None of that concerned me. I was busy getting ready for my trip around the world.
On the thirteenth day after New Year's, Quinn Swanson's secretary called to tell me the product launch would be held the next day.
I hadn't planned to go, but this was the fruit of years of my own painstaking work, so I agreed.
Seven years ago, after Quinn and I made our relationship official, I turned down a high-paying position at a Fortune 500 company and joined Swanson Group.
Through my relentless effort, Swanson Group went from a second-rate company to the top high-tech firm in Harborview City.
And it was precisely because of that the Swanson family, who had looked down on me from the start, finally offered on their own to invite my mother and me to spend the New Year at their estate and to discuss the wedding…
The launch was grand, and lively too.
Just as I was about to step onstage to give my speech, Quinn appeared out of nowhere.
He was dressed to the nines, handsome and striking.
But there was something unreadable in his expression.
He didn't explain why he'd been gone for days. Instead, he blocked my path. "Miriam Coleman, wait."
"For this speech, the company has arranged someone else."
I froze.
All this time, I had been the head of the new-product project.
In the whole company, I was the only one qualified to take the stage.
Because no one knew the product better than I did.
From design to development, I had handled every part of it, pouring in endless heart and effort.
You could say it was like my own child.
At that moment, Lorraine Galloway's voice rang out from the stage.
"Happy New Year, honored guests. On behalf of Swanson Group, I welcome you all."
"Now allow me to introduce the features of the new product we're unveiling today…"
Seeing her so triumphant, a small person basking in undeserved glory, I understood everything.
I looked coldly at Quinn. "If it was all arranged already, why bother telling me to come to the launch at all?"
Quinn explained, "As head of the new-product project, of course you have to be present."
"Miriam, the choice of speaker was the company's decision, and mine as well."
"After all, you're already a titan in the industry. You don't need this kind of flashy, empty reputation."
"But Lorraine is different. As a newcomer, she needs the credentials more than you do…"
I watched him quietly as he went on and on.
The longer I looked, the more like a stranger he seemed.
The Quinn of the past had loved me to the bone, with eyes for no one but me.
But ever since Lorraine came back from abroad and joined Swanson Group as the CEO's assistant, he had changed.
He was constantly away on business for no reason, gone all night.
Lorraine spent far more time with him than I did.
Back then I was buried in the project and didn't think much of it.
But my mother, worldly and sharp-eyed, had noticed. She'd warned me: "Miriam, Quinn is your boyfriend, but now he's out and about with another woman every single day. That doesn't sit right, does it?"
I never woke up to it. Instead, I made excuses for the two of them. "Mom, you're overthinking it. Lorraine is Quinn's assistant. It's perfectly normal for them to work together all day."
"Quinn told me Lorraine grew up with him and has always seen him as an older brother."
"The three of us were college classmates. If they had feelings for each other, they'd have gotten together long ago. Where would that have left room for me?"
Looking back on it now, I really was a pure, utter fool.
Seeing me stay silent, Quinn assumed I'd come around, and a smile crossed his face. "Miriam, tomorrow is our engagement day. Are you ready?"
I nodded numbly.
"Aunt Pansy must be so happy, so excited, right?" Quinn frowned slightly. "Though it's strange. I've been calling her these past few days, and her phone's been switched off the whole time."
