Five years ago, the government launched the Landmark Building Project.

As renowned architects, my parents became the project's lead designers.

However, on the day of the building's completion, it unexpectedly collapsed, claiming their lives in the process and tarnishing the Carpenter Family's reputation.

I cried and asked for help from my old friends and relatives, but was ruthlessly rejected.

In my moment of despair, my fiancé disregarded public opinion and took care of my parents' funeral arrangements, insisting on going through with the wedding.

But when I lost my 99th design competition and used my remaining money to buy him a bouquet of roses for our date, I overheard him talking with his friend.  

“Calvin, I’ve lost count of how many times Sylvia has been crushed in those competitions. She kept blaming herself, thinking she wasn’t good enough—never realizing you gave her designs to Tami beforehand.”

Calvin Weber’s voice was cold, emotionless. “It was the 99th time. What, do you pity her now?”

“No, but you’ve been married for five years and Tami is returning to the U.S. tomorrow. Have you ever thought about what will happen when Sylvia finds out?”

“Tami is no longer the same employee she used to be. She’s a renowned architect now. Company collaborations are normal,” he explained. “I married Sylvia, so I couldn’t be with Tami before. Now that I see her successful, everything I've done is worth it.” 

I tightly clenched the flowers in my hand, tears flowing uncontrollably.  

It turned out that what I thought was redemption was just Calvin's bargaining chip to make his first love, Tami Frost, successful.

He even married someone he didn't love for her sake.

In that case, Calvin, I’ll grant you your wish.  

——

“But…” Calvin cut him off sharply. “Even if I hadn’t married Sylvia, the Weber Family would never have accepted Tami. Since that's the case, the only thing I could do was help her rise, so she wouldn’t remain just another nameless employee.”

He sighed, voice lowering. “And Sylvia... marrying her was the only way I knew how to repay her kindness.”

Across from him, his friend spoke with barely contained frustration.

“You sent Tami so many proposals and she turned you down every time. Then she deliberately asked for Sylvia’s blueprints. She’s doing it on purpose, Calvin. She’s tearing your marriage apart from the inside.”

“And when the truth comes out,” he added, “Sylvia will never look at you the same again. You’re all she has… and you’ve made her carry this in silence.”

Calvin rose abruptly, downed the last of his wine.

“I know,” he said flatly. “But Tami has no one else. I can't leave her to suffer alone overseas. Once I get the blueprint this time, it’ll be the last. Just don’t bring this up again.”

“Staying silent won’t erase what you’ve done. Sylvia spent five years locked in that studio, painting until her fingers bled, while the thief who stole her work was celebrated. She’s human, Calvin. She bleeds too.”

With a loud crack, Calvin smashed the wine glass in his hand.

“Enough! It’s just five years—not a lifetime! If it ever comes to it, I’ll give her a trophy later and crown her Miss Carpenter again!”

His friend shook his head with a bitter smile.

“Why go this far? Sylvia’s talent never needed your protection. She deserved more than this. But fine. The Weber Family has its ways—I won’t say another word. Do as you wish.”

The voices inside gradually fell silent. I slid down the wall and fell to the ground.

Five years ago, my parents passed away suddenly and the Carpenter Family company was facing bankruptcy. I, who could only draw blueprints, was at a loss as to what to do.

It was Calvin who pulled me back from the rooftop and rushed me to get married, handling all the issues as the Carpenter Family’s son-in-law.

Later, the Weber Family found out and forced him to divorce me.

He knelt before Mr. Weber, begging for time, saying he believed I could revive the Carpenter Family. He even helped me collect data on various competitions, all to help me win awards.  

So, even after failing to qualify for 99 consecutive competitions, I never considered giving up, all because of Calvin's words of belief.

But it turned out that all this was just him laying the groundwork for Tami.

Thinking of this, I wiped away my tears, stumbled to my feet, handed the flower in my palm to the staff and turned to leave.

With every step I took, my love for Calvin faded a little more.

I then came to his study, silently opened the diary he treasured like a precious gem.  

At that moment, all love vanished completely.  

As the dairy opened, the first thing I saw was a hand-drawn portrait.

The lines were already blurred, clearly faded from frequent handling.  

Every page of the diary contained photos of Tami, arranged in chronological order, with the first one being the day we got married.  

So, over the past five years, every time he said he wanted to write a diary to record our beautiful moments, he was actually reminiscing about Tami.

Below the diary was a locked box. I entered Tami’s birthday and successfully opened it.

There was nothing valuable inside, only a stack of love letters Tami had written to Calvin.

From the very first time I failed to qualify for a competition, she had sent him one each time—always after receiving my designs. 

Each letter was filled with the deep affection between the two of them.  

Even after I’d discovered our relationship was nothing more than an elaborate scam Calvin had orchestrated, my chest still ached as I flipped through each page. 

I had once believed his support after every failure was real. That when he comforted me, it was love. That when he dissected my rejected work with "experts," it was to help me improve.

But then I knew, it was just a means to pass my blueprint to Tami, the woman he truly loved.

And then I reached the final envelope—one that was never sent.

My hands trembled as I opened it. After reading it, tears couldn't help but stream down my face.

He planned to propose to Tami after obtaining my final set of blueprints.

Even if he couldn't give her a proper status, he wanted to give her a wedding. 

As for me, because my parents passed away, Calvin said it was not appropriate to celebrate, so I had nothing except the marriage certificate.

I wiped the tears from my face in a self-deprecating smile and used my phone to photograph and record all the letters.  

They were not only evidence of Calvin's betrayal of me.

They were also evidence that Tami stole my award.

After doing all this, I quietly restored everything to its original state.

After closing the door, I made a call.  

“Miss Carpenter, do you agree?”

“Yes, I agree to grant you all the design rights, but you must help me with one thing!”  

As I hung up the phone, Calvin's familiar voice came from behind me, “Sylvia, who were you talking to on the phone just now? What do they need your help with?”  

I quickly put away my phone and replied calmly, “Nothing, just an employee in the studio who asked me to help with something.”

Then, I changed the conversation’s subject, “Do you like the flowers I brought? Let me arrange them for you.”  

Hearing this, Calvin didn't ask any more questions. He just handed the rose to me and stroked my palm while I was arranging the flowers.

“Honey, let's have a baby.”

My hand holding the rose suddenly froze.

He snatched one rose from my hand and stared straight into my eyes.

“Did you deliberately go to the orphanage to play with the kids last time? I used to dislike children, but seeing you that day, I suddenly didn't mind them anymore.”

“Let’s have two children, one like you and one like me. What do you think?”

I looked at his dreamy expression and couldn’t help but bite my lip.

He started lying to me again.

For the past five years, he had always kept me hooked with one wish after another.

Was he now using children as a bargaining chip?

But as early as the day after we got our marriage certificate, I knew that I would never have my own children in this life.

Because Calvin said he feared pregnancy and feared children—his mother had died during childbirth.  

He loved me and I couldn’t bear to see him hurt, so I voluntarily drank the sterilization potion.  

He had forgotten all of that.

“Honey, please?”

His question interrupted my thoughts. Afraid that he would notice, I could only hug him tightly, but my gaze grew icy.  

He thought I was just too excited, so he rushed off to tell the servants to prepare a candlelit dinner, not forgetting to glance back at me suggestively.

Watching his back, I whispered, “Calvin, you saved my life but deceived me for five years. That’s enough to settle the debt.”

After saying that, I sent another message to that number.

After my parents passed away, the Carpenter Family had long since faded out of the US social circles, so exposing Tami would give me no chance of success.  

The only opportunity was the award celebration three days later.

**

The next morning, when I woke up, Calvin was already gone.  

I hastily drafted a divorce agreement and went to the Weber Corporation, but was stopped at the entrance by the front desk.  

Calvin's phone was unanswered, so I had no choice but to call his secretary.

“Miss Carpenter, I'm sorry, the front desk staff is new and didn’t recognize you. I’ll scold her later. Please come in first.”

I had no intention of arguing with a junior employee, but before I had gone far, I heard whispers behind me.  

“Is that really Mr. Weber's wife? But I just saw Mr. Weber personally come down to pick up someone else and they were holding hands. I thought that was his wife.”

“Secretary Vance, it's not my fault. She was dressed so shabbily, who could tell?”

“Of course she's shabby. Five years ago, her family couldn't make it in the US anymore. Now they're completely dependent on Mr. Weber. She's just a parasite. I wonder what Mr. Weber sees in her?”

“The one who went in earlier is different. Have you been to the Pearl of City A? She designed it herself. Now it's an indispensable tourist attraction in the area and the government even awarded her a prize. Only someone like that is worthy of Mr. Weber!”

I clenched my fists tightly, ignoring everything.  

I walked straight to Calvin's office door and was about to knock when the sound from inside stopped me.

“Tami, how have you been these past few years?”  

“Didn’t you know I wrote you so many letters? There have been many men around me over the years, but the one I’ve loved from the very beginning is only one person. Unfortunately, he’s married now. I wonder if I still have a chance.”

Calvin looked up in shock with tears in his eyes.

“Yes, there will be. It definitely will be.”

“Calvin, thank you. If it weren't for your willingness to help me back then, I never could have achieved this on my own.”

Then, Tami added, "But before the celebration, I’d rather not meet with Sylvia. Last time, she misunderstood me. After all, I used to be an employee of the Carpenter Family and now our positions are reversed. I’m afraid she’ll find it even harder to accept.”  

I sneered, “How could it be a misunderstanding?”

When I was rejected in my first competition, I secretly investigated. 

I discovered that the work she submitted was very similar to my design. 

 ###Chapter 4​​

I reported her through official channels, demanding that she show me the source of the blueprints, but the police arrested me for spreading rumors.

Everyone said that I couldn't accept my own failure and was slandering others.

Only Calvin stood up for me and negotiated on my behalf, believing in me unconditionally as always.

But the truth was that it was he himself who handed the blueprint over to someone else.

Through the crack in the door, Calvin looked bitter as he took a piece of paper from his desk and handed it to Tami.

“This is Sylvia's latest design. With it, you will be able to gain a foothold in the US at the celebration party in three days. Consider it a gift to celebrate your return.”

Tami took it with a smile, her eyes brimming with pride.

Seeing that scene, a wave of cold anger surged in my chest. I gripped the agreement tightly and turned to leave, my heels echoing with resolve.

“Miss Carpenter, leaving so soon? Haven’t you met with Mr. Weber yet?” the secretary asked casually.

Her words made Calvin freeze. His eyes were tense as he hurried toward me. “Sylvia, why are you here? What's the matter?”

He even made a reason for me, “Do you still remember Tami? When she came to the Weber Family, you took her in. She just came here to discuss cooperation with me and she also said that she wanted to invite us both to the banquet to express her gratitude in person.”

Calvin gave a subtle glance and Tami put the documents behind her, immediately smiling and agreeing, “Yes, Sylvia, I wonder if I have the honor!”

Watching her extend her hand slightly, she exuded the air of a successful person standing above others.  

It seemed like a role reversal—I was the one who had once humbly begged for shelter as an employee.  

I suppressed the inner monologue and replied calmly, “No need.”

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a message. Before I could open it, Calvin spoke up.

“Sylvia, if you have something to do, go ahead. I still have some work matters to discuss with Tami. See you tonight when I get home.”

Seeing how eager he was to send me away, there was nothing left for me to misunderstand.  

“You guys go ahead and do your work. I'll see you tonight.”

After returning home and packing all my belongings, the auction house representatives arrived at the Weber residence.

Calvin had purchased an item a week earlier, but the phone number he had provided was off by one digit, so they had contacted me instead.

When signing to receive it, the other party opened the box to verify.

Inside was a pair of exquisite wedding rings.

I froze for a moment, looking at the simple, hastily written wedding ring on my hand, making my heart skip a beat.

Calvin's call arrived as expected.

“Sylvia, I bought a piece of jewelry for a client. My phone just ran out of battery. Can you help me receive it? I'll ask Secretary Vance to come get it.”

“Also, don't dwell on what happened today. Tami and you are both in the construction industry. I had to go to great lengths to get her to give you some advice.”  

“You've always wanted my dad to recognize you, right? This is the best opportunity.”  

Hearing him acting as if he was thinking about me, I suddenly felt like laughing.

In order to help Tami, he abandoned his upbringing and became a thief.

Now that his aspirations were about to be realized, why bother using the Weber Family’s approval to bind me?

“I know you are doing this for my own good. Take care of yourself. I will wait for your news.”

Hearing my words, his tone lightened.

I hung up the phone and put the box away.

Calvin, you’ve lied to me so many times, but I’ve only deceived you once.

That night, the secretary took the box from me and told me that something happened in the company, so Calvin needed to go on a business trip.

But the next day, I saw a photo of a mysterious tycoon successfully proposing on the news. Even though they were blurred, I recognized the identical wedding rings on their hands.