My father suddenly fell gravely ill. Cason City was hit by an unprecedented blizzard. Recently, I broke my leg, and I could only pray that my fiancée, Mandy White, would drive me to the hospital.

A few minutes before we were supposed to leave, Mandy said something had come up at work and suddenly backed out.

I stood in the snow on crutches, utterly lost.

The streets were deserted. I couldn't even hail a cab. By the time I hobbled through the blizzard to the hospital, my father had already passed away.

That night, I knelt in front of my father's coffin and finally received a call from Mandy.

She was drunk, crying and repeatedly calling out the name of her childhood friend.

"Clark Smith, Clark..."

Before the call ended, I clearly heard Clark's voice on the other end.

At the darkest, most desperate moment of my life, Mandy was at her childhood friend's side, not leaving him for a moment.

My fingers trembled as I sent Mandy a message.

[Is this why you abandoned me?]

I waited in vain all night in the mourning hall. It wasn't until the next evening that Mandy replied.

[You can manage on your own, but he can't without me.]

***

[Mandy, our engagement is off.]

I had pursued Mandy for four years and been with her for three. From school to work, I had poured nearly all my time and energy into her. I always believed that if I worked hard enough, the clouds would eventually part, and the moon would shine through.

Mandy was a senior executive at her company, constantly busy with social engagements. Even at home, her meetings were back-to-back. I knew she had a strong personality and didn't want to depend on a man. Her health had never been great, and I didn't want to see her struggle so much, so I quit my million-dollar job to take care of her full-time.

Even my leg injury was a result of rushing to deliver her lunch and getting into a car accident.

I had kept quiet and stayed out of conflicts for seven years, but now all of that had become her excuse to leave me stranded in the blizzard and go running to her childhood friend.

I blocked Mandy and began to take care of my father's funeral arrangements.

I followed my father's last wishes and took care of everything. I stayed at the cemetery for a long time until the pain in my injured leg became unbearable. Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly saw Mandy and the man walking beside her, Clark.

"Clark, do you think Lucky would like it here?"

Mandy was holding a small urn in her arms.

I wanted to avoid them, but Mandy had already spotted me.

She paused, her brows furrowing slightly as if my presence there was a colossal mistake.

"What are you doing here?"

It was too much of a coincidence to run into each other in a place like a cemetery, so Mandy naturally assumed I had followed her here.

I didn't want to waste time with her, so I averted my gaze and tried to walk away, but Clark blocked my path.

His expression carried a hint of provocation.

"Don't misunderstand. Lucky, the cat Mandy and I raised together, passed away yesterday. I was worried she'd be upset if she didn't send Lucky off for the last time, so I called her."

I looked at Clark, not understanding why he was telling me all this. After all, Mandy and I were no longer connected.

"Do you need me to hold a funeral for your cat?"

"Jason Green, do you have to be so aggressive?"

As always, Mandy defended Clark. No matter who was at fault, the one who won in the end was always Clark.

In the past, I would have argued and explained, but now, I didn't have the slightest desire to speak to her.

She could think whatever she wanted. I was tired.

"Of course not, so I'm leaving."

I turned to leave. Behind me, Mandy stared at my back, looking a bit dazed.

This was the first time I had turned my back on her and walked away.

For once, Mandy left Clark behind and caught up to me.

"Why haven't you contacted me in so many days? How is Uncle?"

I had blocked Mandy for days. If she had sent me even one message, she would have noticed something was wrong, but she hadn't. And now, she wanted to take the moral high ground and criticize me as she always did.

"If you really cared, why didn't you reach out first?"

My tone was cold.

"I... I've been busy these past few days, and I didn't have time."

Perhaps she hadn't expected me, who had always been gentle and accommodating to her, to speak to her like this. For a moment, she was at a loss, and her explanation was weak at best.

I didn't want to waste any more time with her. I brushed past her, intending to leave.

She immediately grabbed my wrist.

"I didn't think things through this time. From now on, I'll inform you of everything I do. Please stop being angry, okay? Lucky just passed away, and I'm really sad."

She probably thought I was still sulking about her abandoning me and actually lowered herself to coax me.

Normally, I would have immediately said that it was my fault for being too temperamental and taken the blame.

But now, I said nothing. With my other hand, I pried her fingers off me, trying to leave.

What did a cat she raised with another man have to do with me?

Mandy finally lost her patience. Her tone turned cold as she lowered her voice, afraid that Clark would hear.

"Jason, you're already my fiancé. Why are you still competing with a sick man?"

Clark had a mental illness that occasionally recurred. Since Mandy and Clark were childhood friends who had been inseparable since they were little, both the Smith and White families felt that it was only natural for Mandy to take care of Clark.

I only found it laughable.

Love isn't about who's sick and who's right.

Seeing that I wasn't responding, Mandy's tone grew even colder.

"I've already apologized. What more do you want?"

"I don't want anything. I'm just tired and want to go back and rest."

"Jason, I grew up with Clark, and he hasn't been in a good state lately. His parents asked me to take care of him. Can't you stop being so petty?"

"Mandy, he's not in a good state, but do you think I'm in a good state right now?"

I calmly looked at Mandy. I was still on crutches, my beard unshaven for days, looking as haggard as one could be. Compared to Clark, I was the one who seemed to be on the verge of collapse and the one who needed care.

Mandy was silent for a moment.

I took the opportunity to break free from her hand and walked farther away.

Watching my retreating figure, Mandy only felt that something had slipped through her fingers, something she could never grasp again. She called her assistant.

"Assistant Fox, contact the best oncology experts in the country for a consultation and arrange surgery for Jason's father."

As I stepped out of the cemetery, my phone rang. It was the cemetery staff, informing me that someone wanted to move my father's urn to a different location.

I staggered back, leaning on my cane, my heart pounding.

We had all been aware of my father's illness, so we had chosen his burial plot together long before.

"No need to inscribe anything on my tombstone. The simpler, the better," my father had said.

He selected a spot next to a cluster of daisies, my mother's favorite flower. My family has a tendency towards romantic notions.

"Mandy, Lucky said it wants to be buried here too. We can just offer the deceased's family some extra money. After all, nothing in this world is worth more than gold, not even the dead. The family will agree for sure."

"What are you doing!?"

I screamed as I arrived, just in time to see Clark place the white cat's urn into the grave. The workers had already filled the soil.

My father's urn lay discarded to the side.

"Who gave you the right to do this?" I shouted, furious.

Clark was indifferent.

"The grave isn't for your dad. Why are you so worked up? Did you show up early to mourn?"

I shoved him aside and grabbed a shovel from a worker, frantically digging up the freshly covered grave.

"It's just a grave, Jason! What's wrong with you now?"

Mandy tried to stop me, wrestling the shovel from my hands.

"Mandy, don't touch me!" I pushed her away and continued digging with my hands.

Clark, seeing I was close to reaching the cat's urn, urgently signaled his bodyguards.

"What are you standing around for? Stop him! Lucky just found peace!"

The bodyguards pinned me down.

My cane was thrown far away, and my face was pressed into the damp earth.

Amid the chaos, someone stomped hard on my injured leg.

"Let them go," I spat at Mandy, glaring.

"Jason, you just pushed Clark. Apologize to him," she said coldly, eyes hard.

"You are dreaming!" I growled, wishing I could tear Clark apart.

He pretended not to notice, patting Mandy's shoulder.

"Let it go, Mandy. We all know what kind of person your fiancé is. After all these years, isn't it obvious he's just a worthless man living off a woman? This is your chance to see his true colors."

"My fiancé is none of your business," Mandy shot back.

And for a moment, Clark was taken aback.

Mandy looked at me, waiting for me to give in as I always did.

"Jason, we're getting married next month. Apologize to Clark, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened."

"I refuse, and I won't marry you either," I said, struggling to break free, but it was useless.

"Jason, I've been too lenient with you. Clearly, you haven't been taught a proper lesson."

Mandy sneered, pulling out her phone, ready to threaten me as she had before.

She had done such things. She had once refused to come home for a month and let the paparazzi snap photos of her outings with Clark, all to make me apologize to him, turning me into a public laughingstock.

But now, I didn't need her anymore. She no longer had any leverage over me.

"Assistant Fox, halt Jason's father's surgery consultation," she ordered, calm and composed.

I looked at Mandy calmly.

Over the years, I had exhausted my contacts taking care of Mandy. When my father first fell ill, I had begged her to arrange for a specialist consultation, but she had ignored me, embroiled in a cold war with me over Clark, which led to my father missing his best chance for treatment.

From beginning to end, she always knew what I cared about the most.

But what mattered to me meant nothing to her.

"Jason, apologize to Clark, and I'll have the consultation resumed for your father," she said, her voice icy.

I clenched my fists tightly.

"Mandy, if I don't apologize, are you really going to let my father die?"

After a long pause, she answered.

"Yes."

She saw the despair in my eyes and signaled the bodyguards to release me.

Clark, unwilling to give up, stepped forward, interrupting her just as she was about to speak again.

"I thought he was so filial. I remember how he barged into the conference room to get you to find a doctor for his dad, ruining a multi-million-dollar deal in the process. But it seems like he's just been playing the pity card under the guise of seeking treatment."

As he spoke, Clark picked up my father's urn and carelessly toyed with it.

"Jason, are you really going to this extent over a stranger's ashes? Aren't you taking this act a bit too far?"

"Don't touch him!"

I roared, summoning a surge of strength from nowhere. I broke free from the bodyguards and lunged at Clark, landing a punch to his face, trying to snatch the urn back.

Reacting instinctively, Mandy pulled Clark aside. The urn, kicked violently, fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Pale ashes scattered, mixing with the pristine white snow of the cemetery.

I knelt down in the snow in despair, gasping for breath, unable to utter a word.

Desperately, I tried to gather the ashes, my fingers numb from the cold. But the snow began to fall again, quickly covering the ashes.

Clark's face was bruised from my punch. Mandy, seeing his injury, finally lost her temper.

"Jason, do you think you can avoid consequences forever?"

Years ago, I had pursued Mandy with a fervor that was the talk of the school. From high school to university, everyone knew there was a boy named Jason trailing after Mandy like a devoted dog, ready to serve her at a moment's notice, without a shred of dignity.

Mandy had heard the rumors too, but she never said much about them.

I was a fool to believe her when she claimed Clark was just a friend.

Mandy picked up her phone.

"Assistant Fox, cancel the surgery!"

After a moment of hesitation, Assistant Fox finally spoke.

"President White, Jason's father has already passed away."

"I just found out. His father is buried in the same cemetery as Lucky. The family of the grave you asked me to contact earlier, without a tombstone, belongs to Jason."

"What did you say?"

Mandy looked at me in disbelief.

"Yes, your cat and Mr. Smith's cat took over Jason's father's grave."

I sat numbly in the snow, carefully retrieving my father's ashes mixed with snow and placing them back into the box.

Mandy, her eyes red with tears, walked over.

"I'll help you look."

I suddenly shook her hand off forcefully.

"Don't touch my dad!"

I rasped, my voice hoarse. Mandy reached out to wipe my tears, but I pushed her away.

She stood there, at a loss, watching me.

"I'm sorry, Jason, I didn't know."

"Leave."

I looked at Mandy, my eyes devoid of any emotion.

"I don't want to see you anymore."

Clark came and took Mandy away in his arms.

I sat in the snow for a long time before finally finishing the task of relocating my father's ashes. Just as I was about to leave, I noticed the cat's urn nearby.

It turned out they didn't care much about the cat after all.

All my belongings were at Mandy's place. Late that night, when I pushed the door open to return, I found Mandy waiting for me, not knowing how long she had been there.

As soon as she saw me, she hurried over.

"You must be hungry. I made some food," Mandy said, biting her lip nervously. "All these years, you've always taken care of me. I never knew what you liked to eat. But from now on, I'll learn to cook what you love. I also contacted the best cemetery in the city. Tomorrow, we'll move your father's grave there."

"Mandy, there's no need."

When I loved her, she was cold and indifferent. Now that I no longer loved her, she was the one eager to please.

I had already rented a new place and was moving out tomorrow. Tonight, I just wanted to pack my things and get some sleep.

After hearing my words, Mandy softened her stance even further.

"Jason, I promise I'll never contact Clark again."

Just as she finished speaking, her phone rang.

It was Clark's exclusive ringtone.

Mandy quickly hung up, trying to show her resolve.

"I'm tired. I'm going to sleep."

I let out a snort of laughter and turned to go back to my room.

It was the first time I'd seen her like this. In the past, I would have felt like I had finally managed to warm a stone, but now I didn't have any energy left to waste on her.

The next morning, Mandy was already gone when I got up. She was at a critical point in her career and couldn't afford to let personal issues affect her work.

Mandy had always been good at keeping her personal and professional lives separate.

As the movers packed up my things, I received a call from Mandy.

"Tonight is our company's anniversary party. The boss will announce my promotion to vice president. Come with me."

I looked at the boxes of my belongings and felt a headache coming on.

"No, you go by yourself."

"You have to come with me. Haven't you always wanted me to acknowledge our relationship? Tonight, during my speech, I'll announce that you're my fiancé."

Very few people knew about my relationship with Mandy. Everyone just knew she had a mysterious fiancé that no one had ever seen.

Every time I wanted her to make our relationship public, Clark would suddenly have one of his episodes, and the announcement would be postponed again and again.

For all these years, I had been the boyfriend Mandy kept hidden, someone she was ashamed to acknowledge.

I used to yearn for the title of Mandy's boyfriend, but now I couldn't care less.

Late love is cheaper than grass.

Not wanting to waste time on Mandy's affairs, I hung up the phone.

But that night, I still showed up at her company's anniversary party.

My best friend was handling the event planning for Mandy's company and was short on staff. He asked if I could come and help out.

He rarely asked me for favors, so I knew he must really be in need. I agreed.

At the banquet, just as I finished confirming the event flow, I spotted Mandy not far away.

She seemed anxious, scanning the crowd for someone. When she saw me, she visibly relaxed.

She walked over in her high heels.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming?"

"I'm here to work."

Mandy clearly didn't believe my explanation. She stubbornly thought I still couldn't let go of her.

"The wedding dress I ordered has arrived. Let's go try it on this weekend."

I suddenly remembered that our wedding was just a month away.

Fortunately, we didn't have any shared assets. Otherwise, sorting things out would have been a hassle.

"Mandy, we..."

She interrupted me.

"The wedding planner sent the itinerary and details in the group chat. Make sure to check it out."

"Mandy, my father didn't agree to our marriage."

Mandy had never known that my father never wanted me to marry her. He had suffered in his youth, being abandoned by my mother, which left him heartbroken and led to their divorce. He didn't want me to follow the same path.

"That was his dying wish."

I added.

"Tonight at the banquet, I'm going to announce you're my fiancé."

Mandy's stubbornness was frightening.

"You won't succeed," I shrugged.

Just then, my best friend walked over, surprised to see me with Mandy.

"Jason, do you know Ms. White?"

"No."

"Yes."

Our answers came at the same time.

Mandy's smile froze.

I explained, "We just met."

"Miss White, this is the person I've always praised to you, Jason. If it weren't for his obsession with taking care of his never-seen fiancée, with his abilities, he'd already be a leading figure in Aegon City's business world."

Mandy looked at me, a little taken aback. She probably never realized what I had given up for her.

She never really paid attention to me. Back in university, I had already secured a position with one of Aegon City's top companies, but I gave up that opportunity for her, choosing instead to work at a more relaxed company to take care of her.

After a few more words with Mandy, my best friend and I walked away.

He pulled out a contract from his bag and handed it to me.

"Jason, I know things haven't been easy for you these past few years. I'm thinking of starting my own company. Would you be willing to help me out?"

The contract he gave me offered a generous salary, and given his current resources and connections, starting a business wouldn't be a problem.

I had no reason to refuse.

"Alright, but I don't want a salary. If it succeeds, give me a share of the profits. If it doesn't, you owe me a favor."

My best friend knew I was trying to ease his burden and patted me on the back, his eyes reddening.

Halfway through the banquet, Clark finally arrived and went straight to Mandy.

As soon as she saw him, she hurried over to me.

"Jason, don't get the wrong idea. I didn't invite him," Mandy explained to me.

I didn't understand why she was explaining this to me. We had already broken up. There was no need for it.

At the end of the banquet, Mandy went on stage to give a speech, while Clark sat in a corner, looking at her with adoration. I picked up two glasses of champagne and walked over to him.

"Want a drink?"

I shook the cup.

"I love Mandy," Clark declared, not bothering to hide his intentions.

"You're just a worthless nobody. Stay away from her, or I'll make sure you disappear from Aegon City."

I smiled and handed him the drink.

"If you were really capable, you would have made me disappear by now," I replied indifferently. Clark glared at me, seething.

He really didn't dare to touch me.

"So what? Mandy still comes running to me with just one call."

"But her parents will never let someone with a mental illness become her husband."

I swirled my glass.

"I'm not sick!" Clark snapped, his eyes blazing. "I've been faking it!"

I wasn't surprised.

"Then we'll see who wins."

I said, turning to leave.

On stage, Mandy was looking intently at me in the corner.

"Today, I have something important to announce to everyone."