Seven Years for His Ruin

Where had the gentle, charming boy from my memories gone? How had he turned into this strange, vicious monster before me?

"I would never marry a scumbag like you," I said, wiping away my tears and struggling to keep my voice steady. "And I'm not here for you."

"I'm here for my own engagement ceremony! It just happens to be at the same manor as your party!"

"Oh, please! That's hilarious!" one of the rich kids howled with laughter, doubling over. "Only the most elite families on the East Coast are qualified to host events at the Blackwood Manor! Who do you think you are, trying to social climb your way into this family?"

Another one eyed me up and down with a critical gaze.

"I get it. A woman pushing thirty, desperate to find a man to marry her. Too bad our little Nolan is already spoken for. But hey, my father might be a good option! You could be his new wife, pop out a few little brothers for me."

"As long as you can give him three sons, the Davis family will be grateful to you, hahaha!"

The insults kept coming, and my limbs turned to ice.

Nolan had been my classmate in medical school. His family had fallen on hard times, and it was my parents who sponsored his education. After my parents died in a car accident, we relied on each other to survive. Back then, a group of snobbish classmates isolated me because of my family's tragedy, and it was Nolan who stood up for me without hesitation, even getting disciplined by a professor and losing his scholarship for it.

I had once asked him through tears if it was worth it.

He looked me straight in the eyes and said firmly, "It's worth it, Juliet. I won't let anyone bully you."

"I love you, Juliet. Wait for me, and I'll give you everything you've ever wanted."

But now, seven years later, just a few months of living a life of luxury in Europe had turned him into a completely different person?

"The moment you abandoned me, we were done," I told Nolan.

Then I turned to the others. "I'll remember what all of you did today. After my engagement ceremony is over, my fiancé will personally come settle the score. None of you will get away with this."

"Ooh, making threats now! Who are you going to get? That imaginary fiancé in your head?"

One of Nolan's friends stepped forward with a lewd grin, his hand reaching for the high slit on the side of my dress.

"Why don't you consider me? I'm Nolan's best friend, you know."

"I promise I'll treat you better than he did," he winked suggestively. "Plus, I'm Nolan's best man. We're so close, maybe the three of us could share a night together."

"Stay away from me!"

"Get the hell away from her!" My best friend, Maya, charged in, shielding me. "My friend's fiancé is a Blackwood. You've messed with the wrong people!"

Nolan froze for a second, then burst into an even more piercing peal of laughter.

"You're not even good enough for me, let alone Rhys Blackwood."

"You're just a woman I'm tired of playing with. Stop dreaming!" he looked at me with disdain. "The patriarch of the Blackwood family? A man of his stature? What makes you think you could ever deserve him?"

His pack of friends joined in, roaring with laughter.

Just then, a crisp female voice called out, "The gala is about to start! What are you all doing out here?"