Blurb：
Eleanor thought her eight-year secret relationship with Julian, her father's longtime friend, was finally going public. But when she overheard Julian's cruel confession about dating Briar behind her back, her world shattered. Now trapped in a painful love triangle, Eleanor must confront Julian's lies and decide if their eight years together meant anything at all. This emotional rollercoaster explores forbidden romance, betrayal, and the shocking arranged marriage with the Hayes family that changes everything. Set in the small town of Riverwood, follow Eleanor's journey as she discovers the truth about Julian's double life and fights for her self-worth against Briar's manipulative games.Content：
I’d been secretly dating my dad’s long-time friend for eight years, and we were finally planning to go public.
Excited, I called my dad, asking him to meet me back in Riverwood. But when I got to boyfriend place, I overheard him talking to his best buddy.
“Julian, you’re going on blind dates behind Eleanor’s back? Aren’t you afraid she’ll find out and dump you?”
He chuckled softly, his answer annoyingly confident.
“She won’t.”
“All these years, she’s stayed by my side without any official status. No matter how much she put up with, she never once broke up with me.”
“Honestly, I do love her. But in the end, we can’t be together.”
My heart twisted painfully. I froze on the spot, numb.
It wasn't until my dad's voice rang through the phone for the third time that I finally swallowed down my tears, turned, and walked away.
“Dad, I’m fine. I just wanted to tell you… the arranged marriage with the Hayes family? I agree to it!”
1.
“Do you think I’m just a stand-in for you?”
In the coffee shop, the woman across from me had a face that was eerily similar to mine, yet her smile was bold and utterly unconstrained.
Her name was Briar, and she was the woman Julian’s friend had mentioned—his blind date, and they were about to get engaged.
Half an hour ago, I had stumbled out of Julian’s house, only to be stopped by her downstairs.
Now, compared to her calm demeanor, I felt completely lost.
She smiled, gently setting her coffee cup on the table.
“But if he truly loved you, why would he look for a stand-in, especially while you were still with him?”
Undeniably, she had a point.
But after eight years with Julian, I still couldn’t quite let go.
As if she’d read my thoughts, she suddenly leaned forward, closer to me.
“If you don’t believe me, let’s make a bet. We’ll bet on who’s more important to him. If he consistently chooses me, you’ll step aside, okay?”
When Julian came home, I was cooking his favorite chicken porridge.
For some reason, today’s porridge just didn’t taste the same, even though I followed the exact same steps.
Julian put down his jacket and came over to hug me, pressing a kiss to my ear.
“Your porridge always smells the best. I could smell it from down the street.”
My fingers paused. I turned to look at him. “You really think it smells good?”
His smile was soft. “When do I ever lie to you?”
I silently turned back, a bitter taste filling my mouth.
Before, I never doubted a single word he said to me. But today, I knew I had trusted him blindly.
He had once told me he wanted to be with me forever, yet today, he told someone else that we couldn’t be together.
So, what did our eight years even mean?
I reached out and turned off the stove, then scraped the sticky, burnt porridge from the bottom of the pot to show him.
“But it’s already burnt. Can’t you smell it?”
He paused, then smiled, taking the spoon from my hand and scooping a full bowl.
“It’s okay. As long as it’s made by you, Eleanor, even if it’s burnt, I still think it’s the best.”
He held the bowl, a wide smile on his face, and walked towards the dining table.
I watched his back, my eyes welling up.
When I followed him out, he had already eaten several spoonfuls of porridge.
He was clearly struggling to eat it, his brows furrowed with each spoonful, but when he looked up at me, he forced a happy, contented expression.
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The End