At the engagement banquet, Ethan learned that his first love was being forced into an arranged marriage with his blind rival.

Without hesitation, he rushed to register a marriage certificate with her.

That very afternoon, the two flew to Iceland for their honeymoon.

Their childhood love, so touching and profound, went viral across the internet.

Meanwhile, I became the disgraceful third party who had interfered in their love, suffering such intense cyberbullying that I couldn’t even step out of my house.

Unexpectedly, that blind rival of Ethan showed up at my door.

"I’ve always been one to repay grievances in full. Since that brat Ethan stole my fiancée, I’ll just have to steal his woman. A fair trade requires reciprocity, Miss Shaw. Would you be willing to register a marriage with me?"

I glanced at the trending search, where their romantic kiss under the aurora was all over the internet.

Without hesitation, I handed my household registration booklet to the man before me.

——

Even after receiving the marriage certificate, I still couldn't believe I had just entered a flash marriage.

Moreover, my husband was not Ethan, my boyfriend of eight years, but Henry, someone I had only met a few times, who had once stood on the opposing side.

"Once the certificate is issued, there's no backing out. When are you moving in?"

Realizing what he meant, my face instantly heated up. Luckily, he couldn’t see it.

"Half a month. I still need some time to pack."

Henry nodded. "That works. Half a month is enough time to prepare for our wedding. Buy whatever you like!"

He stuffed a black card into my hand, his flushed ears betraying the excitement he tried to hide.

I pressed my lips into a smile, thinking it was not a bad start.

Ten days into my honeymoon, Ethan finally remembered to call me.

"My flight lands at 3 PM. Come pick me up."

There was no explanation and no acknowledgment as if nothing had ever happened.

Yet for the past ten days, the internet had been abuzz with updates about his honeymoon with Cynthia. Every sweet moment was broadcast in real time.

I watched them wrapped in each other's arms at the Blue Lagoon, sharing a passionate kiss under the aurora, making vows of eternal love on the black sand beach.

He had taken someone else first to all the places I had once dreamed of visiting for my honeymoon.

"I'm busy. Get a taxi."

Once upon a time, no matter when or where, just one word from him was enough for me to drop everything and run to his side without hesitation.

Ethan fell silent for a moment before letting out a cold snort and hanging up.

At this point, I thought this was an unspoken breakup between two adults. But when I got home that evening, I found him sitting on the sofa in a bathrobe.

Seeing me, he casually lifted his gaze as if nothing had happened.

"The house is pretty tidy without me around."

Over the past few days, I had thrown away many things related to Ethan.

The couple's photo of us that once hung in the living room was now gone, yet he didn't seem to notice.

He pointed at a paper bag on the table.

"A gift for you. Take a look."

I glanced at it. It was a pile of broken seashells, some still covered in mud.

Just moments ago, Cynthia had been flaunting on social media that Ethan had gifted her a massive Ocean Star gemstone.

With the help of internet sleuths, I finally understood that all the so-called heartfelt gifts I had received over the years were nothing more than discarded trash.

On Valentine’s Day, he gave Cynthia a limited-edition designer bag, while I got a heart folded from wrapping paper.

On her birthday, he lit up the entire city with fireworks, yet took me to a street stall for skewers on mine.

Every holiday, he claimed work kept him too busy to meet my parents, when in reality, he was dining with Cynthia’s family instead.

"Mr. Hill, you're a married man now. Isn’t it inappropriate to show up at my place in the middle of the night?"

A flicker of guilt flashed across Ethan’s face.

"Wendy, I only did this to help Cynthia. Henry is cold, ruthless and blind. I couldn’t just stand by and watch Cynthia jump into the fire. Marrying her was just a temporary measure. After some time, I'll separate from her."

He had already come up with his excuse.

"Mr. Hill, I have no interest in being the third party. Please leave."

From the moment he abandoned me at the engagement banquet, we were already over.

Ethan’s face darkened. "Wendy, can you stop being so selfish? Cynthia was worried you'd be heartbroken, so she asked me to come back and keep you company. And this is how you repay her kindness? If you were sensible, I could come and keep you company on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. After all, Cynthia and I are married, so I should spend more time with her."

A bitter feeling rose in my heart. Eight years of love, only to end up as a hidden mistress.

"Ethan, we're breaking up!"

Ethan's face darkened, with a faint hint of anger. "Wendy, are you taking my kindness for granted? It’s just a piece of paper, why are you making such a fuss? Before we had that piece of paper, you still let me sleep with you for eight years. Now you're being all dramatic? If it weren't for you begging me in bed, saying you couldn't live without me, do you think I'd still want you? At your age, you're still playing hard-to-get games. How pathetic is that?"

I was shaking with rage.

He had been the one who stubbornly pursued me back then, the one who drunkenly cried and asked me to help ease his pain.

Now, he married Cynthia, turning me into a joke in everyone's eyes and yet he blames me for being selfish and inconsiderate.

"Ethan, we're done. From now on, you live your life and I'll live mine. We have nothing to do with each other."

Ethan was furious. He grabbed the bag of broken seashells and slammed it onto the ground, shattering it into pieces.

"Wendy, you still want to marry someone else? In this circle, everyone knows you’ve been with me for eight years. You're already used up. Who would want an old spinster like you?"

In the tense silence, the bathroom door suddenly opened.

Cynthia stepped out, wrapped in a bath towel, barefoot.

I immediately stopped breathing.

At the engagement banquet, Ethan had answered a call and rushed off. Over the past few days, I had been watching their displays of affection online.

Now, I wasn’t sure if it was more pain, bitterness, or anger I felt.

This house was bought when Ethan and I were deeply in love, each of us contributing half the money. He said it would be our love nest, a place filled with our happy memories.

"Wendy, don't blame Ethan, he was just trying to help me. If you must blame someone, blame me. I'm the one who's unnecessary..."

She said as she reached out to grab my hand.

I instinctively pulled my hand away, not even touching her, yet she let out a cry and fell to the ground.

Before I could react, Ethan slapped me, knocking me to the ground.

The sharp pain in my hand was immediate. The broken seashells on the floor pierced deeply into my palm and blood began to drip, splattering onto the ground.

"Are you okay, Cynthia?"

He turned around and glared at me with disgust.

"If anything happens to Cynthia, I won't let you off easily!"

He hurriedly carried Cynthia downstairs and rushed to the hospital.

I struggled to stand up, looking around the house I had lived in for eight years, feeling like it was strangely unfamiliar.

On my bed, the sheets were wrinkled, a torn black stocking was draped over the edge and the floor was littered with used tissues. The air was filled with a disgusting smell.

I hurried out, tears streaming down my face uncontrollably.

It was filthy and now even the house felt dirty.

There were too many broken seashells stuck in my palm, so I had no choice but to take a taxi to the hospital.

I purposely chose a hospital far from home, but as fate would have it, I ran into Ethan and Cynthia.

Cynthia was holding her hand, which hadn’t even been broken and crying out in pain.

Ethan, in his usual gentle manner, picked her up and sat her on his lap, carefully asking the doctor for any precautions.

When we first got together, he had been just as anxious for me.

One night, when I had a fever, he was so flustered that he didn’t even put on shoes, only realizing later that his foot had been cut by glass after confirming that I was safe.

“Wendy, you are my precious. I can’t bear to see you get hurt.”

As I walked out, I happened to bump into him just as he was entering.

“Wendy, Ethan was just accompanying me to check my injury. Are you so restless that you had to follow us here?”

Ethan gave me a contemptuous look. “Weren’t you just saying how we’re broken up? What are you doing now? Wendy, you're too shameless! If you dare hurt a single hair on Cynthia again, I won’t be polite with you!”

I raised my hand, now stained with blood. “Look at the injury, move aside!”

Ethan froze in place, a flash of guilt passing through his eyes.

“Wendy, is the injury serious?”

He tried to come inside but was interrupted by Cynthia’s scream.

“Cynthia, my hand hurts so much…”

Ethan no longer paid attention to me, quickly turning around and carrying Cynthia away.

The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I received a message from Henry, asking me to make time to try on the custom wedding ring.

After freshening up, I was surprised to see Ethan carrying breakfast into the room.

“You must be starving. Come eat!”

It was a basket of crab roe buns and a bowl of pumpkin porridge. One caused an allergy and the other was something I absolutely hated.

"Take the day off today. It's the changing of seasons, let me take you shopping for some new clothes."

It was the same old routine. He gave a little treat after a blow, something he often did over the years.

However, when the time actually came, he took the back seat. "Today, you drive. I didn’t rest well last night."

I looked at my hand, wrapped in bandages and couldn’t help but mock myself silently.

In the rearview mirror, he held his phone, a faint smile playing on his lips.

It wasn’t until the car stopped and he saw the sign of the jewelry store outside, that his expression immediately darkened.

He blocked my way at the door, his face full of displeasure.

“Wendy, I’ve told you before, let’s wait a bit. Why do you have to force me like this? I’m just getting a certificate with Cynthia, not holding a wedding. No one knows. Once the fuss dies down, we’ll quietly get a divorce.”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted. "Ethan, do you think this diamond ring is pretty?"

Cynthia was wearing a one-carat diamond ring, raising her hand and acting coquettishly towards Ethan.

Ethan immediately put on a smile.

"As long as you like it, it's beautiful. Our wedding is in five days. Can I buy this one as our wedding ring?"

I paused in my tracks, just in time to catch Ethan turning his head awkwardly.

His words were all lies. But it didn’t matter; in five days, it would be my wedding too. It seemed to confirm the idea of men and women marrying, each going their own way.

The waiter carefully brought over the ring that Henry had ordered. It was a pink diamond, the only one of its kind in the world, stunning and dazzling.

Cynthia's eyes were full of greed as she looked at the ring on my hand.

"Wendy, I really like the ring on your hand. Can I try it on?"

The nearby waiter immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry, but this ring has already been reserved. Would you like to look at something else?"

Cynthia's eyes turned red in an instant.

"Wendy, do you know about our wedding in five days and are you deliberately teaming up with the staff here to make trouble? I really like this ring. I just want to experience what it feels like to be a bride. Can't you just let me try it on?"