The Ring Fit His Assistant, So I Married His Billionaire Rival

On the night of our rehearsal dinner, Ethan Miller picked up my customdesigned wedding ring and slipped it onto his assistant Chloe’s ring finger.

Chloe smiled, her eyes crinkling into halfmoons as she waved her hand under the crystal chandelier. "Oh my gosh, Ethan, it’s a perfect fit!

Look, do Nadia and I have the same hand size?" The crowd around them started teasing and whistling.

Ethan laughed, too. "Actually, I think it looks better on you." I stood on the other side of the room, watching the wedding ring I had spent three months designing sit on another woman's hand.

Suddenly, I felt completely numb. The whole thing just felt so incredibly pointless. I said, "Let's call off the wedding next month." Ethan scoffed. "Here we go again.

Another tantrum." "Nadia, how old are you? If you don't marry me, who else is going to take you?" He was absolutely sure I would never leave him. But this time, it was different.

My phone buzzed in my hand. It was a text from an unknown number: [I’m almost downstairs. Bring your ID.] I calmly texted back: [Okay.] Seven years of love. It ended right here.

The room went dead silent for a second. Chloe was the first to react. She hurriedly hid her hands behind her back, her eyes instantly turning red. "Nadia, I am so sorry.

I really didn't know you’d mind this much." "I just wanted to help test the size.

You were busy changing your shoes, so I thought I'd help." She sounded so aggrieved, as if she were the one who had just been humiliated.

Ethan frowned at me, his face darkening. "Nadia, that’s enough." "Chloe is my assistant.

She’s been running around helping us all day without even a sip of water." "It was just a ring test.

Do you really have to embarrass her in front of everyone?" I stared straight into his eyes. "Ethan, do you even know what's engraved on the inside of that ring?" He froze.

Chloe stiffened, too. I let out a soft, bitter laugh. That ring was custommade by me.

The inside was engraved with the date we officially started dating, followed by a sentence: My only choice. How hilarious. I never got to be his priority.

Instead, I got to watch him slide my ring onto another woman's hand. Ethan clearly didn't remember the engraving.

A flash of guilt crossed his face, but it was quickly replaced by impatience. "Isn't a wedding ring meant to be worn on the wedding day anyway?

What’s the big deal if she tried it on early?" "Nadia, stop making a mountain out of a molehill." "We are literally getting married next month, and you’re still this paranoid.

Aren't you tired of this?" I said nothing. Chloe gently tugged at his sleeve, looking like a helpless puppy. "Ethan, don't blame Nadia.

She’s probably just stressed about the wedding." "I saw on TikTok that some brides get super sensitive right before the big day." Ethan looked down at her, his voice softening noticeably. "Don't defend her.

I've just spoiled her too much." Those words felt like a thin needle. It wasn't a heavy blow, but it pierced right into the most sensitive part of my heart.

For seven years, whenever I was hurt or wronged, he would always say he had "spoiled me too much." When Chloe first came to the company, Ethan interviewed her himself.

She was a fresh graduate with an average resume. But during the interview, she looked at Ethan and said, "I watched your college entrepreneurship interview.

You’ve always been my idol." That single sentence made Ethan's day.

That night, he came home in an exceptionally good mood. "The new assistant is quite sharp and sweet," he had said. I didn't think much of it at the time.

But soon, Chloe started taking over our lives. When we planned to go to the movies, she would suddenly text him saying a client's file was missing.

Ethan would leave me standing at the theater entrance and drive back to the office to help her look for a piece of paper. On my birthday, she got a stomach ache.

Ethan canceled our reservations at a Michelinstarred restaurant and rushed her to the ER.

I sat in that restaurant alone until closing time, eventually carrying my birthday cake home by myself.

When he came back, he smelled of hospital disinfectant. "Chloe is all alone in this city. It’s not easy for her.

I was just helping out." "You have me, you have your friends, you have your family." "She has nobody." But I wasn't born with everything either.

I just never used my vulnerability as a weapon to get what I wanted. Later, when our wedding planning started, Chloe was even more enthusiastic than I was.

At the bridal boutique, she told me a mermaid gown would suit me best, but then she proceeded to try on a mermaid dress herself and twirled in front of the mirror three times.

When we did the food tasting, she said my taste was too bland and boring.

Ethan immediately had the chef change the entire menu to spicy Mexican fusion—completely ignoring my severe acid reflux. It happened so many times that I was just exhausted.

I didn't want to stay a second longer. I turned and picked up my purse. "I will cancel the venue.

The wedding planner, the photographer, the caterer—I’ll pay whatever cancellation fees we owe." "And you don't need to worry about whether anyone else will want me after I leave you." Chloe chimed in softly, "Nadia, canceling the wedding so impulsively really isn't good.

The invitations are already out. What will people think of Ethan?" As she spoke, she seemed to realize she had said too much and quickly bowed her head. "I'm sorry.

I shouldn't have spoken." Ethan’s face completely darkened. "You see? Chloe is way more mature than you." I smiled. "Then marry her."

The room went dead silent. Chloe snapped her head up, her face turning bright red. "Nadia!

How could you say something like that?" Ethan grabbed my wrist tightly. "Nadia!" He squeezed so hard my bones ached.

In the past, whenever he got angry, I would always be the first to apologize.

Because I hated silent treatment, and I was terrified that our years of history would be ruined by one heated argument.

But now, I just looked down at his hand, my voice cold and flat. "Let go." Ethan was stunned. He had probably never heard me speak to him in this tone before.

No tears, no yelling, no accusations. Just pure, cold indifference, as if I were looking at a complete stranger. "I said, let go." His fingers loosened slightly.

In the next second, I yanked my hand back with force. My wrist was already red and swollen.

A flicker of satisfaction flashed through Chloe's eyes, though she quickly put on a tearful face again. "This is all my fault. Ethan, I should go.

Don't let me ruin things between you two." She turned to leave but walked incredibly slowly. As expected, Ethan chased after her immediately. "Why are you leaving?

You did nothing wrong." "The person who should leave isn't you." He said this just as I reached the door. My footsteps paused. I turned back to look at him. "You're right.

The person who should leave is me." With that, I pushed the door open and walked out. The hotel corridor was lined with thick carpet. I walked steadily, never looking back.

My phone buzzed again. [I’m in the parking garage, B2. Black Maybach.] I pressed the elevator button. The moment the doors slid shut, I finally let out a long breath. Seven years.

Turns out, ending it took only the thirty seconds it took for an elevator to go down. The car was parked in the furthest corner.

As I walked over, the back door was already opened from the inside.

A man sat there wearing a black buttondown shirt, his sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing a lean, strong wrist.

He looked up at me, his gaze instantly locking onto my red, swollen wrist.

His eyes darkened in a second. "Did he do that?" I got into the car, my voice tired. "It's nothing." Julian Sterling didn't say a word.

He pulled an ice pack from a small medical kit next to him, wrapped it in a clean handkerchief, and gently pressed it against my wrist.

His movements were incredibly soft, as if he were afraid of hurting me. "Nadia." His voice was laced with anger. "Every time you say 'it's nothing,' it's always the exact opposite." My throat suddenly tightened, and my eyes stung.

Julian was my high school classmate. I used to have a massive crush on him. But he was too brilliant, too far out of my league.

I never dared to confess, and I never dared to think he would ever look at me that way. During our senior year, his family went through a massive crisis, and he was sent abroad.

After that, I never saw him again. Until one day, years later, I found a letter he had left for me hidden deep inside an old textbook.

There was only one sentence in it: Wait for me to come back. I want you to be the first person I see.

Only then did I realize that while I was harboring a secret crush on him, he was silently in love with me, too.

But by the time I discovered Julian’s feelings, I was already with Ethan. So, I buried that secret deep in my heart.

Later, Julian returned to the country as the youngest CEO of the Sterling Group. He never crossed the line or disturbed my life. Until a few weeks ago.

Ethan was driving me home when he got a call from Chloe. She said she was moving and needed help. Ethan Uturned immediately to help her pack.

But there was too much stuff to fit in the car. Ethan actually asked me to get out so Chloe could sit in the passenger seat. He left me on the side of the road.

I waited for two hours, but he never came back. I called him a dozen times. No one answered. Then my phone died. It was ninetyfive degrees outside.

I ended up getting heatstroke and fainted on the sidewalk. Julian happened to drive by, found me, carried me into his car, and rushed me to the ER.

When I woke up, he was sitting by my bedside, his eyes bloodshot with worry. "Nadia, how long are you going to keep swallowing your pride for him?" Looking back, human emotions are strange.

When you're loved, you think you have all the time in the world. But love can vanish just as quickly as it comes.

That day in the hospital, when I plugged my phone in and turned it on, I realized something. It had been seven hours. And Ethan hadn't sent a single text to check on me.

At that exact moment, I decided to leave him. Ethan thought I was desperate to get married because of my age. He thought that after seven years, I had no other options.

It was true that I wanted to settle down and start a family. But that didn't mean it had to be with him.

Julian helped me buckle my seatbelt. "Do you have your ID?" "Yes." He looked at me. "Are you sure about this?" I looked out the window.

The bright lights of the hotel reflected on the glass, looking like a fake, hollow dream. I parted my lips, my voice steady. "I'm sure." Julian said softly, "Okay." The car started.

I turned to look at him and asked, "Aren't you going to ask me why I suddenly agreed to marry you?" His hand on the steering wheel tightened slightly. "I’ve asked myself many times why I kept waiting for you." "The answer was always the same." "So now that you’re finally looking back at me, I’m just going to catch you." My heart skipped a beat.

The next morning, Julian and I went straight to City Hall. When we stood in front of the camera, I was still a little dazed. The photographer asked us to stand closer.

Julian turned slightly, his shoulder gently brushing against mine. He didn't take the opportunity to wrap his arm around me. Instead, he whispered, "Is this okay?" I nodded.

Only then did he gently place his hand on my waist, leaving a polite distance. My heart warmed. Respect is shown in the smallest details.

When you've been taken for granted for so long, even a tiny bit of respect feels incredibly precious. When we got our marriage certificate, Julian stared at it for a long time.

I couldn't help but ask, "What are you looking at?" His thumb gently traced our names on the paper. "Just making sure I'm not dreaming." I laughed.

It was the first genuine laugh I’d had in weeks.

He looked at me, his eyes full of warmth. "Nadia, want to come to the Sterling estate for dinner tonight?" I blinked, suddenly nervous. "Isn't that... a bit too sudden?" "Not at all." He opened the passenger door for me. "My grandfather has been talking about you for years." I was shocked. "He knows me?" Julian looked down, a soft smile on his lips. "Yeah." "In high school, when my grades dropped to second place in the grade, he asked me why." "I told him it was because the person in first place was too beautiful to distract me." I couldn't help but burst into laughter. "You seemed so serious back then." "I was acting.

I was afraid of scaring you away." His voice was calm but incredibly sweet.

As I sat in the car, the cold, empty place in my heart felt like it was suddenly flooded with warm sunshine.

Late that night, Ethan finally sent me his first text. [Are you done throwing your tantrum?] I didn't reply.

Five minutes later, another text popped up. [I already had the ring sanitized. We are signing the marriage papers tomorrow. Don’t be late.]