Chapter 189 The Engagement Is Cancelled, Let's Break Up

Chapter 189 The Engagement Is Cancelled, Let's Break Up

"I could give you an identical necklace. How do you think you got yours?" Harper didn't answer. Instead, she asked another question.

The thought that had crossed Claire's mind before resurfaced. When she'd first received the necklace, Claire had suspected Harper knew Ruby. But because Evan had wanted to collaborate with Ruby at the time, Claire had pushed that idea aside.

Then there was that time at the coffee shop when someone had called Harper "Ruby." Plus, the rumors that Ruby was a woman—a very young woman.

Claire's face suddenly turned deathly pale. She asked in disbelief, "So you don't just 'know' Ruby. You 'are' Ruby. You've been showing us who you really are this whole time, haven't you? We just refused to believe it."

Yes, refused to believe. Even now, Claire desperately didn't want to accept that Harper was Ruby.

A brilliant smile spread across Harper's face as she looked at the two women before her. "Congratulations, Miss Martinez. You've finally figured out who I am. That's right—I'm Ruby. So when I kept telling you that person was a fake, I wasn't lying. Too bad you didn't believe me."

Harper thought about the collaboration she'd discussed with Sean. At the time, she'd planned to join his company as soon as the divorce was finalized. Unfortunately, things with Evan had dragged on and on. After the divorce finally went through, she'd been swamped with other matters. But now she could actually consider working with the Parkers.

Sophie wanted to protest that Harper couldn't possibly be Ruby, but then she remembered Harper's design abilities—they truly were superior to her own. She'd always wondered why someone with Harper's talent had remained so unknown. Now it made sense. She'd been hiding her identity.

The realization hit Sophie hard: the man she was engaged to was a fraud. And she'd given up Mason for him. If she hadn't let him go, maybe they could have had a real future together. Her heart flooded with regret.

Claire and Sophie had come to Harper hoping to gather information about the fake Ruby. But Harper 'was' Ruby, which explained how she'd known that person was an impostor. There probably wasn't any additional information to be found here.

Both women's shoulders slumped, their expressions turning grim.

Just then, the private room door swung open. Evan stood in the doorway. When Claire saw him, panic fluttered through her chest. Had he heard Harper say she was Ruby?

If he had, would he still let Harper leave? Claire felt completely uncertain. "Evan, what are you doing here?"

Evan didn't respond. He walked straight in and sat down beside Harper. "So Ruby has been right next to me this whole time. No wonder you wouldn't collaborate with me."

Harper shrugged. Back then, her mind had been consumed with divorcing Evan. Collaborating with him had been the last thing on her mind.

Claire started to speak, but when she met Evan's gaze, the words died in her throat. The way he looked at her was frightening—his eyes held emotions she couldn't decipher.

Evan stared at Claire steadily. "Our engagement is canceled. Miss Martinez, please don't appear in my life anymore. I don't want Harper to misunderstand our relationship."

The words struck Claire like a bolt from the blue. Her body swayed. She demanded, "Why? You promised me before that we'd get engaged. The wedding is less than two months away. Why cancel it? Hank already agreed. Why!"

By the end, Claire's voice had cracked with emotion. Evan remained calm as he looked at her. "Are you really the person who saved my life? Every condition I agreed to was based on that premise. Claire, you've been lying from the very beginning."

Claire's agitation froze on her face. Her body, which had just stood up in excitement, collapsed back into the chair. "How did you know? How did you know I was lying?"

Under those circumstances, it had been just her and Evan. For all these years, Evan had never questioned her story. How had he suddenly figured it out?

Evan leaned back against his chair. "Thanks to what you said at the Martinez family banquet. You said you couldn't swim. But when I fell into the water... how could someone who can't swim have pulled me out?"

Claire closed her eyes. She'd been so flustered at the time that she hadn't considered that detail. And Evan hadn't confronted her immediately. Instead, he'd waited all this time—until he'd confirmed she truly wasn't his savior—before coming to find her.

But becoming Mrs. Morgan had been her goal for so many years. She couldn't just give up. Claire opened her eyes and looked at Evan. "You said before that I was the one you loved. Just because I'm not your savior, you don't love me anymore?"

After a moment of silence, Evan spoke. "Three years ago, I loved you. I wanted to marry you. Grandfather stopped me. Even before Harper asked for a divorce, you were still the one I loved. But you... you got pregnant with someone else's child. And then you got rid of it."

A mocking smile crossed Evan's face. "Claire, you always said you loved me, but you were carrying another man's child... Later, you used the life-saving debt to manipulate me. I went along with it because of my promise, and because I thought you were still as kind as you used to be. That's why I agreed to get engaged."

"But things between us changed long ago. I never truly understood you. We're not right for each other. Let's break up." By the end, Evan laughed bitterly at himself. The rose-colored glasses through which he'd viewed Claire had been far too thick. He'd been blind to her true character and personality.

Sophie couldn't help but cover her mouth. She didn't understand how Claire had managed to ruin such a winning hand. With someone as outstanding as Evan already by her side, how could she have gotten pregnant with someone else's child? It made no sense.

That child had originally been meant to tie Evan to her, but the plan had failed—Evan had never touched her, yet somehow she'd still gotten pregnant. Claire didn't understand it either. Why had she made that move back then? Now it was too late to fix anything.

Only now did Harper learn that Claire had faked being his savior—and that the person who'd actually saved him all those years ago was her.

No wonder Evan had always insisted things between him and Claire were completely innocent. Even after finding out Claire was pregnant with someone else's child, he'd still stood by her side.

"Did you ever find your real savior?" Harper suddenly turned to look at Evan.

Evan shook his head slightly. "Still investigating. I was unconscious at the time. When I woke up, Claire was beside me. She said she'd saved me, and I believed her..."

And then that mistake had lasted all these years, causing him to make concession after concession to Claire because of that supposed life-saving debt.

Harper was still debating whether to reveal that she'd been the one who saved him when Evan suddenly turned to look at her. "Let's remarry."