The Heiress' Reckoning

In the third year of their relationship, Kristian Dobson married the wealthy heiress Laura Clarke behind my back.

He told me, "Evelyn, I'm an illegitimate son. Only by marrying her can I gain my father's approval and claim my place in the family."

I scoffed inwardly. He was merely making excuses for his ambition.

I chose to end things cleanly, but Kristian confined me like a caged bird, hidden from the world.

"You live a life of luxury without lifting a finger. What more could you want?" he demanded.

Later, to please Laura, he forced me to jump from the seventeenth-floor balcony.

They assumed I was powerless, unaware I was the sole heir to the city's richest fortune.

...

"Evelyn Hayes, don't just stand there. Hurry up and serve the food!"

The manager's voice snapped at her, but Evelyn barely registered it. Her eyes fixed on the couple exchanging rings on the stage.

The wedding buzzed with joy, and she should have clapped along, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

The groom was Kristian Dobson, her boyfriend of three years.

The bride was Laura Clarke, her college rival.

As the ring exchange concluded, Kristian lifted Laura's veil and kissed her passionately under the guests' gaze.

"I vow to love only Laura Clarke, through sickness and health, for all my life," he declared into the microphone, holding her hand, his eyes brimming with tenderness.

Evelyn watched his devoted act and found it bitterly ironic.

Just last night, he had been with her, and now, without warning, he was someone else's lifelong partner.

Perhaps she should have stormed the stage and exposed him.

Or maybe she should have wept and caused a scene, demanding why he betrayed her.

But her feet felt rooted, weighed down by the pain radiating from her heart.

While toasting and chatting merrily, Kristian suddenly glanced toward the service entrance, as if sensing her presence.

Their eyes met amid the clinking glasses. Hers were tearful with disappointment; his were wide with panic.

He started toward her, but Laura clung to his arm. "Kristian, where are you going? My father wants to talk. He has some spare capital, and didn't you always want to start a business?"

On one side was Evelyn, offering no advantage. On the other was the opportunity he craved.

After a brief hesitation, Kristian made his choice.

He smiled casually and said, "It's nothing. I thought you might be hungry and wanted to grab you some cake. But since your father needs to talk, let's go."

He wrapped his arm around Laura, and they turned toward the main table.

Though Evelyn had accepted the reality, his choice still stung.

The man who once promised her unwavering loyalty had changed.

Ignoring the manager, she shed her work apron and slipped out of the festive chaos.

...

Evelyn wandered aimlessly down the cold streets, her phone buzzing with a notification.

It was a text from Kristian. "Evelyn, wait till I get back, and I'll explain. I only love you. Today wasn't real."

His words sounded convincing, as if she had misunderstood.

Moments later, she tapped his profile and blocked him without hesitation.

She also deleted all three hundred seventy photos of them together.

"Miss Hayes, back to see that wedding dress?" A shop assistant's voice startled her. Evelyn glanced around, realizing she had unknowingly stopped outside a bridal shop's window.

The display showcased a pink-diamond-encrusted gown priced at two hundred thousand dollars.

The assistant said "back" because Evelyn and Kristian had visited often, gazing through the glass and dreaming of a happy future.

Her thoughts drifted to when she was twenty and met Kristian kneeling outside the Dobson family gate.

Rain poured that day, dripping from his hair, softening his stern features with vulnerability.

Friends told her he was the Dobson family's illegitimate son, kneeling annually on his father's birthday to show filial piety.

His father, however, never acknowledged him, refusing to recognize his existence.

As the only daughter of the richest man in Seavelt, Evelyn should have had no connection to someone like him.

Yet, after that day, she fell uncontrollably for Kristian.

She pursued him boldly, melting the ice around his heart.

Once together, he worked three jobs tirelessly, even fainting from hunger, just to buy her a necklace for her birthday.

"I can suffer, but you can't. Whatever others have, you'll have too," he said, fastening the necklace around her neck, giving her his all.

But her father warned, "Kristian may seem like a pitiful outcast, but he's ambitious and cunning. He's not right for you."

Naive and love-struck, Evelyn didn't grasp the warning. She made a bold bet. "I'll hide my identity and stay with him for three years. If he remains loyal and treats me even better, you'll approve our marriage."

Out of love, her father agreed but added conditions.

Today marked the end of that three-year bet, and the past felt like a cruel joke.

Evelyn wiped a tear and dialed her father's number.

"Dad, I lost," she admitted. "I'll come home and take over the family business as you want. As for a marriage partner, you decide. I don't care."

Her father's voice crackled with excitement. "That's my girl! I'll arrange a gala with five eligible bachelors for you to choose from. I'll send someone to pick you up in seven days."