Chapter 5
“Leah, you’re really getting married?! And… and to Nick?!”
Jayden’s voice cracked from disbelief, like a frayed string pulled too tight. It wasn’t just that I’d gotten married, or that the wedding was being broadcast live-what he couldn’t accept was that the groom was Nick, the man he’d clashed with for years.
“Leah, don’t-don’t joke like this. I’ll marry you, okay? You don’t have to go this far to provoke me, dragging Nick into your act. Don’t you hate him just as much as I do?”
Hearing this, I almost laughed.
I opened my mouth calmly. “You really shouldn’t speak that way about my husband. Just because I hated him once doesn’t mean I still do. Jayden, did you honestly think that just because you came back and said you were willing to marry me, I’d go running after you like I used to?”
He clearly did not understand my words.
“Why should I?” I continued. “Why would I marry someone who deliberately disappeared on me?”
It was the first time I’d spoken to him in that tone. He panicked.
“I-I only did that to see if you still loved me! Leah, you gave up looking after just a few days. I’m so disappointed in you!”
I didn’t respond. Silence felt more appropriate.
He went quiet too, the weight of my silence slowly dawning on him. Then, as if something just occurred to him, his voice rose again.
“Wait… earlier you told me to look up. How did you know where I was?”
I smiled coldly. “Jayden, I know a lot more than you think.”
“That’s impossible… How could you know everything? I only go to places you’ve never shown the slightest interest in!”
He looked around, clearly searching for cameras or paparazzi, but found nothing.
“If you’re going to be with Sophie in the future, try not to pick somewhere so close by. We won’t be needing to talk again.”
I ended the call.
The wedding went smoothly. Even some names that weren’t on the official guest list showed up to offer congratulations.
By the time Jayden arrived, the ceremony had long ended. Nick and I had just finished our final dance and taken our bows. He had stepped aside to rest.
Jayden moved slowly through the lavishly decorated venue, dazed. His eyes reddened with envy and disbelief as he looked at me.
“Leah… the wedding you once promised me wasn’t even half this nice. And you gave all this to Nick?”
I looked at him, unraveling at the seams, and answered without changing expression.
“Funny you mention that. I should thank you, actually. Jayden, thank you for letting me go.”
“You-You’re thanking me?!”
That pushed him over the edge. He glared at me for a long time, searching my face for any crack, any regret. Finding none, his jealousy hardened into rage.
“Leah! You’ll regret not marrying me! From now on, I’m with Sophie. She’s going to surpass you one day!”
He flung those words like a curse and marched off, proud as a rooster.
1/2
Surpass me?
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Sophie had ten years of study-how could that compete with my family that had run businesses for three generations?
Did he really not know? Sophie’s diploma was the bare minimum just to be granted a meeting at our company. She wouldn’t even be qualified to meet my father.
I turned and instructed my assistant to terminate all collaborations with Jayden’s family.
Later that evening, Jayden’s parents came to plead for their son. But before the conversation could begin, Jayden appeared and interrupted with a triumphant swagger.
“Listen to me, Leah. You think I care about your family’s money? Sophie already has a new way to make money. We don’t need you. She’s not going to be worse off than you.”
Standing there, all three of them looked like performers in some farce. I laughed again.
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll wait and see if she really surpasses me. Nothing fancy-just hold a wedding in this place.”
I tapped the marble floor with my toe. The hotel stood in one of the city’s most expensive districts.
Their expressions shifted. Without another word, they turned and left, cursing under their breath.
