He Proposed… Three Years Too Late

But the next morning, I was woken not by an alarm, but by an onslaught of messages.

[Alexa, are you getting engaged to Grayson?!]

Confused, I clicked the link my friend had sent—a trending topic on social media.

The moment I saw the headline, my brow furrowed.

[The Caldwell and Hartman Families Unite in a Grand Marriage! Childhood Sweethearts' Love Becomes Reality!]

Below it, a flood of clueless netizens gushed over our supposed romance.

[I'm dead from this cuteness!]

[So the prince-and-princess love story is real!]

[Turns out I'm just an NPC in this world…]

I was about to contact the media to have it taken down when Grayson's call came through.

"Did you see the trending topic? Happy now? I knew you cared about your image. Feeling better?" His voice oozed self-satisfied arrogance.

"Did you leak this?" I asked coldly.

"What's with that tone? Our engagement was already set in stone," he said, his words dripping with condescension. "Let me tell you, agreeing to this engagement is me giving you face. The Caldwell Group is about to enter the international market and become the leading enterprise in the country."

Impossible. Caldwell Group's finances had been shaky for years. I had come back precisely to take over the company!

Feigning casual curiosity, I probed, "Oh? I didn't realize Caldwell Group was doing so well. But I heard from my father that there might be some financial trouble recently?"

"Hmph." Grayson let out a short, dismissive laugh. "Let me be honest with you. I've already contacted internationally renowned investors—they're willing to collaborate with Caldwell Group."

He actually found investors for the Caldwell Group?

If he succeeded, my acquisition plan could be completely ruined.

My pulse tightened, but I masked it with flattery. "I see… so the Caldwell Group is really about to reach a new level. Is there any chance I could meet this investor?"

"Of course," Grayson replied without hesitation. "I've already made the engagement news public. Caldwell Group's stock price has stabilized, and the investors just informed me they'll attend our engagement party in three days."

His voice dropped low. "So, three days from now, you must attend the engagement party. Otherwise, I can't guarantee how it'll affect your company. That's someone you can't afford to provoke."

Hearing the threat in his tone, I pondered silently. A plan began to take shape in my mind.

After a long pause, my voice came out steady and controlled. "Grayson… I'll be there on time for the engagement party in three days."

On the day of the engagement, Grayson had invited hundreds of media outlets—both to create hype and to prove the strength of Caldwell Group to potential investors.

During the ceremony, he wore a façade of deep affection, endlessly narrating to reporters how perfect our love was. I stood beside him, expressionless.

Then, when he played the photos from his "proposal day," his face went pale.

Because the content on the screen wasn't our romantic moments at all—it was a record of Grayson and Tanya's relationship: irrefutable proof of his affair.

There were photos of them celebrating holidays together, screenshots of their sweet chats, even some intimate pictures far beyond innocent.

I took the microphone from him, wiped away imaginary tears for the cameras, and said, "Actually, Grayson had already been unfaithful three years ago!

"He tricked me on New Year's Eve, promising to propose, but stood me up and stayed with his mistress all along! From that day forward, we were already over.

"This supposed engagement was fake news spread by Grayson. He just wanted to use my family name to stabilize his company's stock price!"

The room erupted.

Flashbulbs went off as journalists erupted into a flurry of questions.

[Is Ms. Hartman's claim of infidelity true?]

[Did you really break your engagement during the contract period? How does this affect relations between the Caldwell and Hartman families?]

[Is Caldwell Group really in such poor condition that the CEO has to fake an engagement to stabilize stock prices?]

Online, the public reaction flipped overnight. Yesterday, they envied this "fairy-tale romance." Today, they hated Grayson.

Unable to withstand the barrage of questions, Grayson had no choice but to order security to forcibly remove the reporters.

The engagement ceremony ended in chaos.

With his façade of affection torn away, Grayson could no longer pretend.

The moment the journalists were gone, he turned on me, fury in his eyes.

"Alexa! How dare you? You ruined everything!" he snarled.

I pointed at my phone and smiled. "Caldwell Group's stock has plummeted. Your plans failed."

"So what?" Grayson's eyes widened as he jabbed a finger at my nose. "You ungrateful woman! The investor is coming any minute! Once I finalize the deal, Caldwell Group's stock will skyrocket! And when that happens… the first thing I'll crush will be your company!"

Tanya chimed in, feigning concern. "Alexa, you should apologize to Grayson before it's too late. If you admit your mistake, he'll definitely give you a chance."

I smiled, about to respond, when a familiar voice rang out.

"Am I arriving at an inconvenient time?"

At the sight of the newcomer, Grayson immediately dropped into obsequious flattery, nodding and bowing.

He opened his mouth to speak, but then heard a question he never expected.

"I heard you want my wife's company to go under?"