Heart Toward the Sky

My body trembled all over. I couldn't believe there was such an unreasonable man.

Owen paused, then softened. "Don't cry, babe. Do you want to see me? I can come find you right now."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

A gust of cold wind blew over to the balcony. It swept across my face, cooling the tears that had just fallen. I felt like a complete joke.

In the end, only one word came out, rough and dry. "No."

"No?" Owen repeated, his tone unreadable. His voice then turned cold once again. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to see you," I replied, gathering my last bit of strength to hang up the phone.

I lay back on the bed, unable to fall asleep.

As the trending topic soared high, relatives in the family group chat tagged me one after another, each message dripping with resentment.

Finally, a cousin typed: [Let's face it. If you can't keep Owen, just step aside. Do you even realize how significantly this impacts us?]

The younger generation in the group jumped in.

Another cousin sent a laughing emoji: [So embarrassing, being ridden by a mistress. If I were you, I wouldn't even show my face. Owen spent all his money on his mistress. Didn't he ever spend anything on you? Why not just let someone else replace you? He doesn't like you anyway.]

The group chat went silent, and I laughed bitterly, wishing one of my cousins could replace me to marry Owen.

But the Vega Group was still run by Garrett, and I was his only daughter. He wouldn't miss the chance to flatter the Lockharts.

I muted the group chat and scrolled through the feeds. The first thing I saw was a photo shared by some rich kid.

Standing in the center were none other than Owen and Robin. He had his arm wrapped around her waist, lazily raising an eyebrow at the camera. His friends were gathered around them, toasting and enjoying themselves.

What did it look like? An official announcement of their relationship.

I gave the post a thumbs-up and turned off my phone. But then, the barrage flooded into my mind.

[Don't be sad. This is all just a show. We all know that Owen's heart belongs to you.]

[Yeah, after his friend posted that, he checked to see if you liked it a minute later.]

[He's been wanting to see you. You rejected him tonight, and he's been heartbroken.]

[Give him a call, telling him you're jealous, and he'll come running right to you.]

I closed my eyes, forcing all those noises out of my head. After what felt like an eternity, I propped myself up from bed and texted my lawyer: [Send me the engagement annulment agreement. I'll find a chance to give it to Owen.]

I needed one full day to handle the property transfer, and I couldn't let anyone find out or interfere. After attending the banquet, I would take a midnight flight and leave for another country.

By then, the agreement would be sent in two copies, one to Garrett and the other to Owen.

If I stayed and refused to marry Owen, there would be no peace. Garrett would just marry me off to someone else.

Everything went smoothly.

...

I had carefully chosen a fishtail dress for the occasion. With a bright smile, I walked into the banquet hall in my high heels.

My friends approached to catch up with me, and one of them nudged me. "No companion, huh? My brother can help."

I considered the offer, then shook my head. "It's fine. I don't think it's shameful to be alone."

"True that. A man around would just get in the way of our conversation," Ginevra Dixon grinned.