He Dumped Me For a Heiress, Unaware I Owned His Whole Legacy Chapter 02

He Dumped Me For a Heiress, Unaware I Owned His Whole Legacy Chapter 02

Ewan didn’t flinch at my deathly pale face as he spoke for me.

“She’s my office secretary.”

“She’s had a crush on Silas for ages and begged me to set them up.”

“Shame Silas isn’t here today, isn’t that right, Elowen?”

Liora shot me a suspicious glance.

“If you’re here asking for favors, where’s your gift?”

“That carved wooden bracelet on her wrist is lovely, though. I want one just like it, Ewan.”

My nails dug deep into my palms.

My frame trembled faintly.

I’d gotten this bracelet after taking a bullet meant for Ewan.

He’d climbed the entire sacred stone stairway to the shrine just to obtain this life talisman for me.

To me, it was far more than a protective luck charm.

It was a love token Ewan had risked everything to get for me.

Yet he couldn’t have cared less.

“If you want it that bad, Liora, name your price, Elowen.”

“What did you just say?”

A cold vice squeezed my heart tight in that instant.

Liora squealed and threw her arms around Ewan.

They kissed each other wildly, oblivious to everyone around them.

“Our guy’s waited five whole years to lock this down! Can’t even wait till the night’s over!”

A group of Ewan’s friends caught up and started hooting loudly.

Chants calling Liora his fiancée crashed over one another, growing louder by the second.

All the quiet, desperate things I’d spent years begging for.

Liora had gotten them without lifting a finger.

The whole affair suddenly felt hollow and meaningless.

Beneath Liora’s taunting stare, I held the bracelet out to her calmly.

“It’s nothing special, worthless really.”

“If you want it, you can have it.”

The air around us went stiff for a beat.

One of the men recognized the bracelet’s origin, and his face drained of color instantly.

“This is the charm he hiked all those sacred stone steps to get three years ago… Does that mean she’s the one he—”

Ewan’s features twisted with rage, his gaze pinning me down harshly.

He cut the man off sharply.

“Shut up.”

Liora missed the strange, uneasy looks passing between the men. She wrinkled her nose and tossed the bracelet straight into a janitor’s trash bin.

“Why would I wear garbage some other woman had on?”

“It’s gross. Who knows what skin conditions she’s got.”

I watched the bracelet I’d treasured for five years sink down amid food scraps and discarded trash.

A sharp, painful jolt shot through my chest, and I clenched my hands hard.

Ewan only let out a lazy, unconcerned chuckle at my aHale face.

“Liora’s always blunt, she doesn’t mean any harm.”

“Since you’re already here, stick around for our engagement party.”

“If any guy catches your eye tonight, I’ll put in a good word for you, old times’ sake.”

Every word out of his mouth, paired with the mocking grins on his friends’ faces, felt like a dozen open-handed slaps landing hard across my cheeks.

I bit down on my bitter, stinging lower lip.

“No thanks, Mr. Knight. We’re only employer and employee, barely acquaintances.”

“Enjoy the rest of your night.”

For five years, I’d pushed my brother to hand over valuable resources to Ewan, hurting my own family’s interests time and again, just hoping he’d stabilize his position and marry me soon.

I’d disappointed my parents beyond repair.

All I’d gotten in return was his suggestion that I go on a blind date with his adopted brother.

The irony burned hotter than anything.

I ignored Ewan’s livid expression and turned to leave.

I’d barely stepped out of the banquet hall when my brother’s call popped up on my screen.

“Elowen, Mom and Dad said the wager’s ended early. Since you care that much about Ewan, tomorrow we’ll pull his—”

I cut him off mid-sentence.

“He’s marrying someone else.”

“I forfeit the bet.”

Those three short words turned every ounce of pent-up frustration I’d carried for years into a pathetic, hollow joke.

There was a long pause on the line before he replied with a single quiet word.

“Alright.”

He didn’t press me for every messy detail.

He only told me to head back to Westfield Metropolis as soon as I could.

Once, if my brother had heard I’d been humiliated like this, he would’ve flown off the handle and stormed over to confront Ewan without hesitation.

But his tone was cold now, like he was talking about a stranger’s troubles.

So brother… are you giving up on me too?