I'm getting married soon—but not to my boyfriend of six years, Soren Cruz.

He's the mafia boss based in Mehico and is currently busy "working" with his new underboss, Thea Ramirez.

Lately, he's been so swamped with work that he completely forgot about me and our promise to get married on our sixth anniversary.

At the Christmas party, he ordered Thea's favorite almond cake. He forgot I'm allergic to almonds.

While his friends were messing around, a slice of cake hit me right in the face. I fainted on the spot.

When I woke up, I told Mom I didn't want to marry Soren anymore. I'm going back.

Over the phone, Mom didn't ask me why I wasn't marrying Soren. She was thrilled, saying she'd send a private jet to pick me up.

I could return to their side in just three days.

I was moved to tears. Only my parents would support me unconditionally.

Six years ago, Mom and Dad were firmly against me dating Soren Cruz. He was just a street punk back then, and they thought he wasn't good enough for me, the only daughter of the biggest arms dealer in Velimor.

But blinded by love, I eloped with him without hesitation.

Mom and Dad were so furious that they cut ties with me. So, I never told Soren about my background.

After all, my identity didn't matter. He loved me for who I was, not for where I came from.

Before the call ended, Mom said hesitantly, "You've been with Soren for six years, and yet he still has no intention of marrying you. I knew he wasn't reliable from the start."

If she'd said that six years ago, I would've immediately jumped to his defense, insisting she didn't understand love.

But today, I said nothing.

"Do you remember the youngest son of the Vasiliev family?" she added. "He's always liked you. Why don't you give him a chance?"

"Okay," I finally said after a long pause.

Overjoyed, Mom chirped, "Great! I'll contact his family right away and start planning the wedding."

Just then, Soren walked in on our conversation. He happened to hear the word "wedding", and I quickly hung up.

He looked confused. "Darling, who were you talking to? What about the wedding?"

I was just about to speak when his phone rang.

Noticing Thea Ramirez's name on the screen, I frowned. Why was she calling him at such a late hour?

"Thea? What's wrong?" Soren immediately picked up, his voice tense. "Don't worry. I'll be right there."

My face fell. I could hear Thea's sobs on the other end, and the anxiety written all across Soren's face.

He hung up and turned to me, flustered.

"Darling, Thea says someone's following her. I need to check on her."

This again.

He was always in a hurry every time he ditched me to go to Thea, though her reasons were ridiculous.

As the underboss of a mafia, being followed wasn't exactly a big deal. It wasn't like she couldn't handle it herself.

But she just had to call Soren for help. She deliberately acted weak in front of him, eager to stir things up between us.

I clenched my fists. "Soren, I need to tell you something—"

Soren paused, trying to reassure me. "Just give me a moment, yeah? I'll come back once I'm done with Thea."

With that, he left right away.

I smiled wryly and shook my head. Then, I started packing my things.

At first, I came to this unfamiliar city alone for university and lived with my aunt.

I met Soren by chance during a football match. I was the cheerleading captain, and he was just another guy in the crowd.

Back then, he was just a low-level gangster—a far cry from the imposing mafia boss he was now.

We fell in love at first sight.

As we grew closer, I moved out of my aunt's place and started living with him.

But now, I was no longer his priority. It was time for me to leave.

Surprisingly, I was exceptionally calm. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would.

Maybe deep down, I'd already realized he no longer loved me. I just didn't want to face it.

I called Aunt Jenny to say goodbye.

She was elated when she heard I was getting married. "You and Soren have been together for six years. It's about time!"

I fell silent for a while, then said, "I am getting married, but not to Soren."

Shocked, Aunt Jenny blurted out, "What did you say? Haven't you been with him this whole time?"

"We've been together for six years. He promised to marry me this Christmas, but he forgot," I replied helplessly. "And now he's really close with Thea. I think he doesn't love me anymore."

After a moment of silence, Aunt Jenny said, "If he forgot a wedding he promised… then he's really unreliable. But are you really going to give up on him? You've loved him for so long. Can you actually let him go?"

"It's hard, but I'm no longer the person he cares about most," I said. "Because of Thea, he's neglected me several times and broken countless promises.

"If that's how it is… maybe I should just step aside and let him be with her."

Aunt Jenny sighed. "Alright. No matter what your decision is, I'll always support you."

After we hung up, I marked the date on my phone's calendar. In three days, I'd be leaving it all behind.

The next day, I went to buy some gifts for Aunt Jenny. I wanted to thank her for looking out for me over the years.

When the parcel arrived later that evening, I ran into Soren downstairs.

To my surprise, he was with Thea. With grocery bags in their hands, they walked into the apartment, chatting and giggling like an actual couple living together.

I paled. Clutching the parcel in my arms, I struggled to force down the bile in my throat.

Aunt Jenny also saw what happened. Her eyes widened in shock.

Just as she was about to storm toward them, I grabbed her hand and shook my head.

"Forget it, Aunt Jenny," I murmured.

"Lyra, I'd been skeptical when you told me Soren fell in love with someone else yesterday," she barked, her voice rising with rage. "But now—look at how close he is with another woman! You should leave him. I support you!"

Soren also spotted us. He hurried over and quickly explained, "Lyra, don't get the wrong idea. The neighborhood Thea used to live in has reports of a stalker, and it wasn't safe. So I just helped her move into a new place today. That's all."

I was unfazed. I didn't respond to his explanation and simply instructed the delivery workers to carry the parcel upstairs.

Seeing this, Soren seemed to assume I hadn't misunderstood. He let out a breath of relief.

"Lyra, once things settle down, let's go horseback riding in the countryside," he said with a smile. "I remember how much you love it.

"The stables aren't far from here. You can go whenever you want."

He had no idea I was leaving soon—not that I planned to tell him anyway.

I met his gaze calmly. In the past six years, his eyes used to be full of affection whenever he looked at me.

Now, all I saw was feigned concern and diffidence.

I shook my head, a wry smile tugging at my lips.

"No need, Soren. I probably won't have any time soon."

Surprise flickered across his face. He hadn't expected me to turn him down.

"Soren, I'm getting a little tired," Thea suddenly called out. "Can we go back?"

He immediately turned to her, looking concerned. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Shaking her head, she murmured, "I've just had a long day. I'm a little exhausted."

He spun around and said, "I'll take Thea upstairs and come back down later."

Without waiting for my response, he left with her.

As I watched them leave, a wave of mixed emotions washed over me. The man who once cared for me so deeply now gave all his attention to another woman.

Quivering with rage, Aunt Jenny hissed, "That bastard! How could he treat you like this?"

I patted her hand gently. "Aunt Jenny, don't be angry. He's not worth it."

The elevator doors closed. Staring at the tightly shut door, I fell into a daze, as if I were looking at a reflection of my past self.

I used to believe that love could overcome anything, but reality had slapped me hard in the face. Love wasn't everything.

As Soren and Thea disappeared behind those doors, the dull ache in my chest ceased.

I took a deep breath and turned to Aunt Jenny. "Let's go."

She looked at me, clearly sorry for what I had to go through. "Lyra, have you really let him go?"

I smiled, determination flashing in my eyes. "Aunt Jenny, I've made up my mind. I'm ready to start a new life."

Once we got upstairs, I sent Soren a message asking when he'd be coming back.

But instead of him, I got a voice reply from Thea.

"He's helping me sort out the wiring in my new place. He might be a bit late."

The smugness in her sweet voice was unmistakable.

I was just about to leave when another message from her popped up.

"Lyra, don't overthink. Soren and I are just friends. I didn't have anyone else to help me, so I turned to him.

"If you want to blame someone, blame me. Don't take it out on Soren."

She played the victim so well, like she was truly worried I'd misunderstand.

Moments later, she sent another message.

"Soren's afraid you'll get the wrong idea, so he's going back soon. Just wait a little, okay?"

I let out a bitter smile, but deep inside, I felt nothing.

Right then, Soren called.

As soon as I picked up, his slightly accusatory voice came through.

"Lyra, why were you so harsh toward Thea? She's just moved in. She doesn't know anyone here, so I was only trying to help. Do you really have to be so petty?"

I froze. That was unexpected.

"Soren, I'm not being petty," I replied airily. "I already left."

He frowned and brought up the incident at the Christmas party. "You were cold to her back then too. You know how delicate she is, right? The way you acted made her feel like you didn't like her."

I apologized for making her uncomfortable and told him to pass on my apologies. Then, I hung up.

After hanging up, I went back home.

My phone suddenly buzzed with a new notification. I glanced at it, realizing it was a new post from Soren's company's official account.

I clicked on it and saw a photo of Soren fixing the wiring and plumbing at Thea's place.

The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, and he was focused on his work. Thea stood beside him, gazing at him with pure gratitude as she held a glass of water.

The caption read, "Our boss Soren is truly a man of many talents. Being amazing at work is one thing, but being able to fix wiring and plumbing too? Incredible!"

Soren's employees all flocked to the comment section, leaving messages full of admiration.

"Boss, you're amazing! I wish I had such a thoughtful boyfriend!"

"Thea, I can't believe our boss is fixing your house himself. You should totally marry him!"

My chest tightened. I scrolled through the comments quickly, an indescribable surge of emotions rising in me.

I thought back to when I had just joined the company after graduating. Back then, Soren often used that same company account to share snippets of my work life.

Everyone at the office knew he was into me, and I used to feel so happy because of it.

But ever since Thea came along, everything had changed.

Back at home, I walked into the bedroom and began packing.

I had lived here for six years, and every corner held our memories.

I picked up a thick photo album and flipped it open. Inside were photos of every gift he'd ever given me.

From the first bouquet of roses, to necklaces and bracelets, to dinners he'd cooked himself—each picture captured our happiest moments.

A wave of sorrow washed over me as I ran my fingers over them.

Six years ago, Soren had promised to give me a thousand surprises before we got married. He even had this album specifically made to hold exactly a thousand pictures. He said once it was full, we would get married.

Now, there were 999 photos. Only the last page was left blank—it was meant to hold our proposal photo.

But now, it would remain forever empty.

I gently closed the album, tears blurring my vision. We did make it to 999, but in the end, we were still one surprise short.

Wiping my tears away, I carried the album downstairs. I lit a fire in the yard and threw the album in.

The flames crackled, their glow dancing across my face as I watched the photos turn to ash.

Oddly enough, I felt… peace.

This album held the memories of the past six years. It had witnessed everything Soren and I had been through. We were once hopelessly in love, but now, we'd fallen apart.

As it turned to ash, it marked the end of our relationship too.

When the fire finally died, an unexpected calm washed over me.

Just then, Soren burst through the door. As soon as he spotted the album in the fire, his face turned pale.

He gasped and rushed over to save it, but the flames were too hot. The moment he got close, the searing temperature made him jerk back.

Glaring at me, he roared, "What the hell are you doing, Lyra? Why did you burn our album?"

I looked at him coolly and replied, "Some of the photos had gotten moldy. They couldn't be restored, so I just burned the whole thing."

He froze, clearly caught off guard by my answer.

Trying to control his temper, he took a deep breath and said, "Sorry, I overreacted. But we've worked on that album for years. I was planning to show it on our wedding—"

"We'll see about that." I cut him off.

I turned to go back inside, not wanting to look at Soren anymore. But then, he suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me into his arms.

"Lyra, I'm sorry," he murmured. "Things have just been so hectic lately. Once everything is settled, I'll take you to retake the photos. Is that okay?"

He was begging me, desperate to return to how things used to be.

I broke free from his embrace and looked him in the eye.

"Soren, you once promised to give me a thousand surprises. We're still one short.

"I missed out on the Christmas party last time. Can you make it up to me?"

That was the last thread of hope I held on to. I was hoping he'd remember that he had promised to propose to me this Christmas.

If he proposed, I wouldn't leave.

Soren nodded solemnly. "Okay. I'll make it up to you."

Just as he said that, his phone rang. It was Thea's custom ringtone.

He shot me an awkward look, then picked up the call.

"What is it?"

I didn't know what she said on the other end, but he quickly responded, "I'll be right there."

Hanging up, he turned to me with an apologetic look.

"Something urgent came up at work, and I need to take care of it. Let's talk about the party once I get back, okay?"

With that, he turned and left without hesitation.

I stood there alone, watching him disappear through the door. I was utterly heartbroken.

That night, I sat quietly on the couch, waiting for him to return. Time ticked by, but even as dawn crept in, he still wasn't back yet.

I knew he wouldn't make it up to me for what happened during the Christmas party, nor would there be a proposal. We were completely over.

As morning light stretched across the sky, my phone chimed with a reminder. Three days were up, and it was time for me to leave.

The private jet Mom sent was already waiting at the airport.

Before boarding, I sent Soren one final message.

"Soren, we're over. Don't try to contact me again."

He called me right away, but I ignored it. Instead, I turned off my phone and boarded the plane.