He Chose Her, I Left Him For Good

Three days before the wedding, I called off my engagement with Dashiell Halston. He gave a helpless smile. "Just because I fastened the back clasp of Lila Pembroke's gown?" I nodded. "Yes." His smile grew more weary. "Lila is clumsy, she couldn't reach the last clasp at all. There were so many people at last night's gala. I had to help her." When I stayed silent, he pushed a Victoria's Secret gift box toward me. But I turned my head away and did not take it. From our small hometown to Paris, from awkward youth to full adulthood, eighteen years had passed. It was time to let go. Seeing me refuse, Dashiell opened the box in his hands, revealing this year's limited-edition lingerie collection. "I know you're upset," he said, "but Lila is like family to you. It wouldn't hurt to be a little more understanding toward her." I looked at him and quietly lifted the lingerie aside. A distinct milk stain marked the fabric. I pulled a bitter smile. "Is Victoria's Secret selling secondhand items now?" Dashiell's expression shifted, and he looked at me with clear disapproval. "I asked Lila to try it on for size. She's been experiencing lactation leakage since her miscarriage and is extremely sensitive right now. If it feels comfortable on her, it will definitely feel fine on you too. Why must you nitpick every little thing and hold onto it so tightly?" Listening to his excuses, I felt only a deep weariness settle over my chest. I sighed, turned, and walked toward the door. I had not expected Lila, who had been listening outside, to stumble and fall to the floor the moment I pulled the door open. "Please don't be angry... I was only trying it on for you..." she said. I shook my head with a bitter laugh. I could no longer remember when it had started... that everything Lila had tried on or used first would eventually be passed down to me. "So now even men have to be sent to test things out for me?" I retorted. Lila looked up at me, her voice small and trembling. "I'm sorry. I leaked again today, that's why I came to the office to find Dashiell. I read online it might be breast cancer. I didn't mean to interrupt you two, but I'm so scared..." She burst into loud sobs, as if my gaze alone was causing her immense distress. I watched her calmly. "Do your parents know?" Lila had gotten pregnant and suffered a miscarriage during her senior year of high school. It was only when she needed an emergency blood transfusion that everyone discovered she was not actually related to the Pembroke family by blood. That was when they tracked me down and brought me home. But to protect Lila from public scrutiny, the Pembrooks' told all their friends and associates that I was their adopted daughter. Thinking of the lactation supplements I had seen in the guest room a few days earlier, my gaze drifted thoughtfully to Lila's chest. Her face went deathly pale, as if I had dealt her a terrible public insult. She swayed unsteadily on her feet, barely able to stand. "What do you mean? I'm already going through this... are you going to go to my parents and make up lies about me too?" I continued to stare at her. "I'm just curious. If you're genuinely worried it might be cancer, why didn't you go straight to a specialist instead of lingering here with your future brother-in-law?" "Eulalie, that's enough! Why are you being so cruel to her?" Dashiell helped Lila gently to her feet. "She's just a young woman going through something devastating... of course, she's too embarrassed to talk about it with anyone else. Now that she's finally gathered the courage to open up to us, don't you dare make her feel worse." The way he looked at Lila was as if he were gazing at the purest white jasmine in full bloom. I shook my head slowly. No matter how many times I had told Dashiell about all the ways Lila had manipulated and pushed me aside over the years, in his eyes she remained nothing but innocent and perfect. One wanted to be deceived, and the other was all too willing to lie. In its own twisted way, that was a perfect match. I turned and walked out the door without another word. Later, as I sent the signed share transfer agreement to Mr. Winthrop, he replied with a follow-up message. Mr. Winthrop: Would you be interested in joining Winthrop Group as a senior founding partner? Reading his words, I felt briefly lightheaded. Eighteen years had not only turned my relationship with Dashiell into a complete mess, it had also made me one of the most respected names in the luxury mergers and acquisitions industry. I smiled faintly and replied. Me: Thank you, Mr. Winthrop. I'll let you know as soon as I decide. I still have a few personal matters to sort out first. When I returned to the home we had renovated and planned to move into after the wedding, I stared at all the traces of the life Dashiell and I had built together and fell into deep thought. Suddenly, a sharp knock at the door pulled me out of my reverie.