A Crown For The Wrong Queen

"Finally! Is the CEO settling down?"

"She's so beautiful!"

"They're a match made in heaven!"

I stood in a corner, feeling like the whole world was laughing at me. Liam, the marketing director who had fought alongside me, walked over.

"Juliet!" he said excitedly. "Do you know when the CEO got together with her?"

A frantic rhythm hammered against my ribs.

"The CEO always favored you. You were the closest to him," Liam gossiped in a low voice. "We all thought he might choose you!"

The color drained from my face. "So... everyone saw it."

"Of course!" Liam laughed. "But it looks like we were all wrong."

Yes, even I was wrong about myself.

Just then, my eyes met Caleb's from across the room. He immediately looked away, his gaze evasive.

"Juliet?" a sweet voice said behind me.

I turned to see Sabrina walking toward me, a triumphant smile on her face.

"I heard there's an executive in the company who has a similar taste to mine," she said, looking me up and down. "Seeing you today, it really is true." Every word was like a knife.

"Thank you for taking care of Caleb all these years." Her voice was pure sugar, but the words were venom.

Then, she deliberately touched the necklace around her neck. It was the Van Cleef & Arpels necklace Caleb had promised to have custom-made for me, a symbol of the future mistress of the Pierce Group.

"Oh!" Sabrina suddenly pointed at my neck. "You have a mole there too? What a coincidence!"

I froze, staring at the beauty mark on her collarbone in the exact same spot as mine. Hers was natural. Mine was a small star he’d drawn on my skin with a pen right after we got together, claiming he wanted to leave his own, exclusive mark on me.

So... even that was a lie. He had never loved me.

I looked at Caleb across the room, my eyes turning red. He avoided my gaze and pulled Sabrina into his arms.

"Alright," his voice rang throughout the floor, "now that our engagement is public, it's time you got to know the company better." He glanced at me, his eyes cold as ice. "Juliet is a capable subordinate. Nothing more. She's irrelevant."

Sabrina's smile grew wider. "Of course. Everyone can tell the difference between the real mistress and an impostor."

She tilted her head up and kissed Caleb on the lips, asserting her claim on him in front of everyone.

After the kiss, Caleb, flushed and proud, addressed the executives. "Everyone! I'd like to introduce my future wife—Sabrina! We will be holding our engagement ceremony soon. From now on, she will be in charge of all matters concerning our European market expansion."

In that moment, everyone in the room turned to look at me.

My blood ran cold.

The European market expansion. My project. The one Caleb had entrusted to me four years ago. I had planned the routes, developed the strategies, led the team. I had bled for every dollar of profit that project made.

And now, in front of everyone, he was giving all the credit to Sabrina?

The executives looked at me with a mixture of confusion and sympathy. They all knew who had bled for this company.

I swallowed the feeling of my heart being torn apart and nodded. "Of course." My voice was terrifyingly calm.