulnerable side, my heart would melt.

Now, all I felt was disgust.

Before I could pull my hand away, she turned and went after Lincoln. I stood there alone, wiping the back of my hand with my sleeve.

In two days, I would be gone. I was done with her.

After leaving the parking garage, I quickly found the buyer, got the money, and had Anna cremated.

By the time I returned home holding Anna's ashes, night had fallen. Gina was not back yet.

For once, she actually told me where she was. She said Lincoln's leg hurt and it was inconvenient for him, so she was staying at the hospital to take care of him.

The last time she checked in with me like this was months ago.

For the first time, I did not get jealous or ask her to make it up to me. I simply opened my work software and submitted my resignation.

It still had not been approved.

I set my phone down and ignored it.

Two days was not much time. I started packing first and decided to go to the office tomorrow to wrap things up in person.

Soon, seven years of my life was condensed into a single twenty-inch suitcase.

The next morning, I was still asleep when Gina's assistant knocked on the door. She saw the suitcase piled up inside and paused.

"Mr. Harper, are you going on a trip?"

"Yes."

She did not press further.

"Ms. Whitmore requests your presence."

I did not want to go, but the bodyguards behind her forced me to leave.

Our destination was a bridal shop. Gina smiled at me and pulled me into the fitting room.

She took out a custom-tailored suit and personally helped me put it on, lowering her head to tie my tie.

Looking down at her, I felt a bit dazed. To fully commit to destroying Lincoln, she had stopped being affectionate with me. She said the act had to fool herself before it could fool anyone else.

As she helped me with my cufflinks, she suddenly stopped.

"Where's your watch?"

Before I could respond, she laughed softly. "You put it back in the box for safekeeping again, huh? My handsome Nathan looks perfect in this kind of outfit. So distinguished."

"I've already had our wedding designed."

"It's the seaside wedding you've always wanted, with the flower arch Anna loves. We'll have her be our flower girl, okay?"

Her words were gentle, but every one of them hurt.

I clenched my fists. I remembered Anna asking me through her tears before she died.

"Nate, why hasn't Gina come to save me?"

I remembered how Gina used to treasure Anna like the apple of her eye, worrying about her condition, telling her bedtime stories night after night without ever seeming tired.

Marrying Gina had once been my ultimate dream, but it could never happen now.

"Gina, the wedding—"

She smiled, placing her finger on my lips.

"Our plan is almost finished. Tomorrow is Lincoln's birthday. I'm going to announce in front of everyone that he's being fired and kicked out of the company."

"The house and car under his name will all be reclaimed through legal action."

"He's gotten used to living lavishly over the years. He won't even eat anywhere that isn't a five-star restaurant. I want to see if he'll still dare to lecture people about workplace reform when he's lost everything and everyone's walking all over him."

I looked at her hopeful face and felt something inside me go completely still.

She was talking about tomorrow as if it were the beginning of our happy ending. She imagined us standing together after Lincoln's downfall, celebrating the success of her elaborate trap.

But she had forgotten one important thing.

I no longer wanted to stand beside her.

The woman who once promised to protect me had watched me lose my position, my dignity, and finally my sister. She had offered me two hundred dollars when Anna needed thirty thousand, then expected me to believe that a future wedding could make up for everything.

I lowered my gaze and let her finish speaking.

For seven years, I had made excuses for Gina. I had told myself she was busy, stressed, ambitious, and determined to protect our future. Whenever she hurt me, I remembered the woman who had once held my hand in a hospital room and promised never to let me suffer again.

But memories could not save Anna.

Promises could not bring my sister back.

And tomorrow's revenge could not restore the years I had wasted waiting for Gina to choose me.

I had already submitted my resignation. My suitcase was packed, my travel documents were ready, and the foreign company that had waited seven years for me was expecting my arrival.

Gina could keep her wedding plans.

She could keep her lies.

Tomorrow, while she prepared to destroy Lincoln, I would finally disappear from both their lives.