My Fiancé’s Secret Love is My Cousin - Chapter 6: Chapter 6

The assistant, shaken by Brian's outburst, stammered, "E-everyone thought you left with… Miss Duncan. No one knew someone was still trapped under the rubble."
Brian stood frozen, the air around him turning heavy, suffocating. The truth hit him like a sledgehammer. Who would've thought? The man who swore he loved me more than anything had, in the end, chosen his first love—Laurel.
"So… I killed her?" Brian's gaze lifted helplessly to the ceiling, his voice breaking under the weight of despair. "It's my fault. She died because of me. I killed her."
His body convulsed with hysterical sobs and laughter, fists pounding against his chest as if he could physically tear out the guilt devouring him. The assistant didn't dare move, silently pulling the white sheet back over my lifeless body.
Brian collapsed to his knees, his eyes hollow.
"Did she… leave me anything? A letter?"
Wordlessly, the assistant handed over my handbag. Brian tore it open, and the ruby necklace he'd given me—along with the engagement ring—clattered onto the floor.
His confusion deepened as the assistant murmured, "The security footage showed Miss Duncan removing the jewelry and placing it in her purse… just before she collapsed."
Tears streamed down Brian's face as he frantically searched the bag, finally pulling out my phone. When he unlocked it, the screen flashed open to a note.
Brian,
By the time you read this, I'll already be gone.
When Jordan proposed to Laurel in front of everyone and left me humiliated, I thought I was the most broken person alive. Then you came—like some kind of savior—and for a moment, I actually believed I could start over.
But life loves its cruel little jokes, doesn't it? You, who acted like you loved me so deeply, were just playing a role to win Laurel back.
I'm sorry I made you pretend for so long. In our next lives, I hope we never meet. I hope you marry Laurel and live the happy ending you've always wanted.
Brian's hands shook violently as he finished reading. His voice, raw with fury, cut through the silence.
"Who told Angela about Laurel?!"
His bloodshot eyes burned with rage, the sheer intensity of it making the assistant tremble. "N-no one, sir. But… the night before you canceled the engagement party… Miss Duncan brought soup to your office. It looked like she'd been waiting outside for a while."
Brian's stomach twisted. He hadn't realized—every venomous word he'd spat that night had reached my ears. In a sudden fit of self-loathing, he began slapping himself, over and over, until his cheeks were swollen and red.
Then—a notification chimed.
Brian glanced down at my phone. A message from Laurel lit up the screen:
[You see? I told you. Whether it's Jordan or Brian, they're nothing but dogs at my feet. One call, and they come running. And it's not just them—I'll take everything you ever cared about.]
Brian's laughter turned wild, unhinged. Regret crashed over him like a tidal wave. For a woman who saw him as nothing more than a lapdog, he'd destroyed the one person who truly loved him.
And now, there was no going back.
Dubai.
The desert heat pressed down on me as I stepped outside, adjusting the traditional headscarf I'd learned to wear from the locals. When I first arrived, I'd drained every last penny from my overseas accounts to open a small studio. Business was finally picking up—enough that I needed to hire more help.
Just in time, an old friend from back home had quit her job and was eager to join me. That morning, I drove to the airport early, ready to welcome her.