The Eighth Boyfriend

Fiona and I had been childhood sweethearts, and when we came of age, our families arranged our engagement.

From that day on, I started counting down to our wedding.

But Fiona thought it was unfair.

Everyone else gets to date multiple people in their lifetime. Why should I only be with you?

You should go date a few others too. Don't shortchange yourself.

She meant what she said. In just one year after our engagement, Fiona went through seven boyfriends.

Each time she switched, I calmly said it didn't mattershe'd come back to me eventually anyway.

Until she brought her eighth boyfriend to her family's Christmas party.

I set down my fork and pushed the engagement contract to the middle of the table.

"Fiona, you're free now."

I took the hand of a girl at the party and stood before Fiona.

Fiona threw her glass right there and then, her eyes reddening for the first time.

"Johnson, what the hell do you mean?!"

I smiled. "Didn't you tell me to date a few others? She's quite suitable."

I'd been to Fiona's family Christmas party many times before.

But today was the first time I walked through that door not as Fiona's fianc.

"Is that Johnson? How did he..."

"Who's he holding hands with? Someone from the John family?"

"And who's that guy next to Fiona? What's going on here..."

Fiona stood up abruptly. The movement was so sudden that her chair legs scraped across the floor with a piercing screech.

Her eyes were rimmed with red as she pointed at Susan.

"Do you know he's my fianc?"

Susan turned her head to glance at me, as if checking whether I needed her to speak.

I shook my head slightly.

Fiona's mother, Mary, smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"Johnson, there must be some misunderstanding here. Fiona's just young and playful, but she still cares about you..."

I looked at Mary and smiled too.

"She's been playing for a year, gone through seven guys, and today she brought number eight."

Fiona's father, Tony, turned iron-faced and shot Fiona a fierce glare.

Fiona tried to speak, but I raised my hand to cut her off.

"Fiona's rightstaying faithful to one person really is a loss. So I'm calling off this engagement first."

I pushed the engagement contract forward again and turned to look at my father, Anderson.

His expression was unreadable as he locked eyes with me for three seconds, then stood up.

"Tony, this is the kids' business. We adults should stay out of it."

"But as for this engagement, if Johnson wants to call it off, I support him."

Tony's face darkened as he yelled at Fiona, "Get out of here!"

Fiona was banished to the study. Even through the door, you could hear things being thrown.

Mary said nothing in the end and followed her into the study.

Bob stood there alone, pinned by stares from all directions. Uncomfortable and hunched, he quickly left the main hall.

The Christmas dinner ended hastily.

I walked Susan to the door and released her hand.

"Thank you for tonight, Susan."

She looked up at me, her gaze gentle, with no unnecessary words:

"It was my honor to play along with your performance."

Then she got into her car and disappeared into the night.

I stood at Fiona's family's doorway. The wind blew past, slightly chilly.

My white shirt had gotten wine stains on it earlier. They'd dried now, leaving dark red marks.

Back home, I threw myself onto the couch and lay there with my eyes closed for a long time.

My mind kept replaying that year when Fiona first held my hand and said, "Johnson is my man."

At eighteen, when our families arranged the engagement, she said in front of everyone, "He's the only one for me in this lifetime."

Yet at twenty-two, she showed up in front of me with her eighth boyfriend.

The person I once protected was no longer mine.

I opened my eyes, took out my phone, and pulled up Fiona's chat.

The last message was from three days agoa photo of her and Bob.

"New boyfriend. Handsome, right?"

I hadn't replied then, and I wouldn't reply now.

I clicked on her profile picture and deleted her contact.

A week after calling off the engagement, I went to a tea house on the city outskirts to discuss business.

Walking through the courtyard toward the interior, I unexpectedly saw Bob.

He sat at a garden table with refreshments and tea in front of him, smiling as he said something.

And sitting across from him was Fiona.

Bob saw me first. His eyes lit up, then he quickly composed himself and continued talking as if nothing had happened.

A server came up to ask how many were in my party. I said I had an appointment and was led to a corner table.

This spot wasn't far from Fiona's tableclose enough to overhear their conversation.

I'd just sat down when I heard Bob say:

"Fiona, about Johnson calling off the engagement that dayhow did you handle it afterward?"

My hand paused as I lifted my teacup.

Fiona's voice came through: "What's there to handle? He called it off. Am I supposed to beg him?"

Bob laughed. "But he did that in public. Where does that leave your dignity?"

Fiona laughed too.

"He thinks calling off the engagement will scare me? The engagement was arranged by both families. He doesn't get to decide alone."

I held my teacup and slowly took a sip. The tea was good.

Bob asked again, "So will you still see him in the future?"

"See him for what?" Fiona's tone was casual.

"I have you now."

Bob lowered his voice and asked, "So when will you marry me?"

Silence for two seconds.

Then Fiona's voice rang out.

"Soon. Once I finish dealing with this current mess, I'll marry you."

I swallowed that sip of tea and poured myself another cup.

The tea was hot. Steam rose to my face, slightly damp.

Bob was saying something else over there, but I could barely hear it anymore.

One sentence kept spinning in my mindher words "once I finish dealing with this current mess, I'll marry you."

Once she finished this current mess. I suddenly wanted to laugh.

I'd waited a year for her to come back to me, and here she was, planning to marry someone else once she finished her current mess.

I drained the tea in one gulp and called the server over to settle the bill.

As I got up to leave, I passed their table without stopping, even wearing a faint smile on my face.

Bob's expression flickeredprobably surprised I could be so composed.

Fiona watched me walk past, her gaze following me until I walked out the courtyard gate.

Outside the tea house, I got in my car and only then did I grip the steering wheel tight.

My nails dug into my palms. It hurt.

I sent a message to the project manager, changing the location for our business discussion.

Three seconds later, I started the car and drove away.

Inside the tea house, Fiona pushed away the refreshments Bob offered her.

"Let's go."

Bob froze. "Where to?"

"You go home first. I still have things to do."

Bob's face changed, but he didn't dare say more.

That evening, the project lead was decidedTony Group.

The next day, I received word that the project liaison would be Bob.

I stared at that message for a long time.

Did Fiona get him into Tony Group? Or was he already part of Tony Group?

Whatever. None of it mattered anymore.

I put down my phone and continued revising the proposal.

On the day of the project kickoff meeting, I sat across from Fiona for the first time as a client.

Fiona wore a professional suit with an all-business demeanor.

Bob sat beside her in a suit.

I opened my laptop and began presenting the proposal.

Five minutes in, Bob raised his hand to interrupt me.

"Manager Johnson, there's a problem with this positioning, isn't there?"

I stopped and looked at him.

"The positioning report was confirmed through preliminary research. Your side signed off on it at the time."

Bob smiled slightly. "That was before. Now that I'm in charge of the project, if I think it's not suitable, it needs to be changed."

Fiona nodded beside him. "Bob's right. Go back and revise it."

I paused for a second, then said, "Alright."

I continued. Ten minutes later, Bob interrupted again.

"This circulation design won't work either. It's too convoluted. When you made this proposal, did you actually visit the site?"

I said, "We visited the site three times. The circulation design is based on..."

Bob cut me off.

"I looked at your analysis report. The data sources are all wrong. Redo it."

Fiona nodded again. "Revise it according to what he said."

Her gaze fell on my face but quickly moved away as she looked down at her phone.

I took a deep breath. "Alright."

After that, Bob interrupted every five minutes, his criticisms becoming increasingly absurd.

People in the conference room exchanged glances, but no one dared speak up.

When the presentation ended, I closed my laptop.

Bob smiled and said, "Manager Johnson, thanks for your hard work. Take the proposal back and revise it properly. We'll meet again next time."

After the meeting, he stopped me in the hallway, smiling with a sinister edge.

"Manager Johnson, I'll be handling project coordination from now on. Let's communicate often."

He lowered his voice and leaned in closer.

"Fiona said whether this project goes well or not affects your family's future cooperation with Tony Group."

"Don't worry, I'll 'cooperate' with you properly."

Looking at his face, I suddenly wanted to ask him:

Do you know the woman beside you went through seven boyfriends in one year?

But I didn't ask. I only said, "Then let's go by the rules."

He smiled even more deeply.

"Of course I'll go by the rules. I'm just afraid Manager Johnson won't be used to it."

He turned to leave, then looked back and added:

"Oh, by the way, Manager Johnson, Fiona said once this project ends, we'll officially announce our engagement."

I stood in place, watching his figure disappear at the end of the hallway.

For a week straight, I worked overtime until late every night.

I revised the proposal eight times. Each time I submitted it, Bob sent it back.

Colleagues complained privately that Bob was doing it on purpose.

But I only said, "Keep revising."

Because I knew he was doing it on purpose, so saying anything was useless.

At eleven p.m., I was alone at the office revising the proposal.

Someone knocked on the door. I looked up to see the security guard standing there, saying someone was looking for me.

I went downstairs and saw Susan standing in the lobby, holding a plastic bag.

Susan walked over and handed me the bag.

"I was passing by and picked up some food."

I opened the bag to find a steaming plate of pasta and a cup of coffee.

I looked up at her.

"Susan, did you put a tracker on me or something?"

She thought seriously for a moment. "Installing trackers is illegal."

"Then how did you know I hadn't eaten?"

She smiled slightly without answering.

I lowered my head and ate the pasta. The hot soup warmed me from the inside out.

She stood beside me, saying nothing, just standing there.

I suddenly laughed.

She looked at me. "What's funny?"

I said, "Nothing. Just feels like it's been a long time since I laughed like this."

She looked into my eyes, her gaze light.

I didn't continue. That night when I got home, I revised the ninth version of the proposal.

At 2 a.m., I submitted it.

At 8 a.m. the next morning, I received a reply: [Approved.]

At the project's milestone celebration, held in a five-star hotel ballroom in the city center.

As soon as I entered, I heard murmurs around me.

"That Johnson guydoesn't he have an engagement with Fiona's family? Why is he being treated so harshly now?"

"I heard the engagement was called off, but I don't know the details."

"That Bob guy next to Fiona seems pretty favored. Probably won't be long now."

These words drifted into my ears one by one, but my face showed no expression.

At eight o'clock sharp, Bob entered with Fiona on his arm.

Bob wore a white suit today, looking quite dashing.

Fiona's gown was elegant, her face wearing a proper smile.

Someone gathered the courage to ask, "Miss Fiona, we heard you and Johnson called off your engagement. Is that true?"

Everyone looked at Fiona, then at me.

Fiona was about to speak when I set down my wine glass.

"It's true. The engagement between our families has been canceled."

The whole room erupted. Fiona's face changed as she stared at me.

I met her gaze without any expression.

She suddenly smiled and reached up to wrap her arms around Bob's neck.

Then, in front of everyone, she stood on her toes and kissed him.

Bob froze at first, then showed delight, wrapping his arms around her waist in response.

Gasps and whispers rose around us.

When the kiss ended, Fiona lifted her head and looked at me:

"Mr. Johnson is quite right. The engagement between our families has been canceled."

"The person I'm marrying now is him."

The whole room buzzed with excitement. Bob was so moved his eyes turned red as he held her waist tightly.

But Fiona wasn't looking at him. She kept staring at me, waiting to see my reaction.

Waiting to see even a crack appear on my face, but my expression remained unchanged.

Just as I was about to say something, a voice came from behind me.

"What a coincidence." I turned around.

Susan emerged from the crowd, elegant in her gown, walking toward me step by step.

Her gaze cut through everyone and landed on my face.

Then she walked up to me, extended her hand, and took mine.

She lifted her head, looking at Fiona, looking at everyone present.

"I'm the one marrying him."