### Chapter 1

I pushed open the door to a dinner with friends—and the seat beside my fiancé, my seat, was already taken by the college girl he sponsored.

“Tania's interning at the company. Figured I'd let her tag along, see how things work.”

Dick explained it like it was nothing, even pulling out a chair for me.

During the meal, Tania signed to him across the table：

“So how was my performance last night?”

Dick smiled, topping off my wine first, then signed back with lazy ease：“You little minx. Go easier on me next time.”

Something seized my heart and crushed it. I couldn't breathe.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her hand slide under the table onto Dick's thigh. His breath hitched. He glanced over, saw me with my head down eating, and only then shot her a warning look to stop.

Then he turned to the guys beside him, fingers moving fluidly：

“Remember—Emily can never find out about me and Tania. She'd leave me.”

The whole group exchanged knowing grins and signed back “Got it” without a shred of hesitation.

So this betrayal had an audience. I was the only joke.

Dick seemed to have forgotten that I'd volunteered at a school for the deaf for two years.

I didn't make a scene. I stood, walked calmly to the restroom, and dialed a number：“Ethan. The arranged marriage—I'll do it.”

One week from now, I would step out of my role as Dick Simmons's fiancée.

And become the young wife of Harbor City's most powerful family.

1.

“Why? I thought things were great between you and Dick. You always said you'd never marry anyone else.”

Ethan was stunned to hear me agree.

“He cheated.”

I pressed a hand against the wringing pain in my chest. My voice came out hollow. Numb.

The line went silent. Then Ethan's voice returned, gentle.

“Don't worry. Adrian Sterling—Harbor City's golden heir—is my closest friend. I promise you, he'll make you happy.”

“Get your things together. I'll come for you in a week.”

With his promise, the worst of the weight eased just a little：“Thank you, Ethan. See you in a week.”

The words had barely left my mouth when a low, magnetic voice came from behind me.

“Where are you going in a week?”

I turned. Dick's eyes were just slightly panicked. I kept my voice even.

“A friend of Ethan's is getting married. He wants me there for the banquet.”

The tension in Dick's brow smoothed out：“Sure. When we get married, we'll invite them back.”

“Mm.”

But there would be no wedding. Not ours.

He noticed my reddened eyes and pulled me into his arms：“Hey, who upset my sweetheart?”

His warm breath lowered toward me. I turned my face away before his lips could find mine.

Minutes ago, he'd been flirting with his mistress right in front of me. Now here he was, wearing the mask of a man deeply in love.

I couldn't help wondering how many lies he still had left.

“Just a stomachache. What were you all talking about back there?”

Dick ruffled my hair, perfectly relaxed, and smiled.

“Oh, a charity thing—international deaf schools. Knew it wasn't your thing, so we just signed it out.”

He squeezed my palm：“Still feeling bad? Want to head home?”

Before he could finish, his phone buzzed.

He flipped the screen away from me instantly, but I'd already caught the contact name: “Little Minx.”

A few seconds later he hung up and looked at me apologetically：“They say there's something important to discuss. Wait in the car for me? I'll be quick.”

“Sure. I'll get some fresh air.”

I didn't wait for his answer. I pushed past him and walked toward the parking garage.

Inside the car, my foot came down on something on the floorboard.

I looked down—and went cold all over. My breath stopped dead. A used condom.

He'd sworn to me that his passenger seat belonged to no one but me.

My hands shook as I opened the dashcam footage. The last wall of denial collapsed.

Last night, while Dick told me he was pulling an all-nighter with a client, he had Tania pressed against this car's seat, lost in each other the entire night.

I had never once seen him like that—that completely out of control.

In bed with me, Dick was always restrained. I would have preferred him wilder, but he said he was afraid of hurting me.

Yet when Tania's miniskirt snagged on his watch, he ripped it off without a thought.

The second I turned off the dashcam, I was on my knees on the pavement, vomiting. I couldn't stop the images—Dick's body slamming into Tania's, over and over, relentless.

“Emily? What's wrong?!”

The panicked shout grew closer and then Dick was there, pulling me into his arms.

He was a germaphobe, but he wiped the mess from the corner of my mouth with his bare hand, his voice trembling with concern.

Whispers swirled around us.

“That's Mr. Simmons's fiancée. God, she's lucky. That proposal last year trended worldwide, and every birthday he floods every screen with love declarations. Must be nice.”

“Right? Who wouldn't want to marry a man that devoted?”

None of them knew that the Dick Simmons who supposedly loved me more than life had already betrayed me.

My eyes were blurred with tears and nausea when I looked up at him. The worry on his face looked so real.

But his affair with Tania was real too.

I swallowed back every scream, every sob：“I feel awful. Take me home.”

Dick's eyes went red. He lifted me into the car as if I might break, then leaned in to buckle my seatbelt.

Without a word, he nudged the condom further into the corner with his foot. He thought I hadn't seen.

And the perfume still clinging to him nearly made me throw up all over again.

I rolled the window down and fixed my gaze outside.

It struck me then that what Dick and I had was like this skyline.

Dazzling from a distance—and gone the second you blinked.

### Chapter 2

The moment we got home, Dick went straight to the kitchen to make me a soup for my stomach.

Even the housekeeper teased him：“A man as good as Mr. Simmons is hard to find.”

“He treats you this well before the wedding. Once you're married with children, he'd probably pluck the stars right out of the sky for you.”

Dick came out carrying the soup, caught the tail end of that, and smiled with what looked like pure adoration.

“Why wait for the wedding? If Emily wants a star, I'll buy her one right now.”

He set the soup down and made a phone call.

A few minutes later, he sat down and pulled me into his arms：“Tomorrow night, I'm taking my baby to see the star that's all yours.”

Then he sent the housekeeper off to bed, blew on the soup to cool it, and lifted the spoon to my lips himself.

That was when his phone chimed.

Dick frowned, set the bowl down with visible irritation：“Who's bothering me this late when I'm with you? Let me see who needs a lesson.”

He picked up the phone. Two seconds later, I clearly saw the flicker of lust surface in his eyes.

Sure enough, he snapped the phone shut, guilt already arranged across his face.

“Baby, you're not feeling well tonight, and I should be here with you, but something urgent came up at the office……”

I didn't want to hear another lie. I cut him off.

“Go. Work is important.”

Dick exhaled with relief. He dropped a perfunctory kiss on my forehead, went to the bedroom, threw on a shirt so fast he didn't even notice the buttons were misaligned, and was out the door.

The front door clicked shut, and the living room sank into a silence like death. I stared at the soup on the table, already cold. Then I reached over and swept it into the trash, bowl and all.

I opened the refrigerator and took out a birthday cake.

I lit the candles and, just before midnight struck, made my wish.

“Happy birthday, Emily. May every day after you leave Dick Simmons be a happy one.”

Seven years together, and this was the first time he'd forgotten my birthday.

I blew out the candles. In the darkness, my phone screen flickered to life.

An unknown number. Several photos.

A young woman in a bunny outfit that covered almost nothing, posing in ways that were bold beyond imagination.

The message underneath was pure provocation.

“Tell me, after seeing these, do you think he'd rather spend a wild night with me, or go home to a stiff, boring old woman like you?”

I didn't reply. I saved every photo.

Dick didn't come back until the following afternoon.

The moment he walked into the living room, he saw me sorting through things.

He froze, eyes moving to the mountain of cardboard boxes：“Emily, what are you doing?”

I didn't look up：“Getting rid of things I don't need.”

I'd been up all night, scrolling through Tania's social media.

Starting from last year, every single thing he'd bought me, he'd bought one for her too.

Some of them were things she'd mentioned wanting. Things she liked.

Dick had spared no effort spoiling her, keeping her at the very tip of his heart. What I got was just the “while I'm at it” extra.

And I'd been the fool who treated his carelessness like treasure.

Now the trash was going where it belonged.

Dick, still lost in whatever haze his night had left him in, didn't notice what I was throwing away. He just chuckled as he wandered past：“Wow, we really did accumulate a lot of junk.”

He kept walking until he spotted the cake on the table, more than half of it still untouched.

He scooped a bit of frosting onto his finger and dabbed it on my nose. When I went still, he raised an eyebrow, grinning：“I thought you didn't like sweets. What made you buy such a big cake?”

Dick had the kind of eyes that were impossibly deep and full of feeling.

The first time I saw him, standing in my family's garden, those eyes had stolen something from me on the spot.

For seven years they'd smiled at me countless times. But now, no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find a trace of sincerity left in them.

I was quiet for a few seconds before I spoke, my voice low.

“Yesterday was my birthday.”

The smile froze on his face.

Then he pulled me into his arms, his expression full of remorse.

“Damn it—I'm sorry, baby. I actually forgot your birthday. Tonight I'll make it up to you, I swear.”

### Chapter 3

I didn't say no. I'd let him have this one—a last goodbye.

By evening we were at the planetarium. Dick had booked the entire place.

He pointed to the star named after me, grinning like a boy：“Emily, the day this star was discovered was the exact day we met. My love for you is just like it. Until the end of time.”

I used to believe our love would bear fruit too. But seven years in, it burned out like a meteor streaking across the sky.

He was eighteen when he showed up, bloody from a fight, scrambling over our garden wall. Ethan thought he was some thug and beat him senseless.

He stayed a whole week, milking his injuries.

I was picking flowers in the garden when he drifted over, staring at me：“Emily, you're so pretty. Go out with me.”

I thought he was joking, so I said yes. When his wounds healed and a convoy of cars pulled up to collect him, I finally learned he was the Simmons heir.

Seven years, gone in a blink.

Fireworks erupted outside the planetarium, flooding the sky.

“Happy birthday, babe.”

Dick leaned down to kiss me. His phone rang.

One glance at the screen, and he killed it instantly.

“Useless bastards, screwing things up again!”

“Sorry, babe. I need to run back to the office. Two hours, I promise.”

He moved to kiss my forehead.

I pushed him away：“It's fine. I can look around on my own.”

After he left, I wandered with no direction. Without meaning to, I drifted into a hidden room. Inside was a single display case, lavishly lit.

Beneath the star model sat a high-definition photograph: a man's hand and a woman's, fingers tightly laced.

I'd know that hand anywhere—every knuckle, every ridge. I could pick it out of ashes.

Pain tore through me so fast my vision went black.

“For Tania alone. Forever and always”.

The inscription underneath cut even deeper.

I stumbled out, half-blind, then stopped dead.

On the open-air observation deck not far away, Dick and Tania were tangled together on a couch.

“I told you, tonight's about making up Emily's birthday. I'm supposed to be with her right now.”

Tania hung from his neck, pouting.

“You're so sweet to her, buying her a star and setting off fireworks. Can't a girl get a little jealous?”

Dick pinched her chin, all helpless indulgence.

“Come on, I already gave you the better one—your own star. What are you jealous about?”

Tania let out a soft hum, her fingers slipping slyly under his shirt.

“I don't care. Would you rather stay up there watching stars with her, or try out a new position with me under them?”

“You little minx……Make it quick. Don't let Emily get suspicious.”

Dick's voice went hoarse. The next second, he tore her clothes off.

The fireworks in the sky burned out.

I was shaking so hard I could barely stand.

I'd already seen them together on that dashcam footage. But watching it happen right in front of me—it still gutted me.

I gripped my phone and recorded everything, tears dropping one by one onto the screen.

This observation deck was something Dick had donated in my name. He'd personally designed every detail.

The day it was unveiled, he'd knelt on one knee：“With the stars as my witness, I will love Emily for the rest of my life.”

I'd asked him, half-joking: what if you betray me?

“Then let me lose you forever. That would be worse than death.”

Now the stars had witnessed his betrayal.

And everything would be exactly as he wished.

I turned back toward the exhibition hall. A new message from Tania was already waiting.

“You saw all of that, right? He said doing it here is extra thrilling. Like doing it right in front of you.”

I wanted to block her, but my hands were shaking too badly to hit the right spot on the screen.

I slid down the wall and sat crumpled at its base, crying until I couldn't feel anything anymore.

Dick finally came back.

My swollen, red-rimmed eyes startled him.

“What happened? Who made my Emily cry? I'll deal with them!”

He pulled me in tight, arms wrapped around me the way they always used to be.

Back then, when a bunch of punks cornered me, he'd thrown himself in bare-fisted—outnumbered ten to one and still wouldn't give an inch.

Broke his hand and still grinned at me through the pain：“Hey. I'm right here.”

The boy who would have died to protect me was now the one twisting the knife in my chest.

I choked on the words for a long time before I managed to speak.

“It's nothing. I just really, really love the gift you gave me.”

“And in return……I've prepared a surprise for you too. You'll have it in five days.”