He Rejected Me, I’ll Win Him Over

Chapter 4 The Proposal

The next morning, Debby woke up with swollen eyes. Her ankle still hurt like hell.

She stood in front of the mirror for a long time before finally putting on light makeup to cover the exhaustion on her face.

Today, she needed to meet with her academic advisor to finalize the paperwork for studying abroad.

The early summer sunlight filtered warmly through the tree-lined paths of Minton University.

Debby walked slowly. Every single step sent pain shooting through her ankle.

Just as she neared the administration building, she noticed a crowd gathered around the athletic field nearby. There was cheering, laughter, applause.

She had no interest in it at first. But then her eyes accidentally caught two familiar figures standing in the center of the crowd.

Ethan and Lena.

Ethan wore a simple white shirt and black pants, tall and composed as always.

Lena stood in front of him in a white dress, her cheeks flushed shyly with happiness. She looked pure and delicate, like a flower covered in morning dew.

Debby's footsteps stopped instantly. A cold sense of dread crawled slowly up her spine.

Around her, students excitedly held up their phones to record. The conversations drifted clearly into her ears.

"Wait, is Ethan proposing to the freshman?!"

"Oh my God, this is so romantic. I heard they've been childhood sweethearts forever."

"No wonder Ethan's always cold to everyone else. Turns out he saved all his softness for the girl he really loves."

Debby stood outside the crowd like she was separated from the entire world by an invisible wall. Then she heard Ethan's voice.

"Lena, my feelings for you have never changed. I used to think I was too much older than you, so I kept everything hidden. I didn't want to scare you or hold you back."

Then suddenly, Ethan dropped to one knee. He held up a diamond ring that sparkled blindingly beneath the sunlight. The light stabbed painfully into Debby's eyes.

"But now we're both adults," he continued softly. "I don't want to wait anymore. Lena, I love you. Will you marry me?"

The crowd instantly erupted. "Say yes! Say yes!"

Lena covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes. Then she nodded hard and threw herself into Ethan's arms.

Cheers and applause exploded around them.

Debby stared at the two of them embracing tightly. Her heart felt like it was being crushed alive.

So that was the truth.

No wonder during every summer and winter break over the past three years, Ethan always had excuses for ignoring her calls and replying late to her messages. There were always endless part-time jobs and family issues.

Now she finally understood. He wasn't busy. He was just busy spending time with Lena.

No wonder whenever she carefully hinted about wanting to meet his family or friends, he always brushed the topic away naturally.

Back then, Debby thought it was because he came from a poor background and had too much pride. So she'd carefully protected what she thought was his fragile dignity and never brought it up again.

But the truth was painfully simple. His distance had never been about pride. His heart had belonged to someone else from the very beginning.

Ethan wasn't emotionally distant by nature. He wasn't bad at expressing love. He had simply given all of his warmth, all of his tenderness, every dream of the future, to another girl.

And Debby? She had never been anything more than a distraction when he was lonely, a stepping stone when he needed one, just the unpleasant woman in the background of his real love story, the one foolish enough to think money could buy love.

All the warmth he had shown her, every moment of tenderness, every little thing that once made her fall for him, now felt painfully fake in hindsight, like nothing more than a carefully staged performance meant to fool her.

At that moment, Debby felt completely empty inside. Even the hurt, the anger, and the last bit of unwillingness she'd been holding onto seemed to disappear as she stared at the scene in front of her.

Debby let out a quiet laugh at herself.

Using three years of her youth to truly see someone clearly wasn't the worst deal in the world.

She watched as Ethan slipped the ring onto Lena's slender finger and pulled her into his arms while cheers and congratulations filled the room.

And then, without a single expression on her face, Debby turned around. Ignoring the pain in her ankle, she walked away slowly through the crowd.

At that exact moment, in the center of the cheering crowd, Ethan suddenly lifted his eyes as if sensing something.

Through the gaps between people, he caught sight of only one thing.

A thin figure walking away without looking back.