I didn't know how long I'd been walking. The sky had steadily turned dark, and when I finally stopped, I found myself standing outside the shopping mall in the city center.

The large LED billboard on the side of the shopping mall was plastered with a congratulatory message addressed to Andrew and me for our upcoming wedding.

Not only that, countless drones flew around in the sky, their lights shifting constantly as they formed scenes from memories that Andrew and I shared together.

There was one of him crouching down to tie my shoelaces, one of us watching the sunrise together after staying up all night, and even the romantic moment when he'd gotten down on one knee to propose to me.

Every single scene seemed to be a testament to how much he loved me and how happy we were together.

After displaying the various scenes, the last of the drone formations was a sentence.

"I love you, JS."

All of a sudden, someone covered my eyes.

I didn't even realize when Andrew had appeared behind me.

"Are you upset, Joanna?" he asked softly. "Weren't you the one who told me to think of Celine as a sister?

"Alright, alright. It's my fault you're upset, so please stop being upset, okay?"

The thought of how he'd held Celine with these very same arms not too long ago made my stomach churn.

Pointing at the drones in the sky, Andrew said, "I prepared all of this as a surprise for you. Do you like it?"

The passersby around us were cheering for us as they looked on enviously, but I knew the truth—the deception that was hidden behind this picture of bliss.

Even now, as I went along with it and leaned into Andrew's arms, absent-mindedly responding to him, I met Celine's gaze. She was standing not too far away from us.

Despite looking so perfectly harmless and innocent, she couldn't hide the jealousy and greed in her eyes.

I was just too much of a fool for having treated her like a sister all this while.

When the drone show ended and the crowd began to scatter, one of the drones abruptly malfunctioned and started plummeting straight down.

With the quickest of reflexes, Andrew immediately dashed away from me and hugged Celine, shielding her as they both fell to the ground. He'd been so frantic that he didn't even notice he'd knocked me off my feet as well.

He quickly checked Celine for injuries, saying, "It's alright, Celine. Don't be scared. Does it hurt anywhere?"

Celine cupped her knee and scrunched her face up in pain, but she said, "My knee hurts a bit, but it's fine, Andy. You should check on Joanna instead."

At last, Andrew thought me. He explained, "Celine is your sister, Joanna. It's my responsibility to help you take care of her.

"Don't worry. Just stay here. I'll send my driver over to pick you up later. I need to take Celine to the hospital first."

The moment he finished speaking, he scooped up Celine in his arms and left without any hesitation.

Just moments ago, the massive square outside the shopping mall had been crowded with people. Now, there was barely anyone in sight.

After massaging my swollen ankle, I slowly walked over to where Celine had been standing earlier and picked up an earring that had fallen onto the ground.

The irregularly shaped gemstone sparkled in the light. It was the work of a famous jeweler from a small town in Frenovia.

I was lucky enough to own a ring he made, and I adored it very much. A year ago, when Andrew went to Frenovia for work, I'd asked him to get me a pair of earrings from the same jeweler.

Well, now I knew that he hadn't forgotten to do that. He'd simply given it to Celine instead.

My fingers tightened around the earring. The sharp pin pierced into my skin, but I didn't even feel the pain.

…

I waited late into the night without ever seeing any sign of the driver Andrew was supposedly sending for me, so I went home alone.

At noon the next day, Andrew finally came looking for me. "Why did you come home alone yesterday, Joanna? My driver said he couldn't find you." He seemed to be in high spirits.

As I stared at the turtleneck sweater he was wearing, I asked, "Isn't it too hot to be wearing a turtleneck sweater in this weather? And by the way, what time did your driver show up at the shopping mall?"

Andrew tugged at his collar awkwardly, and I spotted the hickeys on his neck. "He arrived not long after Celine and I left, of course. Anyway, if you leave by yourself next time, let me know. Don't make me worry about you.

"As for this sweater, well, fashionable people like us don't let things like weather stop us from dressing well. I look good, right?"

After forcing a weak smile, I turned my head away. I was worried that I might start shedding tears if I kept looking at him.

I could no longer tell which of Andrew's words were true. Every single sentence out of his mouth and every look he gave me felt like a lie—an attempt to deceive me.

Andrew's phone buzzed several times, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the sender's profile picture. It was a photo of Celine.

Smiling, he tapped out a reply before looking at me. "I've got something to do at the office, Joanna, so I'll be off. I'll come and pick you up later for our pre-wedding party."

Once Andrew disappeared from view, I rubbed my teary eyes and checked the latest message I received on my phone. It was from W.

"I've found the drug you asked for, miss."

I was only 16 years old when my parents passed away. The Sherman family's vast business empire had fallen onto the shoulders of a teenage girl who knew nothing about the business world.

The only reason why Sherman Group had managed to run smoothly till now was because I had a wonderfully capable person helping me, and that person was W.

At first, W managed the entire Sherman Group for me, ensuring that the company my parents left to me didn't end up in the hands of people with ulterior motives.

It was only within the last two years, after I'd grown up and learned enough to assume the responsibilities myself, that he'd slowly relinquished control of the company back to me.

We hadn't been in touch for quite a while now, but I'd reached out to him this time and asked him to help me find a kind of drug that could help me fake my death.

…

At the pre-wedding party, Celine came up to me with a cocktail in hand. As she blinked her innocent eyes at me, she said, "Congratulations on your wedding in advance, Joanna."

Smiling, I tapped my glass against hers and said, "Thanks."

I hadn't even used any force, but somehow, her glass tilted toward her and splashed the booze all over her dress.

Celine stared at me, looking all lost and helpless as the women around us mockingly laughed.

One of them, Irina Carter, was a childhood friend of mine. She'd always found Celine detestable. She said, "If she can't even hold a cocktail properly, I wonder if she'll be able to hold onto her husband when she marries into the Wright family."

"I can't believe someone's trying to steal the thunder at Joanna's pre-wedding party. If she wants attention so much, she should throw a party of her own!"

"She's probably worried that no one would even want to attend her party."

Andrew rushed over, his face tight with concern. "Joanna! Celine didn't do it on purpose. You're her sister! How can you just stand there and let everyone else mock her?

"I remember you have a spare gown prepared. I'll take Celine over to get changed."

Irina wanted to stand up for me, but I stopped her with a look before saying to Andrew, "Go ahead. The gown is in the lounge upstairs."

After seeing that my expression hadn't changed at all, Andrew said, "I know you're even more worried about Celine than I am. Don't worry. We'll be right back."

At that moment, it suddenly occurred to me that whenever Celine was in any sort of trouble, Andrew would always handle things under the guise of doing it on my behalf.

This explained why he seemed so unusually practiced at it, even when it extended far beyond the realm of propriety.

In the past, I'd used to think he was an attentive and thoughtful man. But now, I realized that I was merely the catalyst for their budding romance.

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh. It felt as though every inch of my body was in pain.

When Celine came back, her cheeks were flushed, and her lipstick was smeared.

"Thanks for your gown, Joanna. Or else, I would've embarrassed myself." She reached out to loop her arm through mine as she always did.

Instinctively, I stepped back to avoid her.

Caught off guard, she couldn't pull back in time, so she ended up grabbing onto Irina, who'd been standing behind me.

Startled, Irina quickly flung Celine off.

Celine crashed into the dessert table beside us and ended up with cake frosting all over her. The fresh gown had also ripped as a result of the fall.

As Celine hugged her revealed body, she started to wail.

Andrew marched over and threw his suit jacket around Celine, making sure she was completely covered up. "What's the meaning of this, Joanna? It's the second time tonight!"

"She fell by herself. What does it have to do with me?" I asked in puzzlement.

However, Andrew could no longer hide her anger nor his bias toward Celine. "You've always cared a great deal about the quality of your clothing. Why would this gown rip so easily, huh?

"And what about the cocktail from earlier? It never would've spilled on her if you hadn't tapped her glass so forcefully!

"You're just trying to humiliate her on purpose! I never expected you to be capable of doing such a thing!"

I opened my mouth, but I had no idea how to defend myself. My throat tightened, and I couldn't speak.

Meanwhile, Celine looked ghostly pale. With great effort, she raised her hand, revealing the fork that had stabbed into her palm. "Andy, it hurts so much…"

Andrew gasped. His eyes turned red with fury as he roared at me, "Apologize to Celine! How can you bully your own sister like that, Joanna? I demand an apology from you!"

I looked him in the eye for a whole 20 seconds, and it felt like the longest 20 seconds of my life.

As I did so, a series of memories flashed through my mind. They were memories of him saying he loved me, him promising to take care of me forever after my parents passed away, us dreaming about our future together…

But now, the only emotion in his eyes was his hatred for me.

I lost. I was the first to look away.

After seeing that I wasn't speaking at all, Andrew yanked me over with a forceful jerk.

As I stumbled over the hem of my gown, I fell onto a heap of cake and frosting. Beneath it was a layer of shattered porcelain.

My palms and calves were all stinging with pain.

Startled, Andrew reached down to pull me up, but the moment Celine yelped in pain, he paid no further attention to me. Frowning, he picked Celine up instead and walked off without even looking back.

As the guests muttered and traded suspicions with each other, my vision turned dark, and I crashed onto the floor.

…

The next time I saw Andrew was the morning of the wedding.

When he saw me in my wedding dress, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. Then, as if nothing had ever happened, he took my hand and led me to the car.

His eyes were filled with tender affection as he said, "You look beautiful, Joanna."

Through the veil, I looked at him and said, "Congratulations on your wedding, Andrew."

Once I was gone, I was sure his wish would be granted.

I closed my eyes and took the drug that would help me fake my death.

I didn't want to marry Andrew anymore, and I didn't want to marry the heir of the Wright family either. By the time I regained consciousness, everything would probably be over.

…

The next morning, chaos reigned outside the Wright residence.

Andrew had come looking for me with his men in tow. "Where's Joanna? Give me back my wife! Didn't you Wrights even notice that you guys got the wrong bride? If Joanna has even as much as a nick on her finger, you can forget about ever working with the Hammonds again!

"Where the hell is everyone? Bring Joanna out at once!"

At last, someone opened the door and emerged from the house. It was Hugo Wright, the heir of the Wright family.

His calm, indifferent expression on his face seemed more like a provocation to Andrew.

Celine had already safely left. Now that Andrew was only a step away from having his plan be a complete success, he felt an inexplicable sense of jitters and unease.

Then, he heard Hugo say, "Ms. Sherman suffered from a heart attack during the ride over to the Wright residence, Mr. Hammond. I'm afraid the doctors failed to save her. She has passed away."

There was a brief silence before Andrew let out a booming laugh and flipped over the coffee table, smashing it. "Don't give me that bullshit!"

Alas, once he saw Hugo's reaction, he knew it was unlikely that Hugo was lying to him.

Andrew had never felt as agitated as he did now. He frantically followed Hugo, who led him to my body.

With great difficulty, he extended a finger and placed it under my nose.

He felt nothing. It seemed like I was genuinely dead.

Andrew fell to his knees with a loud thump, his tears dripping onto my face.