1. Engagement Party

It was a happy night. Flickering stars adorned the night sky. Invited guests filled the poolside engagement party venue of a five-star hotel. After the private proposal Jake gave three months ago, finally tonight Jake would announce the engagement party publicly. There were many guests from the upper class, especially colleagues and business partners of the Awan Company.

Caroline's face looked radiant. Her eyes emitted a huge twinkle of happiness. Caroline had loved Jake all her life. She gave everything she had, thinking she would receive as much as she gave. The sleeveless red dress wrapped around her body made her look so sexy. Her chest and ass had perfect curves, and the fat gathered where it should be.

Caroline stared at Jake with a sweet smile gracing her lips. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the 25-year-old man who had spoken in front of her. Jake looked very authoritative in his black suit.

"On this blessed night, I would like to introduce a woman who has stolen my heart. A woman who has accompanied me all these years. A woman with whom I decided to have a new family. I feel so blessed to be the man she loves. We have a simple dream: to have two children and watch them grow up together." Jake said without turning to Caroline at all,

Caroline felt so nervous; her heart was beating erratically. Her chest was pounding, and her legs were trembling slightly. In all her life, she had never felt this nervous. She was finally going to marry the man she loved, recognized, and wanted to live with forever. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world.

"Emily, once again, let me ask. Will you marry me?" Jake asked with a sweet smile on his lips. He looked at the woman in the maroon dress, standing not far from him.

Emily smiled shyly, gave a small nod, and stepped up to Jake. They looked so good together. Although not as beautiful as Caroline, Emily looked so charming and mesmerizing.

Caroline was petrified on the spot. All she knew was that Jake was going to propose to her tonight in front of everyone, but why was the other woman's name called forward? For a moment, Caroline felt her heart stop beating.

"Jake, what about me?" After trying to brace herself, Caroline was finally able to say the words. Her eyes heated up at the man in front of her.

"What's wrong with you?" Jake made a face as if he didn't understand.

"You said you were going to marry me. What are you doing now? Is this a joke? Why did you propose to another woman at our engagement party?" Caroline's voice sounded shaky, a sign that the pain she was receiving was so great. Her eyes glazed over at the man in front of her.

"Are you kidding me? How could I possibly marry a woman from a poor family? You think I don't know that your family went bankrupt last month. There's only a pile of debt left. I don't want to spend my life helping pay off your parents' debts."

"You can't dump me just because my parents are broke."

"Of course I can. There are many women who want to marry me. Look at you; you came here even in your cheap clothes!" Jake pointed arrogantly.

Caroline laughed slightly. She did not expect that Jake would be that cruel to her. All this time, Jake has treated her with great tenderness. She knew Jake as a gentle and responsible man. Who would have thought that she would be abandoned so easily just because her family is now poor?

"Ah yes, give me back the ring I gave you." Jake stepped closer, and he grabbed the diamond ring on Caroline's ring finger. "I've repeatedly asked you to return this ring, but you never wanted to. You want to keep it because you know it's an expensive ring, right? It's a family heirloom ring worth $10 million. It's a good thing it wasn't lost in your hands. You wouldn't have been able to redeem it even with your life." Jake said it harshly, then moved towards Emily.

Caroline couldn't believe that the happy night she had been waiting for had turned into the night she hated the most. She thought this would be her happiest night, but instead she was humiliated.

"I'm sorry that I made you wait to get this ring." Jake said this with great tenderness to Emily. He pinned the ring to Emily's ring finger. Followed by boisterous applause from the invited guests.

Caroline could only stand still. Her legs felt so stiff, as if her feet had been stuck in the place where she was standing. She wanted to get out of there, but she suddenly lost all her strength.

Jake and Emily kissed so romantically amidst the applause and whistles of the guests. No one cared about Caroline's feelings at all. Everyone was happy, except Caroline.

Caroline felt like her chest had been stabbed a thousand times. The lips she usually kissed were now kissing the lips of another woman. The arms that were usually around her waist were now around another woman's waist. Caroline was completely devastated; she felt that life no longer had any meaning.

"Are you going to keep standing here to witness our happiness? Aren't you ashamed that you don't deserve to be here?" Emily said haughtily to Caroline. She again crushed Jake's lips to make Caroline's heart even hotter.

"She's really shameless. She thinks she deserves to be with the Corner family."

"She thinks she can marry into the Corner family just because she's pretty."

"Now there are many toxic women who want to get rich instantly by marrying into a rich family. It's really shameless."

Caroline heard the nasty comments she received from the invited guests. It made her self-esteem spike even more. The longer she was there, the more insults she would get.

"Go home and return to the arms of your poor family!"

"Don't ever dream of being part of the Corner family!"

The cheers made Caroline's little heart ache even more. She wanted to cry, but her tears were too precious for a trashy man like Jake to cry. Caroline turned around, half running to get away from the party. She was too busy with her thoughts to focus on the path she was on. Unintentionally, Caroline fell into a pool with a depth of 3 meters. She couldn't swim, especially since she was wearing a dress, making it even more difficult for her to move.

"Help, I can't swim!" Caroline struggled to call for help. She was gasping for air; her mouth and nose were filled with water. She tried hard to get out of the pool, but she could not. The water continued to gurgle as Caroline banged and kicked at the water to keep breathing in air on the surface of the pool.

Everyone there just laughed as Caroline fell in and couldn't swim. They were happy because they were getting a free spectacle.

"H-help!" Caroline was getting weaker and weaker. She kept trying to reach the surface, but her energy was running out. Eventually, she stopped trying. She could only surrender, prepared to die that night.