The day before I was ready to get my marriage license, my fiancée, James Frank, suddenly said he wanted to marry my best friend, Marion Dupont.

Under the weight of double betrayal, everyone was waiting to see me become a laughingstock. But Neil Brown, a famous art curator in London, suddenly appeared and confessed her feelings for me.

Without further ado, I married Neil. After our wedding, I gave up on my dream job which I had been working extremely hard to earn. Instead, I became the obedient woman, Mrs. Sophia Brown. I became the envy of the high society women.

At a business dinner, I went to pick up a drunk Neil and accidentally overheard his sister speaking about me with sympathy.

"Neil, the shopping mall you built for Marion is about to open, right? You’ve sacrificed so much to pave the way for her, even your marriage was part of the plan."

Neil replied bitterly, "As long as Marion is happy, I will remove all obstacles for her."

It turned out that all her love and affection had been a façade.

It turned out that I was just another pawn in their game.

So, I decided to let go and leave.

***

I rushed to the Langham Hotel with a bowl of hangover soup, accompanied by Alice Humphrey, Neil’s secretary.

The waiter informed me that Neil was resting in the VVIP room.

Before I pushed the door open, a strong smell of alcohol wafted out.

Through the door, I heard a familiar female voice, "Neil, the shopping mall you built for Marion will be open soon, right? Over the years, you’ve sacrificed so much for her, even your marriage was calculated. How long do you plan to deceive Sophia?"

I froze in confusion and just as I was about to step inside, I heard Neil’s slightly bitter voice, slurred with drunkenness.

"Well, as long as Marion stays happy, I can keep acting for the rest of my life."

"I will remove all obstacles for Marion."

It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck me. My hand stopped midair.

Beside me was my husband’s secretary, Alice, who wore a look of understanding and sympathy, glancing at me nervously. It turned out that everyone knew the truth, except me.

Everything stopped. The once-melodious cello music playing in the hotel now grated on my ears. I didn’t think my world could be the same anymore.

"Sophia loves you so much. What if she finds out the truth one day?"

"She will never know."

In the warm room, I shuddered.

I whispered to Alice, "Mr. Brown drank too much tonight. Bring it to him later. I'll wait for you in the car."

"And remember, don't say anything you shouldn’t."

I sat in the car, staring blankly at the starry sky ceiling.

Memories of the past flashed through my mind like a slideshow. Back then, my fiancée, James, had suddenly broken off our engagement, causing a scandal. Everyone had been eager to see me humiliated until Neil appeared and told me he had loved me for a long time.

At the center of the storm, I had been moved by her sincerity and chose to marry her. Our union had become a celebrated story in London’s high society.

Now, I saw the truth. This marriage, built on lies, was nothing more than a cruel joke.

Alice helped Neil into the car. My husband looked momentarily dazed before his dreamy eyes sharpened with clarity. The man then leaned his head on my shoulder.

"It was just a cocktail party. You could have let Alice pick me up."

"You easily get sick. Don’t force yourself, Sophia. There’s no need for you to go out of your way."

I forced a gentle smile as I told him, "I was just worried about you."

Neil held onto my arm and whispered, "The company’s new shopping mall opens tomorrow. I’ll probably be working late. Don’t wait up for me."

"The weather has been unpredictable lately. Take care of yourself."

That night, I tossed and turned as I was unable to sleep.

Then, I remembered something. I had left my headphones in the study. In the study, as I opened a drawer under the desk, a few pages of paper peeked out from the corner.

This never happened before. His drawer was usually locked. Eventually, the curiosity got to me.

I pulled the drawer and to my surprise, it actually opened.

Inside were the design drawings of all the new plots and shops that Neil’s company had developed and planned to develop in recent years, along with a necklace box.

I flipped through the drawings and examined them carefully. Suddenly, I noticed that the names and floors of these plots and shops and even some signs, all contained the word "Dupont" without exception, Dupont Shopping Mall, Dupont Community and Dupont Jewelry.

Although I was from the Department of Architecture, Neil had always said he had his own team and I had hardly interfered in the company’s affairs. It turned out that every corner of her business world depicted his endless love for Marion.

I opened the necklace box. It was empty, but the certificate was still there.

It was a necklace from the Cartier. The Cartier Sapphire and Diamond Necklace. I had always liked this necklace. Once, I had opened my phone and looked at it again and again.

However, I never wore it.

Once, Neil had glanced at it and said, “Sophia, a necklace worth 10 or 20 billion is too expensive and it’s too ostentatious to wear to school. How about I buy you a Chanel or Dior necklace instead?”

I recalled that just yesterday, in her social media post, Marion had been wearing this exact Cartier on her neck. Walking to the terrace, I felt the deep night air and the biting cold wind. My eyes stung, clouded with moisture.

My phone screen lit up and a message popped up.

[Miss Harris, are you sure you've made up your mind?]

I quickly replied.

[Yes. I've made up my mind.]

It was time to leave.

The next morning, as I was about to leave, I called Neil.

"I'm going to Italy tonight."

The man sounded surprised as he asked me, "Why so sudden?"

I swallowed the bitterness and pretended to be casual as I told him, "I’ve had a girl's trip with the socialites from New York to Italy. I’ll be back in 2 or 3 days."

He just kissed me gently on the cheek, oblivious to my sadness.

"Good. Enjoy your trip and shop happily."

I couldn't help but sigh at how deeply someone could pretend to be affectionate.

Since everything was a lie, I should completely withdraw from this farce.

I recalled the address of the newly opened shopping mall from the drawings and drove straight there. After today, I would disappear completely from Neil’s world. But first, I would see him for one last time.

At the shopping mall, a special section had been set up for the event and Neil stood out in the crowd. The man talked with every celebrity confidently.

As for Marion, the woman dressed seductively with the eyes as seductive as her clothes. She then raised her glass.

"Mr. Brown, congratulations!"

Neil’s eyes flickered with complicated emotions, but he clinked glasses with Marion and said, "Mr. Dupont, thanks to your first-class design, our Dupont Shopping Mall is stunning and has attracted so many customers on opening day."

My husband deliberately emphasized ‘our shopping mall’, making my heart tighten.

I walked toward them.

Neil's eyes flashed with surprise before he quickly restored his usual gentle expression.

"Why are you here?"

I forced a smile as I bombarded her with questions, "What’s wrong? Am I not welcome?"

Neil put down her glass, sensing that something was off, but he ignored it and responded, "Of course not, but I’m worried for your health. You often get sick in outdoor events."

Marion glanced at me with a meaningful look, smirking her big red lips.

At that moment, Alice the secretary told my husband, "Mr. Brown, it's almost time for your speech."

Neil turned to me as he said, "Take a seat and rest. I’ll be back soon."

With that, he hurried toward the stage.

I couldn’t help but take a piece of cheesecake and sat down.

Marion walked over arrogantly, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Long time no see, Sophia. My best friend."

Marion smirked.

"What? Are you checking up on me now?"

"How about tying Neil to your belt if you’re that jealous?"

"How does it feel to be the Mrs. Brown?"

"You'd better remember that you will always be defeated by me."

The woman laughed happily. With her sarcastic laugh, the Cartier necklace on her neck was somehow particularly dazzling. It really hurt me.

Marion and I had once been best friends. In fact, I thought that our bond was so strong that we had agreed to study architecture together. However, my fiancée at the time, James, broke off our engagement and married Marion instead, which caused a complete fallout between us.

The double betrayal of both friendship and love left me in unbearable pain. Just when I thought my life was shrouded in endless darkness, Neil appeared and brought light into my world. Everything felt very peaceful, initially.

After I decided to marry Neil, I was preparing for an international architecture competition when he suddenly said something to me, "Sophia, you don’t need to work to provide for your family. Just be my wife. I’ll make sure you and your family live happily”

I was deeply moved by his words and immediately sold my architectural design company. Not only that, I even gave up the competition altogether. In the end, the final champion of that international architecture competition was Marion.

Ever since then, my best friend became an internationally renowned architectural master, while I became the Mrs. Brown, who wasn’t really known by anyone. Looking back now, I finally realized that Neil had been clearing all obstacles for Marion from the very beginning.

I glanced up at the interior of the mall. The structural design was eerily familiar, so familiar that I suspected I was hallucinating. Yet, some areas had been remodeled in a strange way. My heart pounded violently.

There was a design drawing I had left untouched on my computer for years. Since giving up my architectural career, I had never opened it again. So, how had my long-forgotten design become Marion's? And how had Neil turned it into this shopping mall?

Suppressing my suspicions, I cast a cold glance at Marion. Just as I was about to speak, I heard her shout, "Sophia! What are you doing? Do you want me to get a miscarriage?"

"Ah!"

Before I could react, Marion suddenly collapsed to the ground. The woman clutched his calf with a twisted expression of pain. After that, the crowd gasped in shock.

"Quick! Call an ambulance!"

"Someone fell! Get a doctor!"

People gathered around and the eyes of those present were filled with judgmental stares as they turned to look at me. In the midst of the chaos, I saw an all-too-familiar figure.

"Marion!"

It was my wife, the woman whom I had shared a bed with for three years. Neil's face was full of concern as he rushed down from the stage. But what did he do?

He shoved me aside instead, crouched in front of Marion and asked her anxiously, "Are you okay?"

At that moment, the doctor arrived.

Neil carefully helped Marion onto the stretcher. Then, standing beside me, he tried to suppress the anger on her face as he said, "I know you two had a falling out, but you shouldn't have pushed her. Did you know she was recently pregnant?”

I stared at him as if I were seeing him for the first time.

My voice trembled slightly as I asked, "Why does this mall's design look exactly like the one in my computer?"

Neil frowned. "How would I know? What design drawing? Isn't architectural design all done with standard software? It's normal for them to look similar!"

I couldn't help but let out a bitter smile. Other than the nanny, he was the only one with access to my computer at home.

Sensing my displeasure and suspicion, he quickly changed the subject.

"Forgive me, Sophia. It seems that I’m just … panicked. I'm just worried this will affect our future business cooperation with the Dupont and Frank families."

"After all, Marion is still our chief designer and I don’t want you to run into trouble."

Seeing the unhappiness on my face, Neil softened her tone and gripped my hand tightly.

"Let's have lunch together at noon. I'll ask Alice to find a place. I'll come over after I finish dealing with things here."