The Secret Heiress: Dumping the Jerk

"Jack, I'm heading home. About the arranged marriage, you handle it for me."

Emily Hart leaned against the hospital bed, her lower abdomen still aching dully.

Jack Hart's voice came through the phone, clearly tense. "What's wrong? Did Adam bully you?"

"No." Emily's voice was soft and a bit hoarse. "I just figured things out. You were right—he's not someone I should hold onto."

Emily could picture Jack on the other end—definitely frowning, lips pressed into a tight line, fists clenched. He'd been like this since childhood; whoever bullied her, he'd fight them tooth and nail.

"Alright. I'll arrange it. I'll talk to Noah Stone, and you two can meet when you get back. Emily, don't leave again once you're home."

"Okay."

After hanging up, a nurse came in for rounds. Seeing Emily putting on her shoes, she frowned. "Ms. Hart, you need bed rest right now. You can't be walking around."

"It's fine, just going out for a bit."

Emily left the hospital and hailed a cab.

"Midnight Plaza."

It was the city's largest mall. She needed to buy a watch as a meeting gift for her arranged marriage partner.

Jack had mentioned that men like collecting watches. She didn't know much about these things, but if she was starting a new relationship, she should at least show some sincerity.

She browsed the watch store for a long time before finally choosing a understated black watch.

The clerk eagerly explained the movement and craftsmanship, but she barely listened. When paying, she learned the watch store owner was Nathan Cooper.

Adam Blake's college roommate.

Seeing the shopping bag in her hand, his expression turned teasing. "Emily, buying this for Adam?"

Before she could answer.

Nathan casually pulled out his phone, snapped a photo of the gift box, and sent it to Adam. "Adam, your girlfriend's really generous with you—buying such an expensive watch without batting an eye."

Emily smiled perfunctorily, too lazy to explain.

Her thoughts drifted to nine o'clock this morning.

She'd gone to the hospital alone.

Actually, it was always like this—whether she had a high fever or a splitting headache, she queued alone, saw the doctor alone.

She never used to think much of it. Adam was busy, she understood. She was always understanding, never complained, never demanded anything.

But today, in the hospital corridor, she heard a familiar voice.

"Does Emily know about Vivian coming back to the country?" It was Jason Brown's voice, Adam's friend.

Adam's voice was lazy, somewhat careless. "No, and I don't plan to tell her."

Jason sighed. "So what are you going to do? Emily's been with you for three years, she's devoted everything to you."

Another friend, Joshua Wilson, chimed in. "Exactly. Emily's good-looking, has a great personality, and you're still hung up on Vivian?"

Adam didn't respond.

Through a gap in the screen, Emily saw a half-smile playing at the corner of his mouth. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "Emily is great, but she's different from Vivian. Vivian has this charm that's impossible to let go of. Emily's gentle, like bottled water."

Jason was shocked. "Then why did you pursue her in the first place?"

Adam chuckled, his smile carrying a roguish edge. "At first I thought bottled water was pretty good too. Only after drinking it for a while did I realize I still can't quit alcohol."

"Besides, water's a necessity of life. I don't want to give up either of them."

Emily stood at the corner of the corridor. She didn't rush out to confront him, didn't cry, didn't even make a sound.

She just stood there quietly for a few seconds.

In those few seconds, she rapidly replayed the past three years in her mind.

Every wait, every disappointment, every self-consolation.

She thought she was his girlfriend, but she was just a substitute.

She thought she was in a relationship, but she'd been someone's shadow all along.

Looking at Nathan's expectant expression, Emily smiled with relief. "Yes, I'm giving it to my fiancé."

Emily left the mall and returned to the apartment, then started packing.

She'd lived in this apartment for three years, but didn't have much stuff. She'd always been someone with low material desires, didn't like hoarding things or spending money carelessly. When she first moved in, she had just one suitcase. Now, after packing, it was still just one suitcase.

She folded her clothes one by one and placed them inside, organized her design drafts into folders, washed and packed away her kitchen utensils. What needed throwing out was thrown out, what needed taking was taken, leaving no trace of herself behind.

While sorting through the back of the closet, she found an apron.

She'd bought it when she first moved in—pink, with a cartoon cat printed on it. Back then, she'd thought she'd learn to cook, make delicious food for Adam, be a proper girlfriend.

And she had done exactly that.

Over these three years, she'd made countless nutritious meals. Adam never once said thank you.

She folded the apron and put it in the "discard" bag.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Jack. "Noah says he wants to meet you first, have dinner. If you think it's too soon, I'll put him off."

Emily thought for a moment and typed back, "No need to put it off. I'll meet him once I'm back in Silverpine City."

Jack replied instantly. "Great! Noah's reliable, I've vetted him for you. A hundred times better than Adam. You don't know—when I mentioned you to him, his first question was 'Is she still afraid of the ocean?' I said you're grown up now, still afraid of the ocean? He just laughed and said then they won't go to a seaside restaurant."

Emily stared at the screen, her fingers frozen.

Noah.

She hadn't thought of that name in a long time.

When they were young, the Hart family and the Stone family were old friends, and the children from both families grew up playing together.

Noah was five years older than her, the oldest of the kids, always told by the adults to "take care of the others."

At every gathering, while a bunch of kids made a ruckus, Noah would sit quietly to the side reading.

Emily remembered the summer when she was seven or eight, when both families vacationed at the beach together. She was timid, standing on the beach watching the waves roll in, too scared to go in the water. All the other kids were splashing around, but she was alone on the beach building sandcastles.

Noah came over and crouched beside her, saying nothing, just building with her. He built a castle and made a wall with shells. Her eyes lit up, and she asked if he could teach her. He smiled and said okay.

Later, Noah held her hand and walked step by step into the ocean. When the waves came, she screamed in fright.

He looked down at her and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

That was the first time in her memory that she felt someone could make her feel so safe.

Later, the Stone family moved abroad, and the two families gradually lost touch. She'd occasionally hear the name "Noah" from Jack—which university he got into, what awards he won, how he'd returned to take over the family business. Each time she heard it, her heart would flutter slightly, but she'd quickly push it down.

She never expected that the arranged marriage partner Jack mentioned would be him.