At the engagement party that had come three years too late, I got accused in front of everyone by my fiancée’s personal assistant.
“Sir, your sincerity still isn’t enough. Better wait another three years for Miss Lizbeth.”
He pulled out a contract, just like he had before.
But this time, I didn’t take it. Instead, I turned to Lizbeth and asked, “Is this your idea again?”
She was tipsy, shaking her head and laughing it off. “Nope, not my idea, but I think Eldzier did the right thing. He’d never do me harm.”
The way she sided with him so easily and the way her face said she didn’t care about me—I couldn’t help but laugh to myself.
Kiss-ass men would just end up broken. I figured I’d just go back to being the heir I was born to be.
——
1
Calvert’s POV
“Hey! Don’t just stand there like a fool! Sign it!”
Eldzier sneered, urging me like a commander.
To anyone watching, they’d think I owed him half a billion.
I took the contract, balled it up in my fist, and slammed it into his face. “Know your place,” I said coldly.
Ignoring his darkening expression, I turned to Lizbeth. “I waited three years for you. And this is what I get?” I asked. “Even your personal assistant dares to climb on my head and shit.”
The hall went silent. Every pair of eyes swung to her, waiting for her to take a stand.
Unexpectedly, she only rolled her eyes at me and replied, “Eldzier has been with my family since he was ten. He’s been with me abroad these past three years, too. He’s my most trusted servant.”
“Everything he does is for my sake. Waiting another three years is nothing. Why must you make such a fuss?” she hissed.
Her words stunned the crowd.
I waited for three years, then I needed to wait another three years. But how many six years does a man get in his lifetime?
It felt like an arrow piercing through my chest, the pain spreading deep inside me. And in my ears still echoed the promises she’d made three years ago.
She once told me, “Calvert, wait for me for three years. Once I come back, we’ll get engaged.”
She had once sworn, “Eldzier always makes you unhappy, and he nearly got you killed. I’ll teach him a lesson these next three years.”
But she hadn’t done a damn thing. If anything, she protected him even more fiercely.
This morning, when I rushed to the airport to pick her up—heart pounding, ready to hold her in my arms—Eldzier blocked me with one hand.
“Miss Lizbeth’s status is different now. She has to maintain her image in public. Oh, and anyone who wants close contact with her must first be fully disinfected.”
At the time, Lizbeth said nothing to defend me. And by staying silent, she approved of what Eldzier said.
Later, Eldzier actually grew bolder. While I stepped away to the restroom, he took my car and left with her before I returned.
When I confronted them in anger later, Lizbeth brushed it off, saying, “Eldzier has protected me since he was ten. He does everything for my sake. Why do you have to be so narrow-minded? Don’t cause trouble before the engagement party.”
I had endured it all for the party.
But this—this was what I endured for.
Eldzier shifted from anger to a smug smile, puffing out his chest. “If you don’t sign, it proves your heart isn’t sincere. Don’t forget, men lining up to chase after Miss Lizbeth could circle the globe.”
Relying on Lizbeth, he thought he could act without limits. He thought I’d keep swallowing my pride and sign that humiliating contract.
But I didn’t.
With one sharp slap, I struck him across the face. “That includes you, too, doesn’t it? That’s why you’re stirring trouble here,” I shot back.
“You dare hit me?” His eyes widened. His fists clenched until his knuckles cracked, as if he was about to tear me apart in a second.
A sudden bang startled us.
Lizbeth slammed her hand on the table and sprang to her feet. In a single, terrifying motion, she drew a gun and aimed it straight at my forehead.
“What are you making a scene for?” she shouted. “Hitting Eldzier is the same as hitting me! You'd better apologize to him right now!”
That was three commands in a row, her authority cutting through the air.
With that, the entire hall froze, as if no one dared breathe.
