Waking Up from a Reverie

My sister's funeral took me three days to organize. Many people showed up to pay their respects, but Ian acted like he had no idea that she had died. He did not show up or even give me a call, much less stay by my side to comfort me.

I was reminded of when I had worked two consecutive weeks to pull in company sales, only to pass out from exhaustion and be hospitalized. Ian broke out in cold sweat from panicking over my condition and he held my hand to say, "You scared me, Hailey. Stop overworking yourself. I'll figure out how to get the money. All you need to do is take good care of yourself."

Ian's deep concern for me meant nothing as he immediately gave Lucy everything that I had worked hard to earn. I took out my phone to call Ian, but instead, saw Lucy's latest post on my screen.

[Ian said I was the only woman good enough to own the jewelry that was the grand finale of today's auction.]

The caption was accompanied by a picture of a pink diamond necklace worth thirty million.

When I tried to discuss our wedding with Ian the last few days, he seemed distracted. It was because he had been busy bidding on necklaces for Lucy for the last few days. He had been checking for updates on his phone for auction items because he wanted to pick a gift for Lucy.

I closed my eyes tiredly. I felt exhausted mentally and physically.

When I got home, I saw Ian's shoes the moment I opened the door. Since revealing his identity to me, it had been a long time since Ian came to my house. When Ian saw me come home, he came to hug me lovingly like he always did. "I miss you so much, Honey. You don't look very well. Is it your headache again?"

Ian cleared his throat when I stayed silent, and he continued awkwardly, "Are you still feeling unhappy about what Lucy said? I apologize on her behalf. It's the family’s rules, after all. Please don't be mad at her, all right?”

"Don't be anxious about putting the rest of the money together. I'll help you figure something out and I promise you'll have a grand wedding."

I smiled sarcastically. It all depended on Lucy's mood on whether we would have a wedding or not. "I'm not in a hurry to get married, so there is no need for you to apologize on her behalf." Ian's smile froze when I refused to accept the apology.

"You can't be mad at Lucy just because she stopped you from cheating when you knew that money had to be earned by you, Hailey. You…"

"I'm not mad at her. I just don't feel like saving up for that fifty million anymore," I interrupted him.

Ian wanted to continue lecturing me, but choked back his words with his mouth agape. He looked at me anxiously. "Why are you giving up? If things have been really difficult, I… I don't mind secretly loaning you some money…"

I looked at him closely. Why had I never realized he could act so well? Ian had been giving me trouble behind my back, but acted like he was deeply in love when facing me. This reminded me of how I had nearly drunk myself to death just to secure a contract for a shopping mall development project.

The moment the contract was signed, the project was halted because of an issue during the assessment stage. Rumors of the land having problems and the previous developer losing money on the land started to spread from nowhere. I was branded as a conwoman in the industry, and my investors started to pull out. Not only was I left with an unprofitable land, but I had to deal with compensation for breach of contract as well.

Ian had fought for me then and worked hard at safeguarding my reputation. Who would have thought that he was the one behind everything? Yes, he was the one who said that he had plotted all of this.

That night, I heard Ian on his phone when I passed by his study on my way to the kitchen for a glass of water. "Stop the plan against Hailey's company. With her current reputation, she won't be able to put the money together even if we stood by and did nothing."

I wiped away the tears from the corner of my eye. He no longer had to do anything of the sort because I no longer wanted to marry him. I was about to walk away when I heard him pick up another call from Lucy. "Ian." Lucy's coquettish voice was heard coming from the other end of the call. "I got caught by the butler for sneaking into the underground casino. Can you help cover for me?"

"You just can't stop making me worry, can you?" Ian said adoringly. "You know our family rules don't allow you to do something like that, but you still had to sneak in there. Fine. I'll help you, but this is the only time."

It sounded like the strict family rules applied only to me. I was reminded of how they treated me when they stopped me from loaning the money with such righteousness. I turned away because I no longer wanted to listen to their conversation. When I returned to my bedroom, I sent another message to that number. [I'm ready to leave.]

After that, I pulled out my luggage and started packing.

"What are you doing? Where are you going?"