Chapter 1 Chapter 1

After leaving the police station, Luca Young brought Winnie Lee out to the lake to clear her mind. I went along with them. The reason I went was because Luca needed me to help steer the boat while he took care of Winnie. At that moment, Winnie sat in the boat with reddened eyes. I didn’t bother talking to them. After setting the course, I sat alone and enjoyed the night breeze. And yet, Winnie came over and tugged on my hand. “Are you mad at me, Hailey?”“Why haven’t you been talking to me?” Winnie’s nose was red and there were tears in the corner of her eyes. At that moment, she looked fragile and pitiful. I replied coldly, “What is there to talk about? How you two ended up in bed together?” Winnie was stunned. Then, a river of tears started flowing from her eyes. Luca’s expression turned stone-cold when he heard my reply. “What are you implying, Hailey? I told you, Winnie’s my sister! How dare you insult her like this!”“Get off my seat!” I was forcefully pulled out of my seat. I looked up and stared at the side of his face. His expression was grim when he kicked me onto the deck and pushed me into the lake. As I was choking on water, I watched the man sitting in the captain’s seat rub Winnie’s nose. “Poor little crybaby, stop crying now. I’ll send you home, okay?” The coldness in his voice earlier was nowhere to be heard. Instead, he sounded warm and gentle. Winnie grabbed his hand. “Luca, you always know how to treat me well.”“Silly girl.” As the boat sailed away, Luca’s voice reverberated through the air. “Since you know how to swim, get back to shore yourself!” A cold wave smacked against my body. The wind was freezing and my icy-cold clothes clung to my torso. At that moment, my heart was a frozen wasteland. By the time I got to the shore, I was completely exhausted. A kind passerby wanted to help me, but I just wanted to borrow a phone. The moment I got my hands on one, I dialed for my mom. “Hailes? Did you switch your number? Your dad told me you’re coming back?” Upon hearing my voice, Mom sounded extra nervous. She was so emotional that I could hear her choking up over the line. I told her I was coming home. “Hailes, you don’t sound well. Remember to take care of yourself out there.”“Please don’t blame your father. It’s been so many years, he misses you an awful lot too.” I received a photo from Mom. It was Jonah Lee. Jonah was my arranged husband. He was also the heir to the Lee Conglomerate. I tapped on the photo to find a tall and handsome man with a stern expression — a suitable marriage partner. Five years ago, I turned down a political marriage arranged by my family as I was in love with Luca. My family opposed my relationship with Luca, but I didn’t want to be controlled by them. For the sake of “love” and “freedom”, I chose to run away from home. I always thought I was the luckiest girl in the world to have met Luca, a man I loved. For the sake of his career, I was constantly moving to different places. I even suffered two miscarriages in the process. But I didn’t care. I naively thought that our love was more than I ever needed. However, I’ve grown tired of that. I have suffered enough. He had no idea that I was about to get married. I took a cab home. By the time I reached, Luca was already there. Upon seeing me, he asked nonchalantly, “What took you so long?” I was still soaked from head to toe. There were even a few cuts on my face from the fall. And yet, he didn’t care. A few more lipstick stains had been added to his neck. Luca walked up to me and pretended as if nothing happened. “Winnie wanted to thank you for picking her up today. She said she’d like to pick your wedding ring together someday…” He subtly observed my reaction, thinking he could cheer me up by mentioning the wedding ring. However, I would no longer buy his words. I would no longer shed tears for this man either. Seeing that I didn’t react, Luca stopped talking. He knew I was angry over what had happened. However, he wasn’t willing to even apologize or comfort me. Perhaps he thought a vain promise or two was enough to appease me.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

I returned to my room and got changed before wrapping myself in a thick blanket. His phone which was placed nearby kept buzzing with new text messages. Feeling slightly annoyed, I picked up his phone and sure enough, it was a text message from Winnie. She had sent him a photo. Like shards of razor-sharp glass, the diamond ring in the photo was incredibly hard to look at. It was a photo of two hands clasped together. I instantly recognized one of those hands. After all, it belonged to Luca. Before this, I asked him if we could go out and pick a wedding ring together. However, he would use work as an excuse to turn me down again and again. “I’m too busy today, don’t you understand?” His brows furrowed and in his eyes, there was a look of tiredness and annoyance. Initially, I assumed he was just uninterested in lovey-dovey acts. Looks like I was wrong. He just couldn’t bother doing it for me. There were dozens of photos, each with a different ring. It was clear that these were chosen with care and attention. Despite having experienced so much disappointment, my heart still ached. “What are you doing?!” Suddenly, I was overcome by brute force. My wrist hurt from being grabbed so tightly. The phone was forcefully yanked from my hands. Luca glared at me angrily. “Why are you spying on my phone?!” The moment he saw the screen, his expression turned stone-cold. “How many times have I told you, she’s just a little sister to me.” I grabbed the item that fell next to me. My knee hurt slightly from the fall. To be honest, he didn’t have to grab his phone. I didn’t plan to continue reading. I had read similar chats countless times. The first time I had seen something like this, I was shaking uncontrollably through the night until dawn. But now I only felt sick to the core. How could I ever imagine that the five years I spent loving and pursuing him would turn out to be a joke? On this stage called ‘love’, I was always performing alone. It seemed that Luca’s love and warmth were merely a pitiful act of charity. “I’m sorry, there won’t be a next time,” I lowered my gaze and apologized. Luca was stunned by my reaction. He was obviously surprised by how calm I was. “Hailey, you know how much Mr. Lee has helped me out previously. Ever since he died in a car accident, no one's been around to look after Winnie. “Besides, Winnie’s a good girl. Picking a suitable ring for you is hard. She’s got a good eye for pretty rings, so we were choosing one for you.” I listened to him silently. Michael Lee was Luca’s first financier and was Winnie’s father. That year, Luca encountered a few problems in the company. While helping him out, Michael was delivering core materials for inspection when he got into a car accident. The man died on the spot. After his passing, Luca began looking after Winnie. He did a good job taking care of her. In the beginning, their interaction was awkward and overly formal. Today, they couldn’t have been closer. At some point, Luca hired Winnie as his assistant. I blinked a few times and forced myself to hold my tears back. Now that things had come to this, there was no need to hold back my words. I was about to leave, after all. “To be honest, you don’t have to explain that much. I’m sure you and Winnie are a good fit for each other…” Angrily, Luca interrupted me before I could finish speaking. “What are you on today? Winnie’s not the type of person you think she is! She might treat me well, but she’s not a loose girl like you!” The pain in my knee flared up at that moment. Of course, she was not like me. I had been chasing after a man for five whole years. I did anything to please him. I even severed ties with my family for him. When he noticed the change in my expression, Luca started to panic. He explained awkwardly, “Wait, I don’t mean it that way. What I meant to say was…”“Luca, I’m getting mar-” All of a sudden, I wanted to tell him that I was getting married.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Unfortunately, before I could finish my sentence, Luca’s phone started ringing. After glancing down at his phone, he answered the call with a noticeable change in his tone. “What’s the matter, Winnie?” he asked softly. “Luca, the room is really dark, I’m so scared. “Can you come over? You’re the only one I have. It’s only when you’re around that I feel safe…” Luca was restless when he heard that. He put on his coat and left the room. “Alright, don’t be afraid. “I’ll be there in a bit.” Before he left, he seemed to have remembered something, so he turned to look at me. “What were you saying just now?” By this point, I had already calmed down. “It’s nothing. You can go ahead.” When I woke up again, there were no signs that Luca had returned to the room. Yesterday, I resigned from my job. Now that I had free time, I decided to sort out the things I wanted to bring with me. I saw the wedding dress sample designs in the safe. I picked it up and threw it in the corner. All of a sudden, I heard some noise outside the room. I opened the door and immediately saw people entering and leaving the room across the hallway. They were moving furniture into the room. Among these people, I recognized Luca standing in the living room. He was attentively instructing the workers where to place every piece of furniture. Winnie stood next to him, clinging to his arm lovingly. I was reminded of the scene when I had first moved into this house. Luca was the same. He was always obsessive with the placement of furniture around the house. He explained this was necessary, or it wasn’t a home. It was a shame I rarely ever saw him at home. “Excuse me miss, do you have a ladder that I can borrow?” My thoughts were interrupted by a worker who had noticed I was staring into empty space. I came back to my senses and unintentionally met Winnie’s gaze. I pointed the worker to where we kept the ladder and before I knew it, Winnie emerged from the room and walked up to me. With a beaming smile, she said, “Hailey! We’re gonna be neighbors now! Are you excited?” As she spoke, she turned back to face Luca. “It was Luca’s idea. He was worried about me living alone and said it was easier to look after me this way.” She was smiling brightly at me, but for some reason, my heart froze over. All this while, she would make me feel disgusted. Not wanting to say a word more, I turned around and walked away. And yet, I heard a yell behind me. “Ah!” I turned back to find Winnie sprawled across the floor, looking up at Luca with tears running down her cheeks. Luca rushed over to pull her up before carefully checking if she was injured. Winnie grabbed his hand and spoke sobbingly, “Luca, I knew this was a bad idea. I’m bothering you, aren’t I? You and Hailey are a couple, I-I think I should leave now… “Hailey, please don’t be mad at me, I’m sorry, I really am…” Luca turned around and glared at me hatefully. “Hailey Jones, how many times do I have to repeat myself? Winnie’s like a little sister to me! Do you have to be this cruel?” I almost gagged. What a loving brother. I used to believe him until I saw them in bed together. Luca kicked me on the knee. “Apologize!” he yelled. I collapsed onto the floor from the pain. It was the same spot where I had injured my knee a few days ago. It hurt even more after he kicked it. On the other side, he pulled Winnie into his arms. “I did not push her,” I said while staring at Winnie. And yet, she shrunk away into his embrace. “Luca, stop fighting with Hailey. I just lost my balance just now…” Luca carried her in his arms while gazing at me with eyes filled with cold indifference. “Hailey Jones, I’m starting to think I made a mistake judging your character. “You’re bullying her because you’re envious that I treat her so well, aren’t you?! “How could you possibly compare to a girl like Winnie? “Apologize to her now!” When my eyes met his cold gaze, it felt like knives were plunging into my heart.

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

I did not apologize, nor would I ever apologize. Winnie held her ankle and yelped in pain. Luca finally gave up and carried her downstairs. I felt like sneering at them as I watched them leave. I took out my phone and scheduled an appointment with the orthopedic department at a nearby hospital. I was planning to visit the hospital in a few days. Who would have expected that I would get injured again today? After the consultation ended, I limped out of the doctor’s office. It was a humiliating sight. It was at that moment I bumped into Luca. He was still holding onto Winnie, exchanging silent whispers. They looked so sweet together. A nurse who was passing by mused, “She only has a light sprain and can walk on her own.” Luca smiled dotingly, “I’m just worried she’d be in pain.” Upon hearing that, Winnie blushed. In the end, we bumped into each other in front of the elevator. Their expressions changed the moment they saw me. Winnie squirmed around to get away from Luca. “It’s okay Luca, you can put me down. I don’t want to cause any misunderstandings with Hailey.” Luca glanced at me, but it didn’t seem like he cared. “Stop moving around or you’ll sprain your ankle again,” he warned her. Then, he turned to face me. “What’s wrong with your leg?”“Minor injury,” I replied. “If it’s just a minor injury, you should have just stayed…” Luca was halfway through his sentence when he was interrupted by Winnie. She yelped in pain before nestling herself in his arms. Luca stopped talking. All of a sudden, I heard a commotion from the corridor. “There’s a fire.” I was stunned for the moment. What I saw was just the flames at the end of the corridor. Amidst the chaos, I followed the crowd and ran down the stairs. However, my knee injury forced me to slow down. Luca looked back at me. “Hailey, follow me,” he said. He stretched his hand out to me, just like in the past. I reached out while choking on tears. Out of nowhere, I heard Winnie’s voice. “Luca, I can’t breathe, let’s leave this place…” I froze up for a second. Then, I watched as Luca retracted his hand and escaped with Winnie in his arms. He never looked back. With all my strength, I ran down the stairs. By the time I reached the bottom, I could not feel my legs. I wanted to feel protected in his arms, just like in the past, lovingly doted on by him. But my imagination was shattered in the end. My heart gradually froze over. The moment I finally escaped from the building, I collapsed onto the ground. I could still feel the fear and struggle in the dark when I got home. As I lay on the sofa, I felt my racing heart calm down. After an eternity, Luca finally came back. He handed me a beautifully wrapped gift box. I opened it and to my surprise, it contained a small slice of cake. Luca smiled and said, “I remember how much you loved cakes from this shop, and I happened to be passing by.” I removed the packaging and finished the cake in one go. All of a sudden, rashes broke out across my skin. I didn’t care. It seems that he had long forgotten that I was allergic to mangoes. I said, “Tomorrow is our fifth anniversary, let’s have dinner together.” Stunned, Luca nodded in agreement. I got up to search for some medicine to treat my allergy. *** My cooking skills could be described as average. Though, I was quite good at cooking steaks. Despite that, I didn't know why I failed so many attempts today. As I hated the idea of wasting food, I forced myself to finish everything. Looking at the calendar, I remembered that I would be leaving tomorrow. This might be our last dinner together. Unfortunately, he didn’t show up in the end. The candles on the dinner table had just burned out when I received his call. “Winnie was complaining that her legs were hurting badly, so I had to send her to the hospital. “I won’t be coming home tonight.” In the end, a lie is still a lie. I followed Winnie’s Instagram. Sure enough, she had uploaded a new story. It looked like an upscale private restaurant. The flickering candlelight added a layer of flirtiness to the atmosphere. Luca directed a playful smile at Winnie. The affectionate look in his eyes was unmistakable. I sighed, “It’s fine, you go ahead.” I reacted to Winnie’s story before throwing the steaks into the garbage bin. Since there was no longer any love, it was time for me to let go as well. Dragging the suitcase that had been packed a while ago, I left the house—the place where I used to call home. In the taxi, I finalized my post before uploading it on my social media. It was all evidence of Luca and Winnie’s affair that I had collected over the past few years. I had always wanted our relationship to end on good terms. However, in the end, I decided that I wouldn’t let them enjoy their happiness. Before leaving this city for good, I typed my final text message. “Goodbye, I wish you all the best.” Having been together for five years, we didn't seem to have much connection as we weren't married. The miscarried child didn’t seem to matter as well. Before switching off my phone, I received a few messages. “Hailey Jones, what have you been posting online?!”“Do you know how much of an impact this will have on Winnie?”“Where are you going? Come back and apologize to Winnie!”

Chapter 5 Chapter 5

I didn’t reply to any of his messages. How ironic. This was the first time he replied to my messages so quickly. I always thought his slow replies were because he was too busy. Now it made sense. He was able to see my messages, but he just couldn’t bother to reply in time. Mom came to pick me up at the airport. It had been years since we last met. Dressed in her floral dress, she was still as beautiful as ever. Despite this, the effect that time had left on her face was unmistakable. I hugged my mom, telling her how much I missed her. Mom’s eyes swelled up with tears. Even though we weren’t living together, I would still share parts of my life with her. She knew about my relationship with Luca. While she didn’t oppose our relationship vehemently like Dad, it did not mean she approved of our relationship. She probably figured out on her own what happened to my relationship with Luca. I stared out of the window at the familiar, yet weirdly-unfamiliar city. Mom happily told me about the recent changes to the city as well as our family as I listened patiently. Just then, my phone started receiving a chain of text messages. Without reading any of them, I blocked Luca’s number. Mom glanced over at me. I assured her with a smile, “It’s nothing.” She did not ask any questions, and I continued to remain silent. The wedding day was fast approaching and I now no longer had the luxury of time. I too, started to get busy. I went to pick a wedding ring with my mother. Staring at the rings on the counter, my thoughts began to overwhelm me. This was the moment I had been looking forward to the most. And yet, the sight of a ring on my finger felt surreal. Mom was beaming when she finally picked out a ring for me. “Don’t worry, Hailes. I’ve met Jonah before. He’s a good kid.” I returned a smile at Mom and tried on a ring that I thought was pretty. Having experienced the sort of abuse by Luca, I wasn’t in a position to be picky about my partner. In fact, I wasn’t concerned with any of this. Just then, I heard a voice from behind. “Good choice.” Jonah Lee cast a polite smile in my direction. The man in the photo had suddenly come alive. Feeling a bit shy and embarrassed, I averted my gaze. “Thank you.” Seeing this, my mother hurriedly stepped in to save the situation. “Jonah? What brings you here today? Oh, look at the time, care to have lunch with us?” Mom smiled gleefully at us. I did not reject her proposal. Wearing rings of the same model, we went out for lunch together. No one expected photos of us together would be circulated online the next day. “Jonah Lee is seeing someone.” What I found incredibly hard to believe was that photo going viral on the internet. Several hashtags started gaining popularity on Twitter. #LeeXJones# #JonahLeeFiancee# Mom was, of course, delighted to see this, and spent the next few days replying to tweets. She sent me a text message. “We must let Luca know that he’s not worthy of my daughter!” To hear that name all of a sudden felt strange to me as our relationship had come to an end. Besides, he didn’t love me anymore. What I did not expect was that two days later, I would receive a call from an old friend. Over the line, I could hear Luca’s voice. It sounded hoarse as if he had been crying before this. “So I’m guessing you left me because of him? “After so many years, how could you just leave like that?! “Is it because of his family? Do you think he really loves you? “Come home now, and I’ll forgive you. How about that?” I raised my hand to look at the ring that I forgot to take off during the day. With a sneer, I replied, “He’s richer than you, better-looking too. We’re getting married soon, but why do you care?” I could hear the sound of a long inhale on the other end of the line. It sounded like Luca was smoking a cigarette. After a long pause, he finally spoke up. “Does he know about your past? You chased after me for five years, getting knocked up in the process. Do you think he’d still marry you if he were to find out the truth?” He took a breath, perhaps after realizing that he had said the wrong thing. He switched to using a softer tone, “Hailes, don’t be mad at me, okay? Come back to me, we’ll get married immediately. Wasn’t it always your dream to get married to me?” I wanted to hit back at him, but just as I was about to say something, I noticed Winnie had uploaded a new story. The caption read, “Luca knows how to treat me best.” In the photo, Luca had given her a bouquet of flowers. To add insult to injury, they were lilies, my favorite flowers. I hung up the phone and blocked the number without hesitation.