Her Ring Was Never for Me

When I was selecting wedding rings with my celebrity fiance, paparazzi accidentally caught our silhouettes.

Wesley wasn't angry at all. Instead, she smiled.

What's there to be afraid of? Let's just go public then.

After four years of keeping our relationship secret, I thought she was finally ready to announce us. My heart filled with joy.

But the next day at the cruise party, right in front of all the media.

She slipped the wedding ring onto the finger of Alfred, a newcomer at the company, and announced their relationship.

Seeing my stunned expression, Wesley said lazily:

"Alfred just debuted recently. He needs the publicity and exposure. Besides, if people found out my fianc is just an assistant, how embarrassing would that be for me? Don't worry, I'll still marry you."

Alfred smugly wrapped his arm around her waist.

The matching couple's rings on their hands silently declared how superfluous and ridiculous I was.

I calmly pulled out my phone and immediately canceled over a dozen top-tier projects and resources I'd planned to give her.

"What a coincidenceI also don't like being taken advantage of."

"So I'm planning to find a fiance who won't embarrass me."

In the cruise ship's luxury suite, silence reigned.

Wesley frowned with displeasure.

"Louis, you have the guts to say that again."

"What does it matter whether we go public or not? As long as we know the truth ourselves, isn't that enough? Are you really that vain?"

Even at this point, she still thought I was the vain one.

A wave of disgust surged in my chest.

"I'll say it eight hundred times and it'll be the same. Wesley, I quit being your assistant. We're breaking up."

The surrounding air instantly froze.

Alfred played with his prayer beads, laughing mockingly.

"Louis, why be so petty? Forget about scandal rumorseven actual cheating would be normal."

"Wesley just feels bad that I'm struggling alone and wants to help boost my profile a bit."

"Since you're so upset, why don't you announce your relationship too? I'll help you."

Before I could respond, he directly started a live stream on his phone.

In less than half a minute, the stream flooded with fans.

Alfred complained to the camera about me:

"Assistants these days are so possessive of their artists."

"Louis came storming up to me, forcing me to say he's Wesley's boyfriend. From the looks of it, if I don't agree, he might even hit me."

"So scary. If he says so, then fineI'll just be the fake one."

As soon as he finished speaking, fans from both sides flooded the comments with insults directed at me.

"Hilarious. Everyone knows Wesley is at the peak of her popularity right now. An assistant who pours tea and water wants to climb the social ladder? He must be delusional."

"Alfred is Wesley's officially acknowledged boyfriend. You poor loserdo you even qualify?"

"You'd better behave yourself. If you dare lay a finger on Alfred, you'll regret it!"

I nearly laughed from anger.

Alfred didn't give me a chance to speak and ended the stream directly.

He covered his mouth with mock surprise, his eyes full of provocation.

"I already proved your identity, so why don't they believe you?"

"Louis, turns out everyone can see you're just trying to climb above your station. But people should own up to their actionsyou're not mad, are you?"

Wesley acted as if she saw nothing.

She'd even just sent gifts to Alfred's stream, expressing her approval.

I pushed Alfred aside and raised my phone with a cold laugh.

"Mr. Alfred speaks so well about owning up to one's actions."

"Then I'm sure you won't mind if I post your true face online and let your fans know you're actually two-faced?"

Alfred's expression changed, and he turned his head with a hurt look.

"Wesley, he's threatening me..."

The next second, my phone was suddenly snatched away.

Wesley deleted the recording and shoved me angrily.

"Louis, don't you dare!"

"He wasn't wrongyou're just a parasite living off me. Your family should be honored I'm even willing to marry you!"

"Alfred has unlimited potential. Announcing our relationship publicly means we can share resources in the future. What can you do besides serving tea and water like a servant?"

"You're forcing me to go public with you just to satisfy that little bit of vanity, aren't you?"

She looked down at me with contempt.

"I don't even need to look to guesswhat you just deleted was a Twitter post bragging about landing a celebrity, right?"

"What's wrong? Finally realized how shameless you are and got embarrassed?"

"Louis, enough is enough. I can buy you another ring, but if you keep making unreasonable demands, don't blame me for really not marrying you!"

My chest tightened with a dull pain.

After four years of sincere devotion, in her eyes, I was nothing but a vain parasite.

But Wesley was wrong.

What I'd deleted were top-tier resources and projects she could only dream ofover a dozen of them.

I'd originally planned to give them to her as gifts after going public, but she didn't deserve them.

"Well, thank you so much then. Goodbye."

I said coldly and walked alone to the deck, wanting to ask the crew for a small boat.

But a familiar voice came from behind me.

"Wait!"

Wesley came out with Alfred on her arm.

She traced a circle in the air with her fingertip, half-smiling.

"Louis, don't forgetI chartered this entire cruise ship tonight. Only my friends and boyfriend can use anything on it."

"Since we've broken up, what gives you the right to ask for a boat? Don't tell me you want another free ride?"

"How about thisI'll rent one to you for a million dollars. If you can't afford it, swim back yourself. And don't think about using my cardI already had it frozen."

The night sea wind howled, carving an icy hole in my chest.

I'd told Wesley that as a child, relatives pushed me into the ocean and I nearly drowned. Even though I later learned to swim, I was still afraid of water.

Now she was deliberately using my childhood trauma as a blade to stab me.

Her manager Leo, as a witness to our secret relationship.

Now looked uncomfortable and tried to persuade her.

"Wesley, it's winter. This place is at least twenty kilometers from shore. How could an ordinary person swim that far? What if something happens?"

"Louis doesn't have that much money. He's taken care of you all these yearsdon't go too far."

Wesley lit a cigarette and smirked sarcastically.

"Too far? I'm being nice by not charging him for the cruise party admission."

"Otherwise, with his status, he wouldn't even qualify to come aboard. I've just spoiled him too much normally. I need to teach him to be obedient."

"Louis, don't say I'm heartless. Just apologize and promise not to compete with Alfred anymore, and I'll forgive you."

Alfred hugged her waist, smiling.

"Louis, Wesley's already giving you an out. Stop being stubborn."

"Besides, when did people like you who only care about money ever deserve status?"

Wesley affectionately pinched his cheek without any objection.

I knew she was using this to control me.

Forcing me to learn submission, to be her underground lover who could never see the light of day.

I said nothing, just calmly put my phone in a waterproof bag.

Then I climbed over the railing and jumped into the sea without hesitation.

Amid the shocked gasps, Wesley's eyes widened in disbelief.

I fought through my fear, swimming desperately toward the shore.

But the winter seawater was too cold, the distance too far. I gradually couldn't hold on.

Fortunately, I encountered two men in a small boat midway. They said they were volunteers cleaning garbage from the nearby waters.

They pulled me up and warmly handed me a bowl of warm fish soup, which helped me recover somewhat.

But a few minutes later, I felt dizzy and disoriented.

Those two men's friendly faces changed completely as they approached me with sinister grins.

"So you're the one who threatened Alfred, right? We came specifically to teach you a lesson! After we're done with you, we'll throw you in the sea to feed the fish!"

My heart sank.

These were Alfred's fans!

My phone rangthe caller ID showed Wesley.

I grabbed a sharp fishing spear nearby and held it in front of me. Taking advantage of their momentary wariness, I quickly answered.

Her voice came through, breathless with passion.

"Are you dead yet? If not, come back and change the sheets."

"Some paparazzi suspect Alfred and I are just staging a publicity stunt and are hiding outside the window taking photos, so we had to make it real."

Fighting the nausea in my stomach, I desperately called for help.

"Wesley, Alfred's fans drugged methey're trying to kill me!"

"I'm northeast of the cruise ship, about two kilometers away. Come save me quickly!"

Wesley immediately said with concern:

"What?! I'll be right there..."

The next second, Alfred's sarcastic voice came through.

"Louis, I really didn't expect you to be so good at sowing discord."

"My friends just left from that direction and didn't see anyone. You're just pretending to be pitiful to make Wesley come find you, aren't you?"

"Wesley, he probably has media planted nearby, just waiting to force you to reconcile and go public with your relationship. Don't let him manipulate you."

Before I could explain, Wesley shouted angrily.

"Louis, you're so selfish! Do you have to make people mock me?!"

"You want to get back together? Fine. Kneel at my door tomorrow morning and say you were wrong!"

"Without me, you can't even find a decent job. Just wait to starve on the streets and think it over!"

The phone was hung up. My heart went completely cold.

Those two men laughed viciously.

"See that? She only has eyes for Alfred."

"You shameless creep dared to destroy Alfred's happinessI'll kill you!"

They snatched away the fishing spear and knocked my phone away. I was pressed against the wet, cold deck.

In despair, a blinding white light suddenly appeared in the distance.

Someone was racing across the water on a jet ski.

"Don't hurt him!"

It wasn't Wesley who came, but tourists who'd been night fishing nearby.

One of the group members saw my predicament through binoculars and immediately called his companions to rescue me.

They took those two fans to a nearby police station.

After finishing the police statement, dawn had already broken.

I thanked them and headed straight for the airport, not wanting to stay a moment longer.

But while waiting for a taxi, I was surrounded by Wesley's bodyguards.

The lead one was named Brown.

"Miss Wesley is hosting a private villa party today for a famous director, trying to get Alfred the male lead in the director's next film."

"She said that if she wants the negotiation to succeed, you must attend. Please come with us."

I instinctively thought Wesley had discovered my true identity.

But judging by Brown's contemptuous attitude, clearly not.

I frowned. "I'm not going. Move aside."

Brown shoved me hard and stomped my fallen phone to pieces.

"Louis, you're just an assistant! Without Wesley, you're nothing! Stop talking nonsense. Take him!"

When we arrived at the villa, I discovered this was an extremely private party.

No media, and every guest had to surrender their phones.

The guests attending were mostly business owners with some wealth.

Each had a minor celebrity sitting beside them, all fairly close friends with Wesley or Alfred.

An uneasy feeling stirred in my chest.

Seeing me, Wesley walked over, frowning.

"I heard you were going to the airport. Where were you planning to go?"

My expression was cold.

"Back to my hometown to keep my grandfather company. Is that a problem for you?"

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, as if she'd expected this.

"As I thought. Without me, you only have enough money for a plane ticketyou can't even afford decent new clothes."

"Louis, don't say I didn't give you a chance. I've already received an invitation for the female lead role in that female director's next film."

Wesley threw a suit at me.

"Put this on. Tonight you'll serve her, and secure the male lead position for Alfred. I'll register our marriage with you tomorrow."

I instantly understood her meaning and stared at her in disbelief.

"Wesley, don't be so full of yourself. Who cares about marrying you?"

Wesley's face immediately darkened.

"Today is Alfred's birthday. I promised I'd help him get that role. And you faked being kidnapped last night to slander himyou should compensate for that!"

She waved her phone at me with an ambiguous smile.

"Louis, I remember your grandfather in the countryside has a heart condition, right?"

"If you don't cooperate, I'll spread your private photos all over the internet. Guess whether he'll drop dead from anger after seeing them?"

"Even if he doesn't die, you don't have money to treat him, do you?"

I clenched my fists tightly.

My parents died early. My grandfather was my only family.

He was old and did have a bad heart. He'd always been careful with his health, most afraid of getting upset or shocked.

Wesley was shameless enough to use this to threaten me.

I closed my eyes and said through gritted teeth.

"Fine. I agree."

Wesley stroked my abs with satisfaction:

"Then go change into the suit."