"Zoey is only still around because her parents saved my life. She's carried the title of fiancée for so many years and it's time to repay that debt in full.
The umbrella slipped from my hand and hit the hallway floor with a dull thud, but it didn't disturb the men and women drinking inside the room. My heart cracked and the chill swept the pieces away, leaving nothing but a hollow, unbearable cold.
It turned out Keith's kindness toward me had never been love. It had only ever been a repayment of an old debt. Was that why he ran away the night I proposed?
A week ago, it was my birthday—the day that marked six years since our engagement. But in all that time, he had never once brought up marriage.
I'd told myself it was because he was busy with work, or maybe he was secretly planning some big surprise. After all, everyone knew I was Keith's cherished treasure.
He'd once beaten the boys who teased me for being an orphan, leaving himself battered and bruised but grinning as he performed silly magic tricks to cheer me up. He would sing to me during every thunderstorm. Even though he sang off-key and badly, he never stopped.
He would flick my forehead and call me an idiot whenever I had a silly idea, then turn around and act like an idiot himself, trying to make it happen. He never had any of the usual socialite girls around him. He said he didn't want to make me feel insecure.
I didn't want to wait any longer. So, I put on a white dress and mustered all my courage to propose. "Keith, I want to marry you!"
He looked at me. His calm eyes held a storm I couldn't decipher and all I could do was wait, trembling with uncertainty.
His phone rang and he patted my shoulder apologetically. "Zoey, there's an urgent matter at the company. I have to go back!"
Just like that, Keith left me alone at the birthday party. I wasn't a naive girl anymore—I could clearly sense the mockery, schadenfreude and pity in the eyes of others.
When I returned to Keith's house feeling disheartened, his parents were still awake. As soon as Camilla saw me, she let out a cold scoff. "Six years and you're still such a useless thing. My poor son."
"Enough! Don't say any more," Charles said as he pulled her away, but I could still hear the disdain in her voice.