Seven Years A Fool, One Day A Queen

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently on another call. Please try again later..." The automated message sounded distant and unfeeling.

Beyond the doors of the courthouse in Gridron, Kristine Green stood stiffly in a slate gray suit. The chill of the autumn wind stripped any trace of warmth from her sharp, elegant features.

Her fingers clenched around a document that had already been wrinkled beyond repair.

This was supposed to be the day she officially tied the knot with her boyfriend, Colton Yates.

From morning until now, she had waited, but he never arrived.

At this point, she could not even count how many times he had left her waiting like this.

Another call went through as she tried his number once more. The same mechanical voice answered her again.

As she finally dropped her gaze, a breaking news alert lit up her phone screen. "Yates Group CEO Colton Yates personally appears at the airport to welcome his girlfriend back from abroad. The couple reunites sweetly and shows open affection."

Curiosity and dread pushed her to open it, and an image filled the display.

The photograph showed Colton in a tailored black suit, standing tall with effortless poise. Even from a side angle, his sharp profile was striking enough to draw attention.

What caught Kristine's attention above everything else was the softness reflected in his gaze.

A faint, bitter curve formed on her lips as Kristine reacted to the sight.

She had never known Colton to look this gentle or this openly tender toward anyone.

It became clear to her that Elyse Lloyd had always been the woman Colton could never let go of. After all, a single call from her had been enough for him to walk away from a day that was supposed to matter more than anything.

Kristine's phone vibrated again, and a new message appeared on the screen. "You saw the news already, didn't you? If you still have any pride left, you should leave Colton immediately."

Elyse had sent it, the woman who clearly held Colton's heart.

Scrolling upward, Kristine came across a message Elyse had sent several days earlier. It was a prenatal checkup report confirming that Elyse was already more than eight weeks along.

The document clearly listed Elyse as the expectant mother, with Colton's name recorded as the father.

When she first saw the report, Kristine wasn't shocked in the slightest.

Year after year, Colton spent nearly half of his time traveling to Eyling, the country where Elyse lived.

Given how long this had gone on, she might have questioned his fertility instead if Elyse had not ended up pregnant by now.

Rather than choosing to walk away, she suggested that they get married.

Maybe it was because she simply could not bring herself to let go.

Back when she was eighteen, love struck her hard the first time she saw Colton standing at the university entrance.

People around her often said Colton was the Yates Group heir, someone unreachable