He Dumped Me For a Heiress, Unaware I Owned His Whole Legacy Chapter 03

He Dumped Me For a Heiress, Unaware I Owned His Whole Legacy Chapter 03

The apology died unspoken on my lips.

My brother had already hung up.

I stumbled home, hollow and numb.

A notification suddenly popped up on my phone.

Liora had shared a video in the company-wide group chat.

In the footage, Ewan climbed every step of the sacred stone stairway to shrine on his knees, the wooden bracelet clutched in his hand, before dropping to one knee to propose to Liora.

This wedding plan had been written entirely by me, meant for myself.

Ewan had torn it to shreds back then, swearing he would never do something so humiliating again—not unless he was dead.

But now, he’d recreated it just to win Liora over.

Worse still, he’d let her post the clip to a group of five hundred staff.

Every single person got to witness the ten years he claimed he’d loved Liora.

It hit me clear as day at last.

He was capable of loving someone fiercely and openly.

I’d just never been that someone.

A bitter, self-mocking tug pulled at my mouth as I pulled open my desk drawer.

My pregnancy test report, picked up that morning, lay quiet inside.

Five weeks pregnant.

I’d planned to wait for Ewan to come home and tell him the news.

There was no point in it now.

I arrived at the office the next day with a printed resignation letter, still unsent, when a coworker hurried over to congratulate me first.

“Elowen, the pilot trial data you submitted last week secured full investment from the Hale Group. You’re definitely going to be the lead researcher for this drug development project.”

Her words left me frozen.

Two months prior, news had broken that Ewan’s father had a secret illegitimate son.

Before the man had even set foot in the building, the entire board of directors had already lined up to back him.

Night after night, Ewan would slip out onto the balcony to smoke, tossing and turning through every sleepless hour.

Desperate to repair his damaged reputation, I’d picked up my grandmother’s unfinished pharmaceutical research and continued the trials under Ewan’s name.

The day the pilot trial results came back successful, Ewan had pulled me tight in his arms, his voice shaking.

“Elowen, if this project pans out, we’ll get married.”

In that moment, I’d truly believed my five years of quiet, unacknowledged devotion were finally coming to an end.

I never imagined his engagement to Liora would arrive long before the project’s success.

My coworker’s face paled even whiter than mine a second later.

“Elowen, check the company group chat right now.”

Confused, I grabbed my phone.

The sight that met my eyes made my head spin violently.

Before I could track Ewan down to confront him, he walked into the office with an arm slung around Liora’s waist.

“Effective immediately, Liora is the new manager of Research Team One. She’ll be heading all ongoing development work for the Hale Group partnership project.”

Every pair of eyes locked onto me.

Some held sneering mockery, others jeering disdain, a few heavy with pity.

I stared hard at Ewan, my nails digging deep into my palms.

I thought back to my grandmother’s final moments, her frail hand clutching mine.

“Elowen, you are my last hope. My greatest regret is never finishing these trials, never easing the suffering of countless patients. You have to carry on this work for me.”

Those words had haunted me like a demon for over a decade.

Terrified of letting her down, I’d avoided the research entirely for years.

I’d only found the courage to start it all again for Ewan’s sake.

I’d always been grateful to him, willing to step back into the shadows and hand all the credit to him without complaint.

But he’d handed everything I’d built straight to Liora without a second thought.