His Promise, Her Ruin

Meng Xinyu

Modern | Completed

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Tonight was supposed to be the greatest night of my career. I was the frontrunner for the Pinnacle Prize, the highest honor in architecture. But the award went to a complete unknown-my fiancé's first love, the widow of his older brother. My fiancé, Kason, the man who was supposed to build my winning design, had given my life's work away to her. He said she needed it more. He then forced me to mentor her, letting her take credit for my projects. During a promotional shoot, he stood by and watched as she slapped me again and again under the guise of "getting the shot right." When I finally slapped her back, he had me fired and blacklisted from the entire industry. He didn't stop there. He pushed me to the ground in a hospital hallway, causing me to bleed, and then abandoned me. He did all this while I was carrying his child. Lying on that cold hospital floor, I made a decision. I took my unborn baby and disappeared. I flew to a new country, changed my name, and cut off all ties. For five years, we were ghosts.

Revenge Pregnancy Divorce CEO Drama

Chapter 21

The day before yesterday 21:36

Chapter 1

Tonight was supposed to be the greatest night of my career. I was the frontrunner for the Pinnacle Prize, the highest honor in architecture.

But the award went to a complete unknown-my fiancé's first love, the widow of his older brother. My fiancé, Kason, the man who was supposed to build my winning design, had given my life's work away to her.

He said she needed it more. He then forced me to mentor her, letting her take credit for my projects. During a promotional shoot, he stood by and watched as she slapped me again and again under the guise of "getting the shot right."

When I finally slapped her back, he had me fired and blacklisted from the entire industry. He didn't stop there. He pushed me to the ground in a hospital hallway, causing me to bleed, and then abandoned me.

He did all this while I was carrying his child.

Lying on that cold hospital floor, I made a decision. I took my unborn baby and disappeared. I flew to a new country, changed my name, and cut off all ties.

For five years, we were ghosts.

Chapter 1

The air in the grand hall was thick with anticipation. I smoothed the front of my silk gown, my heart pounding against my ribs. Tonight was the night I' d been working toward my entire career. The Pinnacle Prize. The highest honor in architecture.

My design, "The Sunstone," was the frontrunner. It was more than a building; it was my soul rendered in glass and steel.

A respected colleague, Arthur Vance, patted my shoulder.

"Congratulations in advance, Clara. A well-deserved win. Sunstone is a masterpiece."

I gave him a grateful, if nervous, smile. "Thank you, Arthur. Let's not jinx it."

He chuckled. "There's no jinxing genius."

My fiancé, Kason Hanson, was supposed to be by my side. He was the most powerful real estate mogul in the city, the man who was going to build Sunstone. But he' d called an hour ago, saying he was caught in a last-minute meeting. He promised he' d make it up to me.

The host stepped up to the podium. "And now, the moment we've all been waiting for. The Pinnacle Prize for Architectural Excellence goes to..."

I held my breath, a smile already forming on my lips.

"...Hazel Garrett for 'The Willow.'"

The name hit me like a physical blow. It didn' t make sense. The Willow was a derivative, uninspired design. Hazel Garrett was a nobody.

A wave of cold washed over me. My hands went numb. I felt the eyes of the entire hall on me, the favored candidate who had just been publicly snubbed.

I managed to clap, my movements stiff and robotic. I sank back into my seat, the plush velvet feeling like stone. The forced smile on my face felt like it was cracking.

My gaze swept the crowd, searching for something, anything to make sense of this. And then I saw him.

Kason.

He wasn't in a meeting. He was sitting in the third row, his powerful frame perfectly tailored in a dark suit.

He wasn't looking at me. His eyes were fixed on the stage, on the woman walking toward the podium.

Hazel Garrett. My fiancé' s first love. The widow of his older brother.

His presence here wasn't for me. It was for her.

The whispers started around me, a low hum of confusion and suspicion.

"Hazel Garrett? Who is she?"

"I heard she has a connection to the Hanson Corporation. The primary sponsor."

"This feels... wrong. Sunstone was the clear winner."

My mind pieced it together with brutal clarity. Kason had done this. He had given my prize away.

I remembered a conversation from weeks ago, Hazel crying in our living room about her stalled career and how she' d never achieve her dreams. I remembered Kason holding her, whispering a promise.

"I' ll make it happen for you, Hazel. I swear it. I owe you."

He owed her. For a past event shrouded in guilt, a story he never fully told me. A story where he believed Hazel had saved his life.

Ten years of my life. The endless nights, the sacrifices, the singular focus on my craft-all of it culminated in this moment. A moment he had handed to her on a silver platter because she was fragile and he felt guilty.

The ceremony ended in a blur. I sat frozen until the hall began to empty.

Kason finally found me, his expression unreadable.

"Clara."

I stood up, my voice dangerously calm. "Why, Kason?"

He had the audacity to look confused. "It' s just an award. It doesn't diminish your talent."

"It was my award," I said, my voice trembling now. "It was the Pinnacle Prize. You don' t just give it to someone."

"Hazel needed it more. It' s a stepping stone for her."

His casual dismissal of my life's work made something inside me snap.

"She needed it? What about what I needed? What about what I earned? I poured a decade of my life into my work to get here! My integrity, my name, my future-that' s what that award represented!"

I was shaking so hard I could barely stand. The words were a torrent, a dam of hurt and betrayal breaking open.

"It's not just an award! It was everything!"

I was so choked with emotion I couldn' t speak anymore.

For a second, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Regret, maybe. But it vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"I'll get you other awards, Clara. Bigger projects. Just let this go."

A hollow promise. Patronizing. He didn't understand. He didn't care.

"I don't need you to get me anything," I said, my voice dropping to a whisper. "I earned this on my own."

Just then, a breathless voice called out.

"Kason!"

Hazel Garrett, clutching the heavy golden trophy, ran toward us. She threw her arms around Kason's neck, ignoring me completely.

She pulled back, her eyes shining. "I can't believe it. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Kason' s face softened as he looked at her. He smoothed her hair back.

"You deserved it, Hazel. Your talent deserves to be seen."

Deserved it. The word echoed in the empty hall, a mocking laugh at my expense. She hadn't spent a single sleepless night refining her design. She hadn't fought for every line, every angle, every piece of her soul that I had poured into mine.

She had just cried, and he had made her dream come true.

I couldn't watch another second. I turned and walked away, the sound of their happy chatter chasing me out into the cold night.