"I really want to see the sunrise on Mossy Hill! I'm sure I can reach the summit!"

The next day, Kendrick took me to climb Mossy Hill and watch the sunrise.

"I heard the local dishes are very popular. Haha, I want to try it."

That same night, Kendrick took me to eat the spicy oyster that I hated. At the time, I didn't realize why he suddenly had so many strange requests.

Now I understood, they were all Nikki's wishes. He couldn't fulfill Nikki's desires, so he used me as her substitute.

Hot tears dripped onto the burning photos and the sharp sizzle pulled me out of my thoughts. I no longer had the patience to recall every scene in the photos. I lit them all at once.

"Cough, cough, cough. What are you doing, making such a smoky mess?" Kendrick suddenly appeared, frowning as he looked at me. "Why did you take down all our photos?"

I replied casually, "I didn't take them down. Look, here they are. I burned them all."

Kendrick's expression froze and he stared at me in disbelief. "Are you crazy? Those were three years of beautiful memories!" As he spoke, he tried to step into the metal bucket to stomp out the burning photos.

But the flames quickly burned several holes in his expensive suit pants. Only then did he unwillingly glare at me, as if demanding a reasonable explanation.

I glanced at him calmly, noticed a bright red lipstick stain on his shirt collar and said nothing. I silently returned to the room.

Not long after, Kendrick came in after showering and handed me an exquisite gift box from behind his back and asked, "Today is our three-year anniversary. Are you upset because I didn't celebrate with you? There was an urgent rescue mission, so I had no choice. But I didn't forget! I prepared a gift."

Seeing that I remained unmoved, he opened the box himself and took out an expensive emerald necklace. He even thoughtfully tried to put it on for me.

I noticed that this necklace had appeared in Nikki's post yesterday. So I said, "A necklace from your Backup girlfriend No. 1? I don't like it. Throw it away."

I let out a cold laugh, took the necklace and threw it into the trash, "Don't bring me discarded garbage that others don't want."

In the trash, the gift I had prepared for him earlier that day still lay there. Our once-deep affection had now become a matching set of trash.

Kendrick's face turned grim instantly. He retrieved both the necklace and the gift I had prepared.

It was the latest model of a Rolex watch he had always wanted. I had saved for a long time to afford it.

Frowning, he looked at me and asked, "The gift you prepared for me, why did you throw it away?"

"Maybe we don't need it anymore." I said casually. I could tell Kendrick was suppressing the anger in his eyes.

"Just because I missed celebrating with you doesn't mean you have to take it so seriously. Calm down. You're an adult. Stop being childish!" With that, he slammed the door and went to the study.

The next morning, he went straight to work without even seeing me. I packed up all my belongings and sent them off by courier.

Late that night, Kendrick's friend, Tristan Jones, called me, "Hey, Maya, Kendrick is drunk. Come pick him up. He's in private room No. 2 at Revolver Bar."

Tristan was our mutual university friend and Kendrick's best buddy.

They had a gathering today and Kendrick didn't even tell me, which made me feel a bit suspicious.

After hanging up the phone, I drove to Revolver Bar. Just as I reached the private room's door, I heard a commotion inside, "Hey, Kendrick, Maya is about to arrive. While she's not here yet, dare to do something exciting?"

"What exciting thing? You're always full of bad ideas ..." Kendrick's speech was slurred, it seemed he was truly drunk.

Just as I was about to push the door open, I heard Tristan laugh slyly again, "Elliot is passed out drunk. Dare to kiss Nikki? If you dare, I'll cover the bill tonight!"

"Don't wimp out, Kendrick. Everyone knows you've been Nikki's backup boyfriend for seven years. If you don't dare to kiss her, you're not a man!"

"Hurry up! Kissing Nikki in front of Elliot won't hurt. She won't get pregnant from it! You coward!"

Through the crack in the door, I saw Elliot passed out on the sofa, deeply asleep.

Kendrick's drinking buddies were all hyped up, eagerly watching him and Nikki as if they were on something.

I saw Kendrick grit his teeth and stand up, walking toward Nikki. She didn't shy away at all, even curling her finger to provoke him, "Kiss me in front of my fiancé if you dare, my Backup Boyfriend No. 1."

"Damn it! If I don't kiss you today, I'm not a man!" Kendrick looked determined, tossing his jacket aside and grabbing Nikki's head to kiss her.

At the moment their lips touched, his eyes met mine through the crack in the door. For a second, time seemed to freeze.

I calmly pushed open the door and walked in. Kendrick let go of Nikki, looking slightly awkward. He forced a laugh and said, "We were just playing a game. It was just pretending, I didn't actually kiss her." His lips, still smeared with Nikki's lipstick, betrayed his words.

Tristan and the other friends quickly tried to cover for Kendrick, "Maya, blame me for the bad idea. Don't be mad at Kendrick. Blame me! I'll punish myself with three drinks to apologize!"

Nikki wiped her lips where Kendrick had kissed her, smiling provocatively, "Maya, you're here. When are you and Kendrick getting married?"

Kendrick glanced coldly at me, then turned and smiled at Nikki, "That's not happening." With that, Kendrick guided me to sit beside him, but his eyes never left Nikki.

The next moment, Nikki picked up a mug of draft beer, tilted her head back and prepared to chug it down.

Kendrick sprang up like a madman, rushing to her side and snatching the glass from her hands and scolded her, "You're allergic to alcohol! Drinking it will kill you!" he yelled.

Nikki glared at him angrily, biting her lip with a sultry expression and said, "My fiancé is right here. Is it your place to stop me?"

With that, Nikki picked up the glass again to drink. Kendrick, truly panicking, grabbed the glass and downed it himself. The next second, Kendrick coughed violently and spat out a mouthful of blood.

This shocked everyone in the room. Tristan cursed aloud, "Damn, Kendrick! Are you for real? Spitting blood just to stop Nikki from drinking? Should we take you to the hospital?"

"It's nothing. I won't die." Kendrick wiped his lips forcefully, his eyes blazing as he stared at Nikki. "If you keep hurting yourself, I'll trade my life for yours!"

Moved, Nikki flung herself into Kendrick's arms right in front of me, crying pitifully, "Why does it matter how good you are to me? I'm about to marry Elliot!"

"It's useful! You can break off your engagement with him right now! I'll marry you!" Kendrick's eyes were bloodshot with excitement and he didn't even bother to wipe the blood at the corner of his mouth.

I couldn't bear to watch anymore. I got up and walked outside to get some air. The private room was on the second floor of the bar, with a small door leading to an outdoor terrace.

Standing on the terrace, I looked down at the dazzling streetlights, feeling momentarily lost. As I was in a daze, a figure suddenly charged out of the bar and slammed into me. It was Nikki.

"Maya, you wretched woman! Why does Kendrick care so much about you?" she shouted.

Startled, I instinctively stepped aside. Nikki screamed and fell straight down the stairs.

Hearing the commotion, Kendrick rushed out. When he saw Nikki lying on the ground, her condition unknown, he roared at me, "Maya, you murderer! I won't let you off!"

Ignoring me, he ran downstairs to save Nikki. By the time Nikki woke up in the hospital, I was still processing what had happened.

Kendrick, however, slapped me across the face, "You caused Nikki to break both her legs! You must compensate her!"

To my horror, Kendrick pulled out a construction hammer from somewhere, his bloodshot eyes glaring at me as he stepped closer. Terrified, I tried to run, but he kicked me to the ground.

"The medical staff have gone home. You're not going anywhere!" he roared.

The hammer came down and he shattered both of my legs. Then, as I writhed in agony, he grabbed Nikki's hand in front of me and said, "Nikki, look! I broke her legs too. Don't be sad anymore."

"Kendrick, you didn't have to ..." Nikki cast a glance at me, feigning sympathy, but her eyes sparkled with triumph.

Kendrick turned his cold gaze back to me, "What's done is done. Don't worry, even if you're disabled now, I'll marry you and take care of you for the rest of your life."

My heart bled and the searing pain in my legs almost made me pass out. Only then did Kendrick take me to the emergency room.

When I woke up again, my broken legs were encased in plaster. The hospital room was empty except for a wheelchair by the bed. Kendrick was nowhere to be seen.

Faintly, I heard someone on the phone in the next room. I got into the wheelchair and moved toward the door, where I saw Kendrick standing outside Nikki's room, listening intently.

Inside, Nikki's angry voice came through the slightly ajar door, "Damn it, I'm so unlucky! I was trying to push that wretch Maya off the balcony, but she dodged and I ended up falling into the bushes and getting covered in dirt!"

She continued, "Ha, I'm perfectly fine. Saying I broke my legs was just to fool that idiot Kendrick. Guess what? He actually broke Maya's legs for me! Hahaha, what a lunatic!"

I watched as Kendrick's face darkened instantly.

Nikki's smug voice continued, "Oh, you should've seen it at the bar. Kendrick drank until he vomited blood just to protect me!"

"Seriously, I can't believe how far he would go for me. Do you think I should reward him with something?"

"Forget it! Of course, I'll still marry Elliot. What is Kendrick to me? He's not even as good as my dog!"

I saw Kendrick's fists clench tightly, the sound of his knuckles cracking. His chest heaved violently like an enraged lion on the brink of devouring someone.

At that moment, the people I had arranged to pick me up arrived. They quickly lifted my wheelchair, placed me in the car and headed straight for the airport.

On the way to the airport, I couldn't stop wondering how Kendrick would react after learning the truth.

I loved Kendrick for seven years and he loved Nikki for seven years. Now that he finally realized he was just a toy in Nikki's eyes, would he, in a fit of rage, break her legs too?

Shaking my head, I forced myself to stop thinking about it. After all, none of this had anything to do with me anymore.

The moment I boarded the plane, Kendrick's calls started coming in frantically.