Not long after, Andres rushed home, looking travel-worn.

Camellia wobbled slightly when she stood up—perhaps because she had not eaten all day—but Andres firmly caught her.

"You didn't eat properly again today, did you?" he asked, his eyes full of concern as he gently scooped her into his arms.

As they drew close, the sweet, cloying scent of fruit filled the air.

Camellia never used perfume, so it was obvious who the scent belonged to.

"What are you thinking, baby?" Andres teased while tapping her nose affectionately.

Camellia's sharp eyes caught a faint red lipstick stain on his finger.

On the second day of their marriage, Andres had secretly tattooed a camellia on his ring finger.

He had told her that the ring finger had a blood vessel that led directly to the heart. This was a symbol of their shared bond and how she would always be connected to his heart, but that spot now bore a mark that did not belong to her.

A dull pain rose in her chest. It was heavy and piercing, like a sharp blade chiseling away bit by bit.

"Are you starving yourself so much you've lost your braincells?" Andres joked, kissing her forehead lightly before asking Eva Longford to serve the food that had been kept warm for dinner.

Andres used to cook for her himself every day. However, some time into their marriage, his work grew busier, and the task naturally passed to the housekeeper.

"Let me join you for dinner, okay? Skipping meals can really mess up your stomach," he said while carefully setting her down on a dining chair and placing the utensils by her hand.

Then, he washed his hands and began peeling apples for her.

"Okay," Camellia murmured, swallowing the bitterness in her heart and eating the food he placed on her plate in small bites.

They had not been eating for long when Andres' phone began ringing incessantly.

He glanced at the caller ID and frowned slightly before wiping his hands and stepping aside to take the call.

When he returned, his expression was frantic.

"Cam, something came up at the studio. I have to go handle it. Don't wait up for me tonight. You should go to bed early."

He grabbed the antiques he had bought earlier. He promised to get her something even better another day and left in a rush.

Once the meal was completely cold, Camellia finally stood up and went upstairs.

As soon as she lay down, she scrolled through Valentina's latest post on social media.

[I only had a low fever, but my boyfriend insisted on taking care of me. He even made me a table full of delicious food. Do you know how special a meal made for you by a loved one is?]

The accompanying picture showed a close-up of a man in an apron cutting vegetables.

As a rising name in the art world, Valentina had tens of thousands of followers on her account. The post caused a stir among her fans.

[So this is the senior of hers with a nine-figure insurance policy on his right hand that Val mentioned!]

[Where can I find a man like this? Can the government issue one to everyone, please?]

Camellia stared at the hands in the photo and thought of Andres' promises. Her heart felt like it was being torn apart, leaving it shattered and unrecognizable.

[That's nothing! Our Mr. Gardner is the gold standard for a devoted husband!]

Someone had uploaded a video of the auction from earlier that day, and the buzz quickly overtook Valentina's post.

[Damn, he really spoils his wife! $400 million! That's enough to buy my entire life hundreds of times over!]

[Oh my God! Has anyone not been overwhelmed by Mr. Gardner's love for his wife yet? When his wife had a car accident and was scared, he risked his life to make sure he was the first person she saw when she woke up!]

[Mr. Gardner is like a saint in our elite circle. He still wears the rosary beads Camellia gave him, perfectly polished from years of use. He never takes them off!]

Valentina's fans went quiet under the video. Compared to Andres' public displays of devotion, a single meal could not measure up. However, a newly-registered user suddenly posted three photos.

One showed the transfer of ownership for an Aurelia winery, another depicted a necklace worth $200 million called ‘The Heart of the Ocean’, and the last featured Valentina holding car keys while sitting on the hood of a Ferrari.

The user captioned it: [If someone else has it, our Val can't be without it.]

Fans exploded in praise, calling her senior powerful and declaring him on par with Andres.

Just then, a text message from an unsaved number came through to Camellia's phone.

"You absolutely can't miss the celebration my senior is throwing for me tomorrow night!"

Though she did not say anything, Camellia could almost hear Valentina's smugness.

The message ended with the address of the venue.

742, Ocean Middle Road, Camellia Street.

It was the restaurant where Camellia and Andres had their first meal together. He had promised her it would always remain closed to the public, so it would belong only to the two of them.

Camellia stared at the address until her eyes stung. Her hand slipped, and the phone dropped onto her face.

The sharp pain from the impact pushed her over the edge, and the tears she had been holding back spilled silently into the darkness.

Andres did not return home all night. Camellia ended up sitting alone in the empty living room, waiting from early morning until noon.

Her phone buzzed with a social media notification. [Renowned artist Andres Gardner stands in support of his junior. What a deep camaraderie between peers!]

Camellia let out a bitter laugh. Of course he did.

She stopped waiting and went alone to visit her mother's grave. She bought a bouquet of lisianthus on her way over.

At the cemetery, she carefully cleaned her mother's tombstone, placed the flowers in front of it, and leaned gently against the stone. It was as if she was trying to feel the warmth of her mother's embrace.

Andres returned home late at night. Just as he was about to ask why Camellia had not gone to bed yet, he noticed a bundle of lisianthus peeking out of her bag.

It suddenly hit him that today was her mother's death anniversary. Panic flashed across his face.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. I've been so busy today that I completely forgot. It's all my fault," he stammered, cupping her face and instinctively stroking the beauty mark at the corner of her eye.

Camellia noticed the faint trace of a lipstick mark on his hairline just behind his ear.

She gently pushed him away, her voice calm as she said, "It's fine."

Trying to ease the tension, Andres suggested, "How about we have an artist paint a portrait of us tomorrow? Once it's done, we can take a photo with it and place it at your mother's grave to give her peace of mind."

Camellia wanted to refuse, but Andres was insistent, so she reluctantly agreed.

The next morning at ten, the artist he had arranged for arrived. "Nice to meet you, Cam. I'm Valentina Dawson, Andres'… junior."

Seeing Valentina, Andres' face betrayed a flicker of unease. Clearly, she was not the artist he had called.

"Mr. Wilson had something come up, so I'm filling in for him," Valentina explained, her gaze sweeping over Camellia with a faint, inscrutable smile.

"Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot like my sister, Cam?" she asked.

"My sister had a beauty mark in the exact same spot as yours. The only difference is that hers was real, while yours… is drawn on."

The room fell silent. Andres' expression darkened as he snapped, "Val, that's enough.

"No one is more important to me than Camellia," he said firmly.

Valentina blinked in surprise, then playfully stuck out her tongue at him. "Alright. I was just joking."

She hooked one arm around Camellia's and led her toward the studio. With her other hand, she reached behind, tracing lazy circles on Andres' palm. Her gaze was sultry and inviting.

"Andres, you're standing all wrong," she complained moments after starting the painting.

Setting her brush down, she stood up and walked over to him.

She caressed his face with one hand while the other trailed down his chest. Her fingers brushed over his Adam's apple, then came to rest on his shoulder.

Leaning in close, she breathed warm air into his ear. "Why so tense, Andres?"

His eyes darkened instantly.

Camellia caught a glimpse of their interaction from the corner of her eye. Pain stabbed through her chest, and she forced herself to look away.

Barely a few minutes later, Valentina suggested that Camellia's pose was not intimate enough.

"Let me show you how it's done, Cam," she said with a sly smile.

She pushed Camellia aside and tugged Andres forward by his tie. Her full figure pressed against his chest as her thumb brushed deliberately over the corner of his lips. Finally, she left a bold kiss on his mouth.

Turning to Camellia, she tilted her head with a brazen expression. "Do you get it now, Cam?"

When he saw Camellia's reaction, Andres quickly explained, "In the art world, we're a bit more… uninhibited."

Camellia said nothing, merely clenching her trembling hands to keep herself composed. She excused herself to the bathroom, needing to escape.

When she returned, muffled sounds from inside the room made her stop in her tracks.

"Andres, no… You're going to ruin me," a woman's voice purred breathlessly.

As she peeked inside, Camellia saw Valentina with one leg wrapped around Andres' lean waist. Her back was pressed against the windowsill, and she was moving in rhythm with him.

Andres' eyes burned with passion as he kissed her fiercely.

"You came all the way to my house! Wasn't this what you wanted?" he growled.

Camellia collapsed at the doorway of the studio, tears streaming down her face.

She thought she was strong enough to endure anything, but witnessing this scene shattered her heart.

She did not know how much time passed before she heard the rustling sound of clothes being put on from inside the room.

Andres came to the bathroom looking for her and froze when he saw her red, swollen eyes.

"Baby, why are you crying?" he asked.

Camellia shook her head. "It's nothing. I accidentally got soap in my eyes."

He let out a sigh of relief and playfully pinched her cheek. "You're still such a little troublemaker," he teased.

When the painting was nearly finished, Andres was called away by his agent. With him gone, Valentina dropped the act entirely.

"I know you saw it, Cam. Well, what can you do about it? Andres seems to love me more than you."

She unbuttoned her shirt, revealing bruises on her skin.

"When's the last time you were with him? Was it as passionate as just now? Can you even satisfy him?"

Valentina stepped closer, her gaze condescending.

She seemed to relish the idea of seeing Camellia break down, and she looked was expecting pain or hysteria. However, Camellia's expression remained calm and even unreadable.

Underneath, her heart was shattered into countless pieces, leaving her barely able to breathe.

After Valentina left, Camellia wandered aimlessly back to the studio. She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to look at the paintings.

Without turning on the light, she stumbled up to the third floor. She ended up twisting her ankle in the dark.

Even so, the sharp pain from her ankle was nothing compared to the ache in her heart.

Every painting that was celebrated by the public as symbols of her and Andre’s ‘perfect love’ now stared back at her. Each prominently featured the beauty mark that now felt like a mocking lie.

Camellia pulled a craft knife from the penholder and slashed through the beauty marks in each painting one by one.

With every cut, she severed another piece of the beautiful memories she once shared with Andres.

When Andres returned home, Camellia had already freshened up and was lying in bed, ready to sleep.

He barged into the bedroom, carrying a keyboard from his study in one hand and takeout from her favorite restaurant in the other.

Without hesitation, he dropped the keyboard onto the floor, knelt on it, and faced her.

"Honey, I know what happened today upset you. I've already reprimanded Val," he said earnestly.

"I only think of her as a younger sister. She's still immature and doesn't know any better. As for her sister… That ended a long time ago. Besides, she's not even here anymore.

"If you don't like it, I swear I won't see her again. But no matter how angry you are, please don't ruin your health by skipping meals…"

The man who had been utterly consumed with Valentina earlier that day was now kneeling humbly before her, his tone desperate and full of affection. It was as if he could not live without her.

For a moment, Camellia could not tell which version of Andres was real.

If he loved her so much, how could he forget the vows he once made?

If he loved her so much, why did he betray her?

As Andres passed a dish toward her, he accidentally creased a page in the book lying on the bedside table.

Camellia glanced over, and he casually smoothed it out and closed the book.

"I fixed it. Now, eat," he said with a smile.

The familiar aroma of the dish wafted from the bowl. Camellia took a few bites before saying, "But once a page is creased, it can never be perfectly smooth again."

Andres, who was already sensitive about the day, tensed at her words. He knew it carried a deeper meaning.

"Then I'll buy a new book. It'll be as good as new," he said, his bright eyes fixed on her. It was like his entire world revolved around her.

"I'd pluck the stars from the sky for you if you asked."

Camellia stayed silent, swallowing the words she wanted to say.

Even if he had bought a new one, it would only be a replacement—it would no longer be the same book.

She understood this truth, and he should have understood it even more.

The two spent the night in silence.

Over the next few days, perhaps out of guilt, Andres canceled all his work and stayed glued to Camellia's side.

One day, he accompanied her to restore artifacts, buying a few antique treasures worth millions.

The next day, he took her shopping and bought her an entire collection of the season's limited-edition items.

The day after, he somehow got his hands on a pink Rolls-Royce Cullinan, parking it dramatically at the entrance of Eterna Haven in the city center as a grand gesture of love.

This display led to a wave of online ridicule, with netizens mocking Andres' for being wrapped around his wife’s finger.

Andres posted a self-deprecating tweet with a picture of himself kneeling on a keyboard.

[I made my wife mad. How do I fix this if nothing works?]

Only then did people realize Andres' predicament, with many pleading for Camellia to forgive him.

With two days left until Camellia's birthday, she still had things to take care of. Seeing Andres' desperate efforts, she decided to go along with it and let the matter drop.

Andres was overjoyed, lifting her in his arms and spinning her around several times.

"Baby, I love you more than anything in this life! You’re my only love!"

On the way to dinner, Andres received several phone calls. The number flashing on the screen was one Camellia knew well—Valentina's.

He declined the calls four times before finally receiving a message. When he opened it, a single glance made his expression falter.

"Baby, my agent says there's an issue with the new painting contract. I need to handle it right away," Andres said apologetically.

Camellia did not call out his lie and let him leave. She then bought a baseball cap and mask from a roadside shop and hailed a car to follow him.

She trailed him into a mall and all the way to her once-favorite bridal boutique.

The dressing room curtain opened, and there stood Valentina, radiant in the wedding dress Camellia had loved most.

"Do I look beautiful, Andres?" Valentina asked.

She reached out, her hand sliding from Andres' shoulder, tracing his Adam's apple, and stopping just shy of his lips in a teasing caress.

Andres' eyes darkened. He cupped her face and kissed her deeply. Both of them were breathless by the time they pulled apart.

Valentina curled into Andres' chest, tracing lazy circles on it with her finger.

"Andres, if Cam finds out I wore this dress first, she'll probably lose it," she murmured.

Andres' breathing grew heavier as he pulled her into the dressing room and drew the curtain shut.

"She won't know. I owe you a wedding, and it's my fault you've been wronged," he replied. "Today, you're my most beautiful bride."

With those words, the sound of running water filled the dressing room, accompanied by intimate whispers.