I turned back slowly, suddenly understanding his real intention for humiliating me in front of all these people.
He wanted to provoke me.
Five years later, he was still just as childish.
I shook my head honestly. “No.”
His stare bored into me like he wanted to pierce holes through my skin.
He didn’t love me—yet he still refused to let me go.
Since I had broken off the engagement and walked away five years ago, there had been nothing left to say between us.
“Mr. Carter, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be taking my leave.”
I pulled my hand from his grasp and turned to go—
When a soft, syrupy voice drifted from the doorway.
“Sis, why are you leaving so soon?”
Wearing a white gown that highlighted her graceful figure, Sophia Brooks glided in.
“Ethan, it’s been five years since you’ve seen my sister. Be gentle with her—don’t be so harsh.”
She sat naturally beside him, leaning in without a hint of restraint.
Of course—by now they were widely known as the model couple.
After tonight’s gala, their proposal ceremony was set to take place.
Watching them side by side, the people around us looked at me with gleeful malice, certain I must be seething with jealousy.
But my gaze stayed calm and flat as I watched their little display.
Ethan shot me a cold glance, then turned back and wrapped an arm around Sophia’s waist.
“Gentle? Does Lily deserve that?”
“A country girl who wandered outside since childhood isn’t fit to be your sister.”
He idly toyed with her hair, a mocking glint in his eyes.
“Sophia, remember—I’m only gentle with you.”
The two of them leaned in, clearly about to kiss in front of everyone.
If not for the people nearby stopping them, I was certain they would’ve ended up stripping right there.
I let a small smile curl my lips and lowered my head in quiet amusement—
And I couldn’t help but recall five years ago, when we were preparing to get engaged, and I had tried to build some kind of connection with him by inviting him to a candlelight dinner.
Over the phone, he’d brushed me off with, “Depends on my mood. If you wait for me at the restaurant for five hours, I’ll come.”
That day, I really did sit there from sunrise to sunset.
When the restaurant finally closed, there was still no sign of him.
No surprise—he’d stood me up.
That very night, my phone lit up with a message:
“Hello, your reservation for the hotel suite with a king-size bed…”
I’d laughed bitterly.