The Real Heroine of His Proposal

Back when we were still in love, I heard from someone else that Charlie Grant had been getting unusually close to his secretary.

He never offered an explanation.

He let me dig for the truth on my own.

Over the past five years, I quietly collected countless photos of them together—having lunch, leaving late-night meetings, even traveling for business—but none of them offered conclusive proof of cheating.

Until the day he proposed to me.

There was a giant screen set up.

It was supposed to play a romantic video Charlie had prepared just for the proposal, but the screen suddenly cut to something else.

A video of Charlie at a hospital, standing beside his secretary as she underwent a pregnancy check-up.

In the video, the doctor clearly referred to Charlie as her husband… and the father of her child.

His secretary burst into tears on the spot and apologized to me repeatedly. She sobbed as though she were the victim.

Charlie, however, stood there with a cold expression and said flatly,

"She's an unwed mother. She was helpless. I was just accompanying her for the checkup. The doctor must've misunderstood."

Everyone braced for a dramatic scene.

However, I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry.

I only reached up and slowly removed the delicate flower hairpiece from my head.

I set the hairpiece down.

Then I looked Charlie in the eyes and spoke calmly.

"You're right. It is sad that she’s pregnant and all alone.

"This marriage proposal was meant for her. Not me."

I gave a faint smile.

"May you enjoy a blissful life. And… congratulations on the baby."

Wearing my elegant gown, I bowed deeply to the guests from the stage during what was supposed to be my marriage proposal.

It was supposed to be my day.

"Thank you to all my friends and family for being here today. Unfortunately, there's been a hiccup in the plans. The star of today's event has been changed from Isabel Langdon to Marie Corden.

"As our apology and token of gratitude, please enjoy the delicacies we've prepared."

Silence. Complete, dead silence.

Charlie Grant turned pale. He snatched the champagne glass from my hand.

"What are you talking about, Isabel? I'm proposing to you today. Whatever happened was just a misunderstanding."

I looked him straight in the eye, forcing myself to hold back the pain burning in mine. My voice came out hoarse.

"Your secretary has been working for you for five years. She's always been meticulous in her duties, Charlie. Are you really calling it a misunderstanding that your proposal video was swapped out with a clip of her unborn baby's checkup—at this moment, on this stage?"

For once, he had no answer.

He wasn't stupid. He had to know Marie was openly challenging me. Yet even here, at the site of his proposal, he chose to defend her instead of me, his fiancée.

It hurt, but I couldn’t force myself to go through with it.

"We should break up, Charlie."

He looked