I've spent the past seven years by Caleb Hale's side, but I don't have a proper identity. He doesn't seem interested in marrying me, either.

Later, he has plans to marry the daughter of the White family in a political marriage. They only have one condition—he must throw away the sandalwood bead bracelet he always wears.

Caleb doesn't even bat an eye as he says, "It's just a little trinket, and I've grown sick of it."

After that, he throws the bracelet into the annex from his balcony. Coincidentally, the annex later catches fire. Everyone is stunned to see me dash inside to retrieve the bracelet without a care for my safety.

Subsequently, someone in the online community reveals that I kneeled in the snow outside Highspire Hall to get that bracelet.

Caleb Hale and Hannah White were chatting when I brought the coffee to the balcony.

"It's just a string of sandalwood beads. Do you hate it that much?"

Lighting a cigarette, Caleb narrowed his eyes as he stared at Hannah.

"I never fancied these things. I wouldn't want to see it every day after we get married."

While holding a glass of wine, Hannah leaned forward and curved her lips.

"Are you perhaps reluctant to part with it, my dear fiancé?"

I didn't say anything as I subconsciously held my breath and awaited Caleb's reply.

What would he do?

He seemed to be stunned.

He frowned. Then, he touched his right wrist with his left hand out of habit.

For an instant, I thought he would decline.

However, he was expressionless as he said nonchalantly, "It's just an accessory. I've gotten tired of it, anyway."

With that, he casually tossed the bracelet from the balcony into the building nearby.

I bit my lip hard. After the painful sensation, the taste of iron began to spread in my mouth.

I could only feel my heart breaking as endless bitterness and pain welled up in my heart.

The string of sandalwood beads was a gift from me to Caleb.

Last year, some trouble had cropped up with the real estate Caleb's company invested in. An investor had embezzled the funds and escaped to Marisland.

For the sake of his company, Caleb had brought some men with him and gone to Marisland to go after the investor. Unfortunately, he had fallen into a trap there.

He had fallen off the grid for an entire three days.

The police had run out of options as well.

I had been beside myself with anxiety, and I had looked for solutions online. I had read somewhere that wishes had a very high chance of being fulfilled if they were made at Highspire Hall.

I immediately traveled overnight to Mountara, where Highspire Hall was. I had taken the three thousand stone steps to reach Highspire Hall while repeating the wish and prayer in my heart with every step I took.

It had been winter then, and it had even snowed heavily that day. I had remained outdoors as I wished and prayed throughout that night. The next day, I finally received news of his safe return.

Before leaving, I had asked for a blessed sandalwood bead bracelet from an elder in the hall.

The bracelet was said to warrant the wearer's safety and health, and it might bring some good luck too.

When I had returned, I had personally put it on Caleb's right wrist.

He had never taken it off in the past year or so.

At that moment, Caleb and Hannah had no clue about the thoughts in my mind.

Caleb had never acknowledged me in public all this while. In the eyes of the public, I was nothing more than his senior secretary who dealt with all his trivial matters.

Hannah's face was all smiles when she saw Caleb tossing away the bracelet without hesitation.

For an instant, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

How could such earnest wishes and blessings be tossed away just like that?

Suddenly, a pungent smell of unknown origin permeated the air.

Caleb subconsciously shouted.

Then, the butler's voice rang out.

"The wires in the next building short-circuited, and the building caught fire. I've already called the fire department. The situation isn't that serious, so everything is fine."

From our spot on the balcony, we looked up at the building beside us.

Sure enough, we saw smoke drifting from the building toward us.

Covering her nose, Hannah complained, "How long will they take to settle this? The smell is terrible!"

I couldn't be bothered to talk to them as I hastily walked toward the building.

Hannah glanced thoughtfully at me. Then, she spoke to Caleb.

"She's not trying to put out the fire, is she, Caleb?"

"She's not an idiot."

As soon as Caleb finished speaking, I dashed into the building.

"What! Is she out of her mind? Caleb, she's trying so hard to please you that she would even sacrifice her life for it!"

Of course, I didn't notice Caleb's movements as Hannah's voice rang out.

In that instant, he had a panicked and helpless expression on his face. He reached out as if to grab my wrist, but he missed it.

…

With all my might, I kicked down the door of the building.

There weren't many things in the building, so I immediately spotted the sandalwood bead bracelet that was tossed in through the window.

Fortunately, it was a small fire, so the fire hadn't reached that spot yet.

I walked over and picked up the bracelet.

I held it against my clothes and gave it a light rub.

Hannah's voice rang out at the door.

"Caleb, if I'm not mistaken, she's the woman you've been keeping by your side, right? That bracelet was a gift from her, wasn't it? She must've sensed danger when I stepped into your life. She's risking her life to gain sympathy from you! She's such a calculative woman…"

I smiled a little.

As long as the bracelet wasn't ruined, I didn't care about what anyone said.

This was a bracelet I had obtained with painstaking effort. I wouldn't allow it to be mercilessly burned just like that.

But just as I was turning around to leave, the chandelier on the ceiling swayed and came crashing down. It hit my arm and left a long gash in its wake.

Enduring the pain, I gritted my teeth and slowly made my way outside.

When I came out, Caleb's expression froze.

Then, he shouted angrily at me.

"Why would you risk your life for that stupid bracelet?"

I didn't say anything, but Hannah spoke up instead.

"She's trying to make you stay, Caleb. I can see that you two are in a complicated relationship. Maybe you should reconsider marrying me."

Hannah spoke nonchalantly and gave Caleb a teasing glance.

Caleb closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, he let out a loud sigh.

He seemed to be convincing himself to make a decision.

"She's nothing but a toy to me, and one that's quite worthless among many, too. I've been thinking of abandoning her, anyway. She can't possibly compare to you."

With that, he put his arms around Hannah, who was standing beside him. Then, he walked downstairs.

When they walked past me, he said coldly, "If you're thinking of pleasing me again, just don't. Take those stupid beads with you and get out of my life."

With that, he left with Hannah in his arms.

I stood where I was. I was stunned.

The siren sounds came closer. Several firefighters dashed onto the balcony in their equipment.

I had no idea how I made it back to my room.

The sky began to darken, but I didn't turn on the lights. I sat in the darkness for a very long time.

…

I had known Caleb since I was five.

When he had followed his dad to the orphanage to pick a beneficiary to fund, I had just been tricked into living at the orphanage by my aunt.

I used to sit in a corner and cry while hugging a short-legged teddy bear in my arms.

When Caleb had caught sight of me, he had asked his dad to pick me as the beneficiary who would receive their funds for education.

Back then, he had said that my eyes were as pretty as the stars.

From elementary school to high school, I had followed Caleb around. I had even applied for the same college as him even though my results far surpassed the minimum admission requirements.

Even after graduation, I had agreed to his request and stayed by his side as his lover for seven years.

I never slept a wink that night. At daybreak, I received a call from my best friend.

As it turned out, Caleb had asked the Public Relations Department to release a statement clearing up the scandals about us.

A video was attached to the statement. It was a video of Caleb being interviewed by journalists.

Caleb said that he never had any connections with me outside of work. Hannah was the one he loved, and he would only ever love Hannah in the future.

A single tear rolled down my face.

I knew that it was time for me to make a decision.

I thought about many things.

I recalled that Caleb seemed to have been very nice to me in the past.

Once when I was away on a business trip, he had traveled halfway across the globe to celebrate my birthday with me.

When I had a fever, he had not slept a wink throughout the night.

But now, he had taken back the nice treatment and given it to another woman.

Actually, it wasn't hard to tell whether he loved me or not.

Since that was the case, I decided that we should part ways in peace and never contact each other again.

…

I went to the reservoir and flung the string of sandalwood beads into the distance.

When I was leaving, it started to rain heavily out of the blue.

Putting on a smile, I held my coat over my head as I walked back in the rain.

The rain was heavy, and the wind was strong, too. I felt like I would freeze when the wind blew toward me.

A car pulled up in front of me.

A window was slowly lowered to reveal a face with a cold and hard expression on it.

It was Ryan Jackson, the president of the largest real estate company in Paxford.

I heard that he had gone abroad to Cascadia since college, and he had returned only recently.

He was known to be a decisive and ruthless man.

The resources and assets he owned were on par with the entirety of Hale Group.

I had met him once when I accompanied Caleb to an event a few days ago.

"Get in the car. Cabs can't come this far," Ryan said calmly.

I looked at the ride-hailing app on my phone.

None of the cabs had accepted my request.

After thanking Ryan in a low voice, I opened the car door and got in.

Ryan glanced at me before tossing a towel at me.

"Dry your hair," he said curtly.

He gripped the steering wheel with his left hand while his right hand held his phone. He seemed to be searching for the navigation app.

"Where should I send you to?"

This actually wasn't an easy question to answer.

I had been living in Caleb's villa all this while.

All my belongings were still at Caleb's place, anyway. Since I had decided to cut off all ties with him, I had to go to his place and move all my stuff out.

I said, "I still haven't retrieved my belongings, so please take me to the residential area Mr. Hale lives in."

Ryan didn't say another word as he started driving. Not long after that, he dropped me off in front of Caleb's villa.

I was about to get out of the car when Ryan called out to me.

"Why don't we work together, Ms. Lark? I can help you get away from Caleb, but you'll have to help me out, too."

Ryan spoke indifferently. He sounded casual as if he were just commenting on the weather.

"I need a marriage partner to stop the nagging from the elders in my family."

I stared at him in wide-eyed shock.

I couldn't even register what he was saying for a moment.

"A marriage partner?"

"Yes," Ryan said in confirmation.

After thinking for a bit, I smiled. "I'm sorry, Mr. Jackson, but I don't think I'm suited for the role. I can leave Caleb on my own."

With that, I moved to open the door and get out of the car.

Ryan didn't continue the topic. Instead, he handed a name card to me.

"I wish you the best of luck, Ms. Lark. Even if we don't end up working together, we can still be friends, right? This is my name card. If you need help, Ms. Lark, feel free to call me anytime."

After thinking about it for a bit, I decided to take the name card.

Then, I got out of the car and walked toward Caleb's villa.

The house was empty and too quiet for comfort.

I could barely believe that this was the same place that was usually filled with liveliness and frenzy.

When the butler saw me, he hastily said, "You're back, Ms. Lark…"

I nodded. I didn't say much to him as I went straight to my room on the second floor.

But as soon as I opened the door, Caleb came into view.

He was sitting on the suitcases I had packed before leaving in the morning. He was holding his phone in his hand as if he was waiting for a message or a call.