Worry flashed across Nicholas' face when he saw the neglected glass of milk on the table. "Why didn't you drink it? Was it because I came back too late? I'll warm up another glass for you."

He soon returned with another glass of milk while explaining, "The reason why I came back late was because I was preparing the fireworks for you. But I might be busy for the next few days, so you don't have to wait for me if I come back late."

Quinn accepted the glass of milk, yet she did not drink it.

Nicholas never came home late in the past—until one day when he hadn't returned all night. All her calls couldn't go through, and she spent the entire night looking for him.

When he returned the next day, he explained that he had been caught up with a project. He had fallen asleep in a nearby hotel after finishing the deal.

Back then, Quinn had naively believed that Nicholas was really working—she even felt sorry for him for a long time.

It wasn't until two days ago that she learned that it was the same day Jasmine had joined his company.

Before this, Quinn was only aware that Nicholas used to love his first love a lot, but she ended up leaving him for money.

He had been stuck in that past relationship, unable to move on, until he met Quinn. From then on, he became obsessed with her.

Quinn felt that Nicholas did not fit into any of the qualities she was looking for in her ideal partner.

However, she gradually began to waver under his passionate and persistent pursuit. She even gave up her research career for him.

And yet, Nicholas dealt her a crushing blow at the point when Quinn loved him the most.

Looking at his gentle smile, she felt as if she was suffocating. She only felt better when she averted her gaze to look out the window.

"What's wrong, Quinn? Are you feeling unwell?" Concerned, Nicholas grabbed her hand, only to realize that her ring was missing. "Where's your ring?"

Quinn was about to explain when her gaze fell on his hand. She chuckled softly and retorted, "Where's yours?"

Nicholas only noticed that his ring was missing then. He tried to hide his hand in a hurry, looking pale as he started explaining. "It might have been stolen during the party with so many guests around."

"Is that so?" Quinn thought his excuse was flimsy and ridiculous. She wondered if he truly thought she was a fool.

She used to love and trust him, willingly being kept in the dark. But she no longer wanted to be that fool anymore.

"Who knows, it might have been left in the car instead," Quinn said.

Nicholas suddenly felt diffident when he met her gaze.

Quinn did not want to press on the matter further. Just as she was about to sleep, Linda came knocking on her door.

"Haven't I told you guys not to disturb Quinn at night no matter what?" Nicholas said.

"Jasmine said that something urgent came up, and she has to see you tonight, Mr. York," Linda replied.

Nicholas' hand trembled slightly upon the mention of Jasmine's name. He glanced at Quinn, about to explain himself.

However, Quinn interrupted him and said, "You should go. She probably really wants to see you."

Seeing his anxious gaze, she then added, "Her rising fame might come crashing down if something really happened to the company."

Nicholas visibly relaxed upon hearing her words. He gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders and said, "You can head to bed first, I'll be back soon."

Shortly after he left, Quinn received an anonymous message. It read: "Look out of the window. Mr. York has prepared a visual treat for you."

She walked to the window. Instead of looking up to the sky, she looked downward.

Jasmine was holding onto Nicholas from the swing in the garden, kissing him repeatedly.

That spot wasn't visible from anywhere else, but Quinn could see everything clearly from her room.

Jasmine hugged Nicholas before pushing him down to sit on the swing. She then stood up and glanced upward, meeting Quinn's gaze.

At that moment, Quinn knew that Jasmine was doing it on purpose—she was the one who sent Quinn the message.

Nicholas seemed anxious, wanting to comfort Jasmine and get her to leave. However, she took out his ring from her pocket.

He reached out for it, but she put the ring onto her own finger. She then took a photo of it.

Soon enough, Quinn saw the photo on Jasmine's social media. The caption read: "It seems like he'll never refuse a request from me."

She continued to scroll up and came across a photo posted ten days ago. The caption read: "A glass of hot milk before bed—truly a bad habit someone has spoiled me with."

A wave of bitterness spread across her heart. What she had thought was care from him was once a privilege enjoyed by Jasmine.

Quinn's heart throbbed painfully. She steadied herself by grabbing onto a chair but ended up falling onto the ground.

Nicholas came rushing up shortly after he heard the loud commotion. Tears welled up in his eyes as soon as he saw the bleeding cut from the glass shards on her arm.

He cried out, "You're hurt, Quinn! Let me get you to the hospital!"

Jasmine was nowhere to be found once Quinn went downstairs.

Nicholas frowned as he looked around. He was somewhat distracted not seeing Jasmine around. He kept glancing at his phone even when they were in the car, accidentally running the red light a few times while his mind was elsewhere.

He looked at Quinn diffidently after running the red light for the third time and narrowly avoiding an accident. He started explaining, "I'm rushing to go to the hospital because I'm worried about your injury. I hope I didn't scare you."

She looked away and stared ahead. She then replied indifferently, "I'm alright, so just drive safely and stop running the red lights."

Nicholas noticed that something was off with her attitude. He was about to ask about it when his phone buzzed.

A brief flash of joy flickered in his eyes. The worry and tension on his face finally faded after he read the message.

…

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Nicholas left the ward under the pretense of buying supper for Quinn.

The doctor, Margaret Snyder, checked her condition once he left. She frowned while asking, "Do you have any heart-related issues?"

Quinn nodded, a bitter taste rising in her mouth.

She'd suffered from heart disease since she was young. But nothing serious had happened over the years as she had always taken good care of herself.

It was only in recent months that she had started staying up late to wait for Nicholas' return. It seemed to have contributed to the worsening of her condition.

That was why she had collapsed when she saw Jasmine's post earlier.

"You need to rest more. You might need surgery if this keeps up," Margaret advised, treating her wound before leaving the ward.

The empty ward was silent except for Quinn's breathing. She looked up at the ceiling and suddenly recalled the way she would always stay by Nicholas' side whenever he was sick in the past.

But now, he had left her alone in the ward for another woman.

Quinn's phone chimed with a notification, and she saw yet another new post from Jasmine. It read: "He always remembers what I like. I still remember that the first dish he made for me was beef stew."

Her hand trembled involuntarily as she gripped her phone. It turned out that Nicholas even cooked for Jasmine personally.

…

Nicholas only returned to the ward an hour later, wearing a faint blush on his cheeks. Quinn noticed the fresh love bites on his neck as he leaned down to open the food container for her.

"The traffic was bad outside, that was why I came back late," he said.

A hint of mockery flashed across Quinn's face when she saw the beef stew, now cold.

Nicholas said, "You can eat up while I check with the doctor about your condition."

Quinn received a call from him no sooner after he left. However, Jasmine's voice was heard on the other end of the line.

"She's still in the ward—shouldn't you be taking care of her now?" Her voice was tinged with evident jealousy.

Nicholas chuckled and said, "Are you jealous? Aren't you supposed to be happy now that I've left her to come find you?"

Jasmine asked, "Can you stay with me tonight? For some reason, I feel uneasy whenever I remember that you'll be marrying someone else."

"It'll be daytime soon. How about I stay with you for the whole of tomorrow instead?" Nicholas replied.

"Can you kiss me for now then—" The line was cut off halfway through Jasmine's words.

Although Quinn couldn't manage to hear the rest of the conversation, she could imagine what would happen.

When he saw the beef stew remained untouched on the table, he ran over to her bedside worriedly and grabbed her hand. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Quinn shook her head and replied, "No, I just don't have any appetite."

Nicholas panicked as soon as he heard her words. He ran out to get Margaret to come perform a series of checks on Quinn. He only relaxed when he had confirmed that she was alright.

He took note of every instruction Margaret gave without any hint of impatience. Once she left, he took Quinn's hand and smiled gently.

"Don't worry, I remember everything the doctor said, Quinn. I won't let you get hospitalized again. Is your injury hurting you now? It's all my fault—this wouldn't have happened if I'd taken the glass out earlier," Nicholas said.

He even started tearing up, and the guilt and heartache in his gaze seemed all too real.

Suddenly, Quinn couldn't tell if Nicholas' concern for her was genuine or not.

If it was genuine, why would he bring her Jasmine's leftover beef stew? But if it wasn't genuine, why then was he so concerned about her now?

Nicholas continued to talk, but Quinn no longer had the heart to listen to him.

He hurried to tuck her in when he saw her shutting her eyes. He then sat on the edge of the bed, resting his chin in his hand while he stared at her face.

Nicholas said, "You're so beautiful, Quinn. I can't take my eyes off you. Sometimes I really think I'm lucky to have met you before you fell for someone else."

Upon hearing his words, Quinn opened her eyes and looked at him.

She wanted to ask him—who exactly did he truly love?

Quinn woke up in the early dawn, only to realize Nicholas was no longer in the ward. Only the breakfast he'd left behind remained on the table.

"Something came up in the company, so I had to leave first, Quinn." On her phone was a message from him, sent an hour ago.

Quinn wondered if he was that eager to see Jasmine.

Nicholas only returned during the night, with a camera in his hand. He looked at her excitedly. "I found a perfect place for wedding photos today, Quinn. How about we go take some together? I've always felt the previous ones weren't perfect enough. I want to personally capture our happy moments this time."

…

Quinn only realized that they were at a desolate mountain, with no one around after they reached their destination.

"Look at the stars here, Quinn! Aren't they so much more beautiful than anywhere else?" Nicholas said as he took out her wedding dress.

He received a call just as Quinn was about to get changed.

As he answered the call, she watched the way his smile gradually morphed into a worried frown. She could vaguely hear Jasmine's name as well.

"Don't fret, I'll come over now!" Nicholas hurriedly ended the call. He then drove away before Quinn could say anything.

She watched the car speed away from her sight without any ounce of hesitation. He did not even give her phone back.

Quinn chuckled bitterly before she started making her way down the mountain, resigned.

Her health wasn't great, to begin with, and it was very cold on the mountain. However, she only put on a thin shirt in order to go with Nicholas' photoshoot.

Quinn walked for over four hours before she could finally hail a taxi. Her body was heating up by the time she arrived home.

Just as she was ready to head to bed, she saw the entertainment news on her computer. "Rising star Jasmine Shaw caught in a scandal—Nicholas York personally clears the air."

Quinn clicked into the video and saw the way Nicholas firmly stood in front of Jasmine.

He said, "It's true that our relationship goes beyond just superior and subordinate. But Jasmine isn't a mistress—we've known each other for ten years. Also, the new endorsement was originally intended for her."

Quinn's heart sank instantly upon hearing his words. What was initially her endorsement somehow had gone to Jasmine now.

Besides, her endorsement had already been publicly announced. Now that Nicholas was saying this, everyone would think that she was the one who stole Jasmine's endorsement.

As expected, war erupted in the comment section.

Someone commented: "Does that mean that Quinn was the mistress instead?"

Another wrote: "You could tell she wasn't a good person from the fact she gave up on her research career to enter the entertainment industry."

Someone else replied: "She was even shameless enough to steal Jasmine's endorsement! "

The video was still playing on the computer by the time Nicholas came back.

He paled and anxiously started explaining, "I'm sorry, Quinn. I didn't mean to leave you on the mountain. I was just so worried. After all, this matter could greatly affect the company.

"We're about to get married anyway, and you won't need to do this kind of work anymore. Just consider this time a small sacrifice for me and the company, okay?"

Quinn looked up at Nicholas. "Back then, it was you who asked me to quit my research career and enter the entertainment industry for you."

He replied, "I'm sorry, Quinn. I know it's unfair to you, but this will be the last time. Please don't be mad, okay? I'll let you get back to work once things calm down."

Quinn kept quiet, no longer wanting to talk about it. After all, she decided to let go of both this career and Nicholas.

…

Quinn developed a high fever that night. To make things worse, she received news that Thomas Brooke, her maternal grandfather, fell ill.

As she was his only relative in Heathridge, she had to hurry over.

Quinn struggled to get up, but she passed out just after taking a few steps.

She found herself in the hospital when she regained consciousness, feeling much better than the night before.

Upon remembering Thomas, Quinn pulled out the IV drip and prepared to leave. However, she was stopped by Nancy Jones, the nurse.

Nancy said, "Mr. York asked us to make sure you don't go anywhere, Ms. Sullivan. He's already dealing with your grandfather's situation. After he brought you to the hospital last night, he went straight to your grandfather."

Stella arrived shortly after Nancy finished speaking. "Nicholas told me you're in the hospital. He was worried so he called to ask me to take care of you.

"Nicholas has already rushed your grandfather to the best hospital for heart treatment. He's currently taking care of your grandfather over there, and I heard he hasn't gotten any rest. He even said he'll come to visit you later.

She continued, "He had also canceled your upcoming appointments—forking out a huge amount just for cancellation fees. To be honest, I'm starting to believe he really does love you."

Quinn chuckled bitterly when she heard Stella's words. Even she couldn't figure out what kind of feelings Nicholas had for her as well.

But even so, she hadn't changed her mind. Betrayal was still betrayal—and she had never been someone who could tolerate it.