After I Proposed Breaking Off The Engagement, Don Regretted It Chapter 05
Other than me, the only person who knew this address and could punch in the passcode was Silas.
Before, the lock code had been our engagement anniversary, the same for five years.
Then Caius came along and asked me to change it to our relationship anniversary. So I did.
I didn’t want Silas barging in on me and Caius in bed. Who I slept with was my own business.
But then, the sound of someone keying in the code again.
That surprised me. Silas was still trying?
And of course — another mechanical beep. “Incorrect password.”
The footsteps moved away, fading out. But my phone started buzzing violently. I went to grab it. My wrist was pinned down.
My eyes met Caius’s dark, heavy pupils. My heart skipped.
This man was obedient off the bed. But in bed? All dominance and possessiveness.
Caius stared at me. “Don’t answer his calls. And don’t think about him.”
Men got so childish once they were in bed. I laughed softly. “Okay.”
He kissed me again.
…
I woke up the next afternoon.
My assistant had texted.
The luxury brand company had reshot the promo video.
All the photos and video of Ivy had been taken down from every platform.
Apparently, Silas had ordered it himself.
Strange.
Then a text from Silas:
[Change the 28th-floor code back to our engagement anniversary.]
[I’ve suspended all of Ivy’s work. Don’t be mad.]
[Call me when you’ve cooled off.]
He still thought I was just throwing a tantrum?
I laughed coldly and texted back.
[Contact my lawyer about the annulment and asset division. Nothing else to discuss.]
Then I blocked every one of Silas’s accounts.
I slept a few more hours in the afternoon. Woke up clear-headed.
That night, I went to the private outdoor pool.
When I changed into my swimsuit, I saw it. My whole body was covered in red and purple bite marks.
My skin marked easily and took forever to fade.
I never let anyone leave that many marks on me.
But last night, to keep Caius happy, I’d let him bite me anywhere.
At least no one could get in here without my permission.
I put on my suit and got in the water.
Swam a couple of laps, then lay back on a lounge chair with a glass of wine. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone walking over.
Caius had been at his racing club in the afternoon. Said he’d come by at night.
I assumed it was him.
But it wasn’t.
It was Ivy.
Her eyes raked over me from head to toe, like she was cursing every inch.
“So this is why Silas suddenly dumped me. You’re disgusting trash, Marlowe.”
I’d almost forgotten. Silas also had access to this place.
Suddenly the water didn’t feel clean anymore.
Ivy’s voice was righteous and aggressive.
“You knew Silas wouldn’t pick you, so you found some guy to put on a show?”
“Pathetic. You’d stoop that low just to make him cut ties with me?”
“How desperate are you, Marlowe? Or do you just need to crawl into some old man’s bed to prove somebody still wants you?”
Before I could answer, her sharp, bitter expression vanished. Replaced by something almost like confusion.
“…Caius? What are you doing here?”
Caius walked over and stopped in front of me. He was only wearing swim trunks — broad shoulders, long legs, cut abs. But he was covered in scratch marks and red welts. The kind of marks that trailed all the way down to his V-line.
He turned his back to me — that wide, solid back like a wall — and said, “Because the man you’re talking about is me.”
The wine almost came out of my nose.
For the first time in my life, I saw someone’s face go completely blank, like an actual blank expression.
After a few seconds, Ivy managed to move her lips. “…She’s forcing you to stay with her, isn’t she?”
Caius’s answer was just as blunt. “I forced her. I’m the one who likes her.”
Ivy froze for a good several seconds. Then she ran her fingers through her hair from her crown to the ends — three times, almost compulsively — before she could finally speak.
“We were engaged for four years. You never touched me. Not one night. And the first thing you do after we break up is sleep with her?”
Caius’s voice didn’t waver at all. “Ivy. Don’t play the victim.”
Ivy stiffened.
“There was never anything romantic between us. You know it. I know it.”
“She doesn’t love you either!” Ivy’s voice went sharp as she cut him off. “Why do you think she went after you? Because I got together with Silas. Because she wanted to get back at me!”
“She thought you and I were still engaged, and that’s the only reason she chose you. She doesn’t want you. She just wants to humiliate me.”
“You’re just a tool to her, Caius.”
Ivy laughed — a laugh uglier than crying.
“Is a woman like that worth throwing yourself at for her to use?”
Caius was quiet for a few seconds.
Then he looked down at me.
Then back at Ivy.
“That’s still my choice.”
Ivy broke down sobbing.
She’d provoked me so many times. Seeing her like this, I should have felt satisfied. But I didn’t.
People trapped in unrequited love always cry a lot.
Just then — three claps, out of place and slow.
It was silas