Chapter 1

Calista Dorne ended the call and sat on the couch.

At the same time, the live news broadcast on the TV was airing an interview with Noah Skeldon, CEO of Skeldon Group.

Noah wore a custom-made suit, looking tall and handsome. With his naturally charming eyes, people always thought he was a devoted man.

The reporter smiled and teased, "We've finished covering Skeldon Group's corporate plans. May I ask a few personal questions now, Mr. Skeldon? You're rich and handsome. You're the ideal man of so many women. I have to ask on behalf of all the ladies out there."

Noah nodded politely. "Go ahead."

"It's been reported that you've recently purchased a villa at Lilypond Court and also won a ten-carat blue diamond at last month's auction. The diamond is said to symbolize eternal love. Are you getting married, Mr. Skeldon?"

The moment the question was asked, everyone held their breath, waiting for Noah's answer.

Without hesitation, he replied, "Yes. A girl once spent all her youth on me. I promised I'd marry her before she turned 3-. She'll be 30 seven days from now. I don't want her to wait any longer."

As soon as those firm words fell, they set off a wave of commotion and heated discussion, quickly landing at the top of the trending topics.

#Noah'sConfession

#Noah'sGettingMarriedInSevenDays

Everything related to Noah's wedding hit the headlines.

Once the news that Noah was getting married broke, Calista's former friends began sending her congratulatory messages, thinking she had finally gotten what she wanted.

After all, she had once joked with Noah, "I'll only wait for you until I'm 30. If you still don't marry me by then, I won't want you anymore."

But no one knew that Noah wasn't marrying her.

…

Calista's parents and Noah's parents were neighbors.

They grew up together as childhood sweethearts, and she had been in love with him for 12 whole years.

Her love for him ran deep.

Back when she was about to start university, she gave up her early admission to a top university just because of something Noah said. She went to an average university with him instead.

After graduation, because Noah wanted to start a business, she gave up a job that paid 300 thousand a year to help him build something from the ground up.

She had devoted 12 years of her life to Noah, firmly believing that true love could overcome all obstacles.

However, two weeks ago, Calista found out that the villa Noah bought and the blue diamond from the auction were both gifts for a woman named Patricia Marrow.

She then realized just how laughable her past 12 years had been.

Seven days from now would be her 30th birthday. Noah wasn't planning to marry her, so she had no intention of wasting another second on him.

Chapter 2

It was already late at night when Noah arrived.

As the assistant who had helped him build his business from the ground up, Calista handled everything for him, from trivial day-to-day matters to important work documents.

They were practically inseparable. For the sake of convenience, Calista had even moved into his apartment.

At the moment, Calista was sitting on the couch, browsing wedding dress styles on her tablet for her wedding in seven days. While doing so, she was talking on the phone to coordinate the details.

Noah had just returned from his business dinner. Upon seeing Calista sitting on the couch and talking on the phone instead of getting up to greet him or take his coat, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.

Still, he vaguely caught words like "wedding dress" and "wedding".

Standing by the entryway, Noah rubbed his temples slightly. "What are you doing? Didn't you see me?" he asked, seemingly impatient.

Calista put down her phone and glanced up at Noah. "Nothing, and yes, I saw you."

His expression darkened at her response. As if it were natural, he took off his coat and handed it to Calista.

He had grown used to Calista's care. In the past, whenever he came home, Calista would take his clothes and wash them without being asked.

But now, she looked indifferent as she refused plainly, "The washing machine's right there. If you want it washed, you can do it yourself."

Calista had always listened to him, never refusing any of his requests. Hence, her sudden refusal made Noah narrow his eyes, studying her closely. He couldn't put his finger on what was wrong, but something definitely felt different.

Yet, Calista's expression was calm, showing no sign of emotion.

Noah clicked his tongue in frustration. "This one's custom-made. It has to be hand-washed."

"Then send it to the dry cleaner."

Noah's anger spiked at Calista's repeated refusal. He tugged at his tie irritably, his tone turning cold. "What the hell is wrong with you today?"

Calista opened her mouth, but she quickly felt that arguing was meaningless. There was nothing left to say, so she simply turned and went back to her room.

After she closed the door, Calista heard Noah talking on the phone outside.

Though she didn't mean to eavesdrop, the poor soundproofing in the room and the crack in the door let Noah's voice come through loud and clear.

Noah's usually gentle voice was laced with arrogance. "I just got home and saw Calista picking out wedding dresses. Did she watch that interview and think I'm actually going to marry her? I only said that to deal with the reporter. But I did promise Tricia I'd marry her in seven days."

The person on the other end seemed to ask why he hadn't told Calista the truth.

Noah let out a cold laugh and sneered. "Would you throw away a free maid you've had for over ten years just like that? If I'm going to let her go, I'll do it after I marry Tricia."

"What if Calista finds out?"

Noah scoffed. "She won't. I've covered everything up. And even if she does, so what? She's so into me. All I have to do is snap my fingers and she'll come crawling back. There's no way she'll make a scene."

"Well, don't let it slip…"

Calista didn't want to hear the rest as she walked away from the door, feeling as though her heart had been ripped apart.

So, in Noah's eyes, she was a mere maid, someone he could summon at the snap of his fingers.

She only had herself to blame for not realizing it sooner. She chased after him for 12 years, even though she knew deep down he would never marry her.

Over those years, she had repeatedly confessed her love to him. Every time, he'd given her an excuse to turn her down. She should've known that he didn't love her and never would.

Fortunately, she had wised up. In seven days, she would leave him for good and marry someone else.

Chapter 3

The next day, Calista planned to go to the company and hand in her resignation.

Back when Noah had graduated and said he wanted to start a business, no one had believed in him. Hence, he pulled Calista in to help.

He promised her that once he made something of himself, he'd make it up to her. Trusting in his firm assurances at the time, Calista gave up a high-paying job with an annual salary of 300 thousand.

He had no startup capital, and she had helped him raise funds everywhere. No one wanted to give him projects, so she had gone around helping him find them.

She had stayed by his side as he built his fortune from nothing into billions. And yet, to this day, she was still just his assistant with a monthly salary of eight thousand dollars.

She had loved him once, so she was willing to stay as his assistant who earned such a small monthly salary. But now that she'd decided to give up and marry someone else. There was no need to keep doing it anymore.

Arriving at the CEO's office, Calista printed her resignation agreement and went to Noah for his signature.

Perhaps feeling guilty about how he'd spoken to her yesterday, Noah suddenly tossed her a small gift box. "Here. Your birthday's in a few days. This is an early gift."

Calista accepted the box and opened it.

Inside was a gold necklace. If it had been in the past, Calista would have been overjoyed. But now, her heart was calm because she knew that this necklace was just the complimentary gift that came with the blue diamond Noah had spent 50 million on.

In his eyes, she was only worthy of the freebie.

Noah thought Calista would be so happy she couldn't speak, but to his surprise, her face showed no emotion at all.

The strange change in Calista over the past couple of days made Noah frown. Just as he was about to speak, Calista handed him the resignation agreement.

"This document requires your signature."

Perhaps because he trusted Calista too much and assumed it was just an important contract, Noah didn't even look at it and signed his name right away.

But just as Calista was about to leave with the agreement, Noah suddenly felt something was off. He couldn't help but ask, "What did you just have me sign?"

Not wanting to explain, Calista waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing important. It's just some basic agreement. Oh, by the way, I'll be taking leave for the next couple of days, so I won't be coming in."

After all, she'd already resigned, so she no longer needed to show up.

"Alright." Noah nodded without thinking. He didn't want Calista finding out that his official fiancee was at the company, anyway. It would only cause trouble.

Then, he suddenly remembered something and reminded Calista, "Make sure you come back right after your leave. You need to negotiate a bunch of big projects for me—"

Before he could finish speaking, Calista hummed a response.

Noah had no idea that she wasn't going back to the company anymore. After being his assistant for so many years, she was already completely drained.

Calista turned and left.

As she walked to the reception area, she happened to run into Noah's future wife and the company's receptionist, Patricia.

Patricia was surrounded by a group of her coworkers. She was holding up her fair right hand to show off the ring.

"My fiance bought me this ring at an auction," she said. "It cost him 50 million dollars. Isn't it beautiful? You guys probably haven't seen jewelry this expensive before. Now that you have the chance, you'd better take a good look."

The diamond ring was indeed dazzling.

However, Patricia was merely a receptionist in the company, mostly serving as eye candy. Her background was also quite ordinary. How could she possibly have had the chance to meet a rich man, let alone own such a valuable ring?

Everyone looked skeptical.

"Is that even real?" one asked.

Another chimed in, "Yeah, 50 million? Don't lie, Patricia."

At their comments, Patricia's face flushed as she stiffened. "Of course it's real! And I'm not lying!"

Unable to take the skeptical looks around her, Patricia suddenly seemed to remember something. She quickly took out a property deed from her bag and slammed it onto the table.

"Besides this ring, my fiance also bought me a villa at Lilypond Court. If you don't believe me, see for yourselves!"

Her coworkers leaned in curiously to read the certificate. When they realized that Patricia wasn't lying, they all looked at her with envy.

"Wow, Patricia. You're really marrying into money!"

"Which wealthy family are you marrying into? I think they're on the same level as Mr. Skeldon for being able to buy a villa at Lilypond Court."

The question kept coming, as all of them were curious.

Chapter 4

Patricia simply smiled, not saying anything. She remained mysterious by telling everyone that they'd soon find out who she was marrying.

The others might not know, but Calista knew very well that she was marrying Noah.

If she remembered correctly, Patricia had been Noah's junior in college. During the first year of the foundation of Skeldon Group, Noah had made an exception and hired Patricia to work in the company.

At the time, Noah intended to groom her to become his new assistant. But no matter how hard Calista tried to train her, Patricia couldn't even handle the simplest tasks like stamping documents, let alone manage projects or take care of household matters like Calista did.

Eventually, Noah gave up the idea of making Patricia his assistant. He reassigned her to the reception area, where she was nothing more than a pretty face.

What was laughable was that this so-called pretty face ended up beating Calista and capturing Noah's heart.

Over the past 12 years, Calista had fought and struggled alongside Noah. Meanwhile, Patricia didn't have to lift a finger to gain what Calista had worked tirelessly for but never obtained.

Calista felt a wave of coldness wash over her.

She had poured all her effort into Noah and the company. Yet, in the end, it had all become a cruel joke. Noah was marrying someone else.

Just as the others were about to keep questioning Patricia, Noah suddenly appeared.

"What are you all standing around for? Don't you have work to do?"

At the sound of his voice, everyone scattered and went back to their desks.

Noah turned to look at Calista. "I thought you were leaving. Why are you still here?"

"Oh, I just happened to hear the receptionist say she's getting married soon. I was going over to congratulate her."

At those words, Noah frowned. "She didn't say who she's marrying, did she?"

"No, why?"

At her answer, Noah visibly relaxed. "Nothing, just asking."

Then, he added, "You don't need to make dinner tonight. I'm going out for drinks with a friend, so I'll be back late. Since you're not cooking, take the evening to finish up the bid proposal for the new project. I don't trust anyone else to handle it."

Even though he knew she was going on leave, he was still ordering her around like always.

Noah was really something. Even while keeping his engagement from Calista, he was still determined to squeeze every last drop of value out of her. But she would no longer let him have his way.

Calista didn't respond.

Seeing her stay silent, Noah frowned. "Did you hear me?"

She didn't answer as she turned and walked away under his gaze.

Noah stared at her retreating figure, furrowing his brow.

He wondered if it was just his imagination or if Calista was getting weirder lately.

However, she had loved and chased after him for 12 years. All he had to do was flash a smile at her, say a few sweet words, and she'd come around like always.

At that thought, Noah felt reassured.

…

Calista returned to the apartment.

Looking around the place she'd come to see as a second home, she stood in thought for a moment. Then, she decided to pack up all her things.

Since she had decided to leave, she should clear out this apartment that didn't belong to her and make way for the future lady of the house.

Calista packed from noon until late at night. Her items filled several suitcases.

Night fell, and her stomach growled with hunger. She was just about to grab something to eat when her phone suddenly began to buzz.

Chapter 5

Calista answered the call. On the other end came Noah's friend's commanding voice. "Calista, Noah's drunk. Bring some hangover medicine over. We're in private room No. 5 at Nightfall Bar."

Before she could respond, the call ended. It was as if they were certain she would come.

Calista didn't want to go at first. But then, she remembered some of her things were in the storage room. Noah had the key with him. If she wanted to clear everything out completely, she'd have to get it.

After thinking for a moment, she dragged her tired body out the door.

…

As soon as Calista opened the private room door, she heard Noah's friends laughing mockingly. "She actually came. See? I told you she would! With Noah here, how could she not come?"

Noah, seated at the head of the table, lazily took a sip of his drink. He pointed at the person on the couch and laughed.

"Looks like I won this round," he said. "You lost, fair and square. Don't forget to cover the tab for tonight. You bet against me on a sure loss. What were you thinking?"

Hearing Noah's words, Calista instantly understood what was going on.

He wasn't actually drunk. The only reason they asked her to bring hangover medicine was that the group had made a bet on her.

They were betting whether she would show up.

This wasn't the first time Noah had played such games with his friends.

They had bet the same thing last time, telling her Noah had been in a car accident. Calista had rushed over in a panic, only to find Noah standing there completely unscathed.

His group of scummy friends had burst out laughing at the sight of her trembling with rage.

Since then, all of Noah's friends loved using her to make bets.

She'd fallen for it again and again, so they probably didn't understand why she would still come tonight after being tricked so many times.

The loser of the bet lay groaning on the couch and turned to Calista. "How are you this pathetic?" he asked. "You're like a dog. Just one call about him and you came running.

He added, "It's already midnight! You're so desperate it's disgusting. Do you even have any self-respect?"

"Hey, that's a little harsh," another man chimed in mockingly. "You can't talk to a woman like that. Everyone knows how much Calista loves Noah. She has been chasing after him for over ten years. Calling her a dog is kind of mean."

Then, his tone abruptly shifted as he added with a sneer, "She's more like a simp."

The group burst out laughing, their eyes full of disdain and mockery as they looked at Calista.

Noah sat quietly watching the whole spectacle, making no move to stop it.

He was expecting Calista to tremble with rage again, just like always. He had already prepared a few comforting words to coax her with.

But Calista simply took a deep breath and looked at Noah, who was calmly sitting there. "I can't find the key to the storage room. If you have it, please hand it over."

Noah frowned at her words. He didn't reach for the key.

Instead, he tried to make small talk, getting up and walking closer to her. "Are you mad? You're not showing anything on your face."

He then paused for a while before adding, "My friends were just messing around. Don't take it seriously. They don't mean any harm. If it bothers you, I'll have them apologize. It's really no big deal."

"Oh," Calista replied flatly. She gave no real reaction.

Noah froze for a second.

He turned to wave over his group of friends. "You see that? Cali's mad. Get over here and apologize."

The group shuffled over, laughing. "Come on, Calista, just forgive us already. We're sorry, okay?"

Though they were apologizing, there wasn't the slightest bit of sincerity in their words. They were just brushing it off casually.

Calista's expression didn't change. She simply looked at Noah and asked, "The key?"

Noah was caught off guard by how calm she was. It felt as though she were a different person.

But the more he thought about it, the more he figured that Calista had been into him for so long. There was no way she could change this drastically.

Convincing himself he was overthinking it, Noah took the storage room key from his pocket and handed it to her.

Calista took it and turned to leave.

The moment she stepped out of the private room, she heard one of Noah's friends' voices behind her. "Noah, why'd you make us apologize to that simp?"

"You don't get it," someone replied. "Calista's been chasing Noah for years. If Noah kept giving her the cold shoulder, it would crush her self-esteem. To keep her longer, you have to bruise her a little, then give her something sweet after, right, Noah?"

"Yeah."