Never Have a Foot in Two Boats

Skye's POV

At the auction, Mr. Number 1 successfully bid on a diamond ring worth 100 million. I smiled warmly and congratulated him.

Midway through, he left the event, casually telling me to bid as I pleased. However, private messages soon flooded his phone on the seat beside me.

[Mr. Carlson is really a romantic—buying a birthday gift for his first love with his ‘canary’ in tow. A true role model for us all.]

[Well, the canary’s just a toy for fun. The one he truly loves is his first love.]

[Right? It's been seven years, and he still can’t forget Alanna. But honestly, doesn’t the girl who’s been by his side for seven years mean anything to him?]

[Hey! Don’t insult his love, dude. Wait until Alanna comes back. Then you’ll see what real love looks like.]

After reading those, I tossed aside his phone and messaged my brother overseas.

[Hey, is your lab still hiring?]

——

When I got home, Derick Carlson placed the ring box on the table. Then, without warning, he pushed me onto the couch.

“Skye, did you miss me?” he murmured and leaned forward to kiss me.

But I turned my head and dodged his kiss. As such, confusion consumed his face as he stared at me.

Before he could say anything, I stood up and grabbed his tie, fiddling with it as hope flickered in my eyes.

“Derick, didn’t you say we’d get married as soon as I graduated?”

Immediately, his expression darkened slightly, but his voice remained calm.

“Skye, just wait a little longer. The company is at a critical stage of financing right now. I can’t focus on marriage.”

He also added, “Besides, rushing things wouldn’t be fair to you. Let’s wait three more years. When the company goes public, I’ll give you a grand proposal.”

The same excuse—for the third time.

When I was finishing my undergraduate degree, he told me to wait until graduation. But when I completed my master’s, he said the same. Now, with only three days left before I earned my doctorate, he was asking for three more years.

But this time, I couldn’t bring myself to wait any longer.

Derick watched me grow up. He was five years older than me and was one of my brother’s best friends.

The first time I met him, I was in high school, crying over a physics problem I couldn’t solve. Back then, he crouched down, gently wiped my tears, and patiently explained the problem to me.

Sunlight streamed over him, and the breeze tousled his hair as he leaned closer. Witnessing such magnificence, I couldn’t help but blush.

From that moment, I fell for him and poured myself into studying physics, nurturing a three-year crush.

I fought my way into his university, and on the first day of school, he came to pick me up. That was the first time I mustered the courage to confess.

“Derick, I like you.”

To my surprise, a faint smile tugged at his lips as he wordlessly pulled me into an embrace and kissed me.

Even now, thinking back to that moment makes my face flush.

I thought I was the luckiest person for having my first love as my boyfriend.

But now, I saw the truth. I was not lucky at all. I’d only ever been a stand-in, a substitute for his first love, Alanna Snee.

How could a replacement ever take the place of the real thing?

Marriage? That was just Derick’s excuse to keep me by his side. As long as Alanna stayed abroad, I’d remain his caged canary.

His lies had clipped my wings time and again, keeping me willingly trapped in this cage.

Even now, I can’t seem to break free.

Over the past seven years, marrying Derick had become my obsession.

At this moment, one stubborn thought fills my mind: To hell with Alanna. Once Derick and I are married, he’ll be mine.

Standing up, I forced a smile.

“It’s okay. I don’t need a wedding. Let’s just get the marriage license tomorrow, alright?”

His hand froze slightly, and he looked at me with a rare seriousness.

“Skye, don’t be unreasonable.”

Unreasonable?

I’d made plenty of unreasonable demands before, and he’d always indulged me.