During a charity gala, my boyfriend bids on a pair of matching watches but gives one of them to his true love.

The media excitedly capture the scene and ask, "You bought a million-dollar watch without even batting an eye, Mr. Loewe. You've been single all these years—is it time for you to make an official announcement on your relationship status?"

Everyone off stage applauds him, and I join them. I give him my blessings for his so-called announcement.

To make it up to me, he attends my birthday celebration. Yet he pushes me into the cake to make his true love happy.

Unbeknownst to him, there's a steel rack in the cake to keep it steady. I end up bloodied and on the brink of death.

The first light of dawn broke gently.

By the time we left the charity gala, Xander Loewe was already slightly tipsy. His face was flushed, and he was a little unsteady on his feet.

He tentatively asked me, "Cynthia, it's getting really late. How about we skip your birthday for now? We can celebrate another day. Doesn't make a difference, does it?"

It was already past midnight.

Maybe he was right. There was no point in celebrating my birthday anymore.

But wasn't he the one who said this charity gala was crucial for his career? That he couldn't excuse himself but would absolutely come to see me after the event to make it up to me?

And yet, what did he do?

He spent millions at the auction to buy a pair of matching watches and slipped one onto his first love—Natasha Stellar's—wrist.

I had so many questions on the tip of my tongue, yet I couldn't bring myself to ask them.

For instance, why did he buy matching watches for Natasha?

Or why didn't he clarify things with the media?

He always had excuses, and somehow, in the end, I would always be the one accused of being unreasonable.

At this very moment, Natasha was throwing a tantrum at him.

"What do you take me for? You know I'm struggling right now, and you deliberately give me these. You're trying to humiliate me, aren't you? Is that it? Sure, I majored in philosophy, and it doesn't make money, but my soul is richer than anyone's!"

Xander explained, looking wronged, "That's not it, Natasha. I just wanted you to be happy..."

How touching.

It was a perfect scene straight out of a drama—the cold CEO and the lofty intellectual.

I didn't say anything as I got into the car.

My friends and family were already waiting for me.

Xander might be absent, but I couldn't let everyone down.

As I impassively downed glass after glass of wine, my best friend, Mia Gardner, gingerly asked, "Cynthia, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I forced a smile. "Don't worry about me. Just enjoy yourselves."

It was just a case of a broken heart, that's all.

But unexpectedly, Xander showed up with Natasha following right behind him just as I was about to cut the cake.

They were both wearing matching watches. The tiny diamonds around the watch faces sparkled under the warm light, shining brilliantly like a galaxy of stars.

It was painfully hard to ignore.

"Cynthia, I know I'm late, but this is your birthday party after all. As your boyfriend, of course, I had to come. Glad I didn't miss the cake cutting!" he cheered, then affectionately linked his arm with mine.

He had always acted this way. He would be all sweet toward me after hurting me.

The five-tier cake had a fondant figurine of the two of us on top. It looked delicate and romantic.

There was a wooden ring I had hand-made inside Xander's figurine.

It was my way of telling him I wanted to marry him.

The light flickered softly, and amid the crowd's cheers, I blew out the candles and made my wish.

"3, 2, 1!"

The moment the candles went out, Xander pressed my head down and shoved me into the cake.

At the same time, Natasha, who had been silent all along, finally chuckled.

Xander looked at Natasha and excitedly exclaimed, "Natasha! Did you laugh? You're not mad at me anymore? That's great!"

"You're so silly." Natasha's tone softened. "How could I stay mad at you?"

In the midst of the sharp pain, I almost wanted to laugh.

He came only to make a joke out of me in order to cheer up his first love.

"Cynthia, why aren't you looking up? Why can't you take a joke? Women are so petty!" he jeered. "Are you actually mad about this?"

Just as Xander was about to throw a tantrum, a cry rang out from the crowd.

"Oh my goodness! There's blood! There's so much blood… Why is she bleeding?"

"Cynthia! Are you okay?"

The cake was five tiers tall, with steel support rods inside to prevent it from collapsing.

My blood flowed steadily as the sharp steel pierced my skin.

My eyeball was just an inch away from being stabbed.

I lifted my bloodied face, the mix of blood and cream making for a horrifying sight.

I was utterly wretched.

I, Cynthia Quinn, was nearly maimed by my boyfriend on my 26th birthday.

A crimson haze clouded my vision.

In my fading consciousness, the last thing I heard was Xander stammering, "I'm sorry, I really am… I didn't mean to… It wasn't Natasha's fault; I just wanted to tease Cynthia a bit. I never thought—"

"That's enough!" Mia shoved Xander aside. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you really still making excuses at a time like this? Shouldn't you be worried about Cynthia's safety? What? Does dragging it out and making things worse make you feel better?"

With that, she helped me up and sped me to the hospital.

When I woke up, Xander wasn't there.

The anesthesia hadn't worn off yet. The pungent smell of disinfectant filled my nose, and my vision was still blurry due to blood pooling around my optic nerve.

The doctor's angry voice not far away echoed.

"What kind of friends do you people have? How could anyone shove something like that in someone's face? This is attempted murder! Do you have any idea how close it was? Forget blindness—just a little closer, and she would have been dead!

"Honestly, you should report this to the police. I can provide evidence anytime. This is an open-and-shut case."

"Forget it," I interrupted, expressionless, as I sat up in the hospital bed.

Mia fumed, "Cynthia, you're too forgiving with him. If you keep this up, you'll pay dearly for it!"

Pay dearly?

I had already paid so much for him that I had lost count. I couldn't even remember when I became this version of myself.

I was just waiting to wean myself off this relationship. Only then would I have the courage to unleash my full fury and take my revenge.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the golden sunlight crept inch by inch.

Xander turned up late, slightly sweaty and out of breath. He shoved a small, delicate box into my hands.

"Cynthia, please listen to me. I was stupid. I read online that you should first upset your girlfriend and then surprise her to make it more impactful. You get it, right? Look, this is my birthday present for you!" He smiled ingratiatingly and raised his hand to show me. "See? It's a pair of matching rings. I've been preparing this for so long!"

There was a men's silver band on his slender ring finger.

I stayed silent for a moment before speaking slowly. "Xander, I might not be able to see clearly right now, but I'm not blind."

Inside the box was a receipt showing the purchase time—20 minutes ago.

So much for "careful preparation" or "a long time".

My voice remained calm. "Even if you're going to lie to me, couldn't you at least put some effort into it?"

Xander's face flushed red.

After a long pause, he finally forced out, "If that's how you want to see it, then fine. I'll leave. Let's not contact each other again until you've thought this through."

Xander, ever the aloof and domineering man he was, never once yielded to me.

I knew that this matter would have been glossed over if I had simply pretended not to notice and had taken the gift with feigned joy.

But I refused to do that again.

At 3:00 am, I received a bank notification that Xander had transferred 500 thousand dollars to Natasha.

He didn't know that the account he transferred money from was mine.

When Xander was 18, he knelt before me and pleaded, "Dear sponsor, I dream of attending a prestigious university. I want to study abroad at Garnem. I want to escape these mountain ranges forever! Please help me fulfill my dream! I promise I'll repay your kindness in full one day!"

Xander was some boy I anonymously sponsored for three years. We only met officially after his college entrance exams.

Per the charity organization's requirements, I wore a mask and didn't reveal my real name.

The first time we met, he pleaded with me to support his dream of attending a prestigious university. Face filled with determination, he fought hard to hold back tears.

My heart melted at the sight of him.

That moment of compassion became a lifelong entanglement.

I paid his tuition for the Ivy League and gave him a bank card, depositing 50 thousand dollars into it every month.

All of this was just to help a promising student from a humble background achieve his dreams.

With my support, he completed a dual degree.

By chance, his outstanding interview performance landed him a position at Quinn Group as my assistant.

At that time, I had no personal feelings for him.

He was the one who cared for me with warm words and thoughtful gestures, pursuing me persistently for an entire year until I fell into the gentle dream he wove for me.

After we started dating, I gave him my whole heart.

I guided him step by step, helping him rise from an assistant to a COO and eventually become a small shareholder in the company.

In just a few short years, he transformed from an unremarkable nobody to a rising star in the business world. People now respectfully addressed him as "Mr. Loewe".

I understood his pride, so I never mentioned my financial support, nor did I ever bring up the fact that he is the fiancé of Quinn Group's CEO.

However, my silence and concessions only led to his betrayal.

After the nurse had just changed my dressing, I lay on the hospital bed, staring at the pitch-black night sky dotted with a few scattered stars.

Out of nowhere, I thought of the diamond-encrusted watch on Natasha's wrist.

How ridiculous.

He was still using that bank card after all these years. However, he was using my money on another woman.

It was a rude awakening when I finally realized I had been a fool all along.

My phone buzzed suddenly.

As I opened the notification, I saw that it was a Tweet. In the comments, an account had tagged me.

The caption read, "Love is a fallacy, but loving you is the paradox I can never forsake."

The accompanying picture showed Xander sitting at the dining table, smiling warmly as he scooped up some broth.

Ah, this was Natasha's declaration of war.

That spread of dishes was unmistakably Xander's handiwork.

After we started dating, Xander never cooked for me again, claiming to be too busy with work.

Silently, I exited Twitter and opened my chat history with Xander.

Half a month ago, while I was exhausted from back-to-back business trips, I had messaged him in a rare moment of vulnerability.

"I've been hungry all day. If only I could eat something you cooked, honey."

It wasn't until the next day that he replied indifferently, "You're an independent adult. I don't want to see you incapable of basic self-care. If you were, I'd lose all respect for you."

It felt like a punch to the heart. All the warmth and eagerness I once had to share my life with him were instantly doused. It felt like I had been splashed with a bucket of cold water.

My assistant, Susanna Mugler, mentioned that Quinn Group had been losing bids frequently lately. Several key projects had been snatched up by a company called Interstellar Group.

It was as if they had been privy to our bottom line, consistently bidding just slightly higher than us.

I wasn't the only heir of the Quinn family.

What had I been doing while my brothers tirelessly worked for the family's interests? I wasted time on a man who didn't love me, allowing myself to sink deeper into this abyss.

Ignoring the doctor's advice, I was discharged early. I threw myself completely into work.

I stayed at the office for three straight days. However, Xander didn't reach out. Security footage showed he hadn't returned home either.

We didn't cross paths even in the office.

It was just another of his silent protests.

Whenever he was upset, he never said it outright. Instead, he found ways to hurt me and forced me to make the first move to reconcile.

I didn't even know when it started.

I became increasingly submissive while he grew more arrogant.

In this relationship, I had long since abandoned my defenses and surrendered completely.

Late at night, Susanna stayed with me to review proposals. Soon, a small mountain of paperwork accumulated.

As she handed me a cup of coffee, she hesitated before speaking, "Ms. Quinn, you seem different lately."

"How so?" I asked.

"Your energy—it's back. I haven't seen you like this in a long time."

I glanced at the glass door, where my reflection stared back at me. Despite the dark shadows under my eyes, there was a sharp clarity and determination in my gaze.

This was the real me—Cynthia Quinn, the young rising star who had soared effortlessly through life, the prodigy of Jeandle's business world.

I wore a small smile as I returned to my work, my mind buzzing with ideas.

By the time I stood up again, it was already the next morning.

Even though my back ached and my body was sore, my heart felt fulfilled.

I rubbed my eyes and picked up my phone, only to see 32 missed calls and two text messages waiting for me.

I opened the messages.

"Cynthia, you wanted to marry me, no? I'll go with you to choose a wedding dress at 10:00 am tomorrow. I've sent the location to your assistant."

As I didn't reply immediately, he sent another message shortly after.

"It's up to you. If you don't show up, don't bother coming for the rest of your life."

While he would coax me, his patience lasted no more than ten minutes.

After pondering for a moment, I decided to meet him.

The bridal shop he chose wasn't far from the office; I had barely dozed off for a few minutes before arriving.

The store was designed like an Entlerian garden, with lush artificial vines cascading down from the ceiling. It looked like heaven straight out of a painting.

It was only 8:30 am, but the place was already bustling with brides trying on dresses.

In front of me, a young couple was playfully bantering back and forth, their happiness filling the air.

It turned out that one could smile just by watching others be happy.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from one of the fitting rooms.

"Ah... I can't quite reach the back."

The sales assistant replied kindly, "Miss, shall I come in to help you, or would you like your fiancé to assist?"

There was a moment of silence inside the fitting room, followed by a sweet voice that replied, "Um... well... let him come in then..."

Who else would be waiting outside that fitting room if not Xander?

Xander didn't hesitate as he walked straight in.

How lovely it was for them to have skin-to-skin contact with nothing to hide.

It seemed that they were here for some wedding dress roleplay, huh?

After a long while, the curtain was finally drawn back.

Under the bright lights, Xander stood in his suit, looking every bit the gentleman as he gracefully held Natasha's hand. Natasha, dressed in a satin wedding gown, exuded elegance and poise.