I Proposed to my Boyfriend and Got Rejected

The hotel was in a remote location, far from the nearest road, which was a ten-minute drive from the entrance. I ignored the pain in my feet as I stumbled over the uneven gravel, shivering uncontrollably. Tears blurred my vision, spilling down my face until everything became a watery haze. My legs gave out beneath me, and I fell hard onto the ground, scraping my knees on the sharp stones. Blood trickled from the cuts, but I barely noticed.

I glanced around and saw nothing—just the vast emptiness of the surroundings. The silence only made me feel smaller. Hugging my legs to my chest, I sat there sobbing, letting the weight of it all crash over me. I could already imagine what people would say—that this was just another story about a gold-digging girl chasing after a wealthy benefactor, desperate to secure a better life.

But they didn’t know the truth. Between Carl and me, he was the one who confessed his love first. I remembered the night he looked into my eyes with such sincerity and said, “Mia, my parents care a lot about status. Let’s keep this private for now. Once I sort everything out, you’ll be a Lewis in all your glory.”

I believed him. Seeing the warmth in his gaze, I foolishly agreed. I never imagined he’d use that promise to hide me away, while he flaunted himself as single to those wealthy, powerful women. It had all been a lie, and I had been too blind to see it.

I spent seven years of my youth on him, completely unaware of how foolish I was. I thought I was sweetly preparing for our proposal ceremony. The women he chose were all so elegant, perfect, and wealthy. In front of Remi, I felt like an ugly duckling lost among a flock of swans. It’s ridiculous to think about it now.

I was so angry that I cursed aloud. “Mia, you’re such a fool—you deserve to be deceived!”

At that moment, a casual male voice broke through my thoughts from behind me. “Assistant Lewis, did you do something wrong and get exiled?”

I quickly wiped my tears away, adjusted my loosening false eyelashes, and looked up. A young, handsome face came into view. When he met my gaze, he gave me a narrow smile, his eyes slowly moving down my tear-streaked cheeks to my bare shoulders before abruptly shifting away.

Because of how I was sitting, my breasts pushed against my tube top, nearly spilling out. If I were walking down the street like this, people might mistake me as an exhibitionist.

Ignoring the pain in my legs, I quickly covered my chest and forced a smile, feeling embarrassed. "Mr. Norris, what brings you here?"

Since graduating from college, I have been working alongside Carl, using my attention to detail to help him manage social affairs with various companies. Carl often mentioned that the Norris family was very influential in the capital and a partner everyone wanted to have. He also joked that I must have saved the world in a past life to have landed a job where I could negotiate such a big deal with the Norris family so soon after starting. Thanks to this opportunity, I was able to buy my own apartment in the city. I owed a lot of my success to Leo, who always praised me during our year-end evaluations.

After I spoke, Leo shrugged casually. "I was invited to Carl's party. When I walked in and saw the chaos, I decided to step outside."

I lowered my head in shame. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault..."

"It's nothing," he replied, reaching out to help me up from the ground.

"It just so happens that I haven't resolved a few issues from the last business deal. Could you help me?" I said, jumping awkwardly. He turned around and noticed my knee. "Are you injured?"

I forced a grin through the pain but was determined to finish my work. "I just fell. If you have any questions, you can go to the company and ask me."

Leo was quiet for a moment, then unexpectedly unbuttoned his suit jacket, bent down, and picked me up. "Be careful of infection. I'll take you to the hospital first."