It recorded the first time Ashley and Zachary met at university.

The first time they held hands.

Their first kiss.

Her first heartbreak.

The first day she drank for seven days and nights because Zachary was getting married.

What Zachary liked to eat, what he enjoyed doing—everything was meticulously detailed.

Every stroke of the pen carried her subtle affection.

I flipped through the pages to the very end, but my name wasn’t there—not even a single mention. The diary in my hands suddenly felt unbearably heavy.

After taking a photo of it, I walked out of the room, leaning against the wall and gasping for air.

As my blurred vision gradually cleared, I picked up my phone and made an international call. "Hey, Sis, I’m thinking of going abroad. Dad has always said he wanted to travel the world, right? I’m going to fulfill that dream for him."

My sister, who was far away in another country, detected the sorrow in my tone and fell silent for a few seconds.

"Trev, you get into a fight with Ash, don't you? She’s so good to you—why not try being a bit more understanding?"

I gave much explaination to my actions.

In the end, my sister sighed softly. "Alright. Alright. Whatever decision you make, I’ll support your choice," she said.

"After Dad passed, the Rollins family's business went downhill. Recently, Ash transferred all of it to me. I’m planning to move the assets overseas. When you come back, I’ll hand everything back to you."

"But you have to know, the financial settlement will take three more days to finish. I’ll pick you up at the airport by then."

I nodded in agreement. "Okay. I’ll book a flight for three days from now."

After hanging up, I heard high heels tapping against the floor behind me.

Ashley wrapped her arms around my waist, her chin resting on my shoulder as she smiled sweetly. "Buying a plane ticket? What for?"

I quickly came up with an excuse to brush it off, "My sister just called. She’s planning to buy a ticket to visit me."

Ashley was thrilled when she heard this. "That’s great! I haven’t seen your sister in ages. It’ll be nice to catch up."

She stepped in front of me and gently placed my hand on her stomach, softly rubbing it. "Honey, haven’t you always wanted a child? Tonight, let’s skip the protection."

I was momentarily stunned.

In the three years we’ve been married, I’ve brought up wanting to have children at least 99 times, but she always turned me down, citing concerns about her figure. Our intimate life had become so rare I could count it on one hand. This was the first time she had ever taken the initiative to bring it up.

Before I could process it, she grabbed my hand and led me to the canteen area, where all eyes followed us with a mix of envy and curiosity.

"I’m hungry. You wouldn’t mind if we ate here, would you?"

I didn’t refuse and sat down across from her.

Ashley didn’t show me the menu. It wasn’t until the food arrived and she saw me frowning that she finally asked, concerned,

"What's wrong? Is the food not to your liking?"

I looked down at the shrimp soup in front of me, a cold chill running through me. I’m allergic to seafood and I can’t eat anything with it.

Once, Ashley had carelessly added shrimp to a soup she made and after I ate it, I was rushed to the hospital—barely surviving.

What shocked me now was how completely she had forgotten about that incident.

Meanwhile, I distinctly remembered that Zachary was also allergic to seafood. But she had made sure to keep that in mind.

Maybe, in Ashley's mind, I was never someone she needed to care about. My well-being, my survival—it didn’t matter to her.

After a few half-hearted bites, Ashley excused herself, saying the company was busy and that I should continue eating. She seemed eager to leave.

The moment she walked out, I immediately called legal consultant that my family had always hired.

"Roy, draft a divorce agreement for me…. Yes, I want a clean break."

"Help me check what happened three years ago too, Roy. The day of my dad’s car accident and what's going on between my family and the Donovans."

The fake love between Ashley and I... it’s time for it to end.

The next day, a news story popped up on my phone. Curious, I clicked on it and found out that there was a charity gala in the city that night.

The gala itself wasn’t anything special, but what caught everyone’s attention was the appearance of a very rare international exhibit. It was a one-of-a-kind diamond, named "Immortal Love".

The value of the diamond was immense, but it was no where a match for the meaning carried in its name.

I thought this had nothing to do with me, but later that night, I received a call from Ashley.

"Honey, dress sharp tonight. I’m taking you to the charity gala. Wait for me to pick you up."

An hour later, Ashley had a driver come pick me up. When I arrived at the charity event, I realized she was already there. She wore a deep V-neck gown, stunning and captivating, drawing admiring glances from many men.

Just as I was about to approach, I noticed she was engaged in conversation with someone. The said person was none other than Zachary.

"It’s been a while. You’re still as beautiful as ever." Zachary’s compliment made her blush. What a rare sight.

"And you? How’s married life treating you?"

Zachary’s expression was unreadable, his gaze cold yet filled with unmasked ambiguity. "It’s going well. Mae’s pregnant and we’re very happy."

Ashley forced a smile, but there was a faint, almost imperceptible sadness in her eyes, which I caught from a distance.

I tightened my grip on my wine glass, feeling a sour pang in my chest.

At that moment, onlookers, noticing Ashley and Zachary, began to praise them.

"That handsome man, could he be Ms. Roth’s husband? What a perfect match!"

"Absolutely. She’s gentle and graceful and he’s strikingly handsome. They’re the most perfect couple I’ve ever seen."

"I’ve heard Ms. Roth dotes on her husband. Seeing them together tonight confirms that the rumors were true."

Hearing the murmurs around her, Ashley felt a flash of secret delight. In the next moment, her eyes met mine and she froze on the spot.

As I walked away, Ashley hurriedly chased after me. “Trev, wait!”

She lifted her gown and ran in front of me, ignoring the surprised looks from others, her expression flustered as she tried to explain.

“Trev, why did you leave when you just saw me? Is it because you were upset that I was talking to another man? I won’t do it again, okay?”

“You know Mr. Donovan is an important client for our company. We were just exchanging pleasantries—don’t misunderstand.”

Looking into her earnest, pleading eyes, I couldn’t help but chuckle softly. If I hadn’t seen everything that happened in that mysterious room, perhaps even I would have been fooled by her convincing performance.

Oh, Ashley. Love can be bold and open, grand and unapologetic. Why go to such lengths to hide it?

You like him, didn't you, Ash? I could just step aside.

As I stayed silent, Zachary approached, wearing a smirk that was more condescending than amused.

"Trevor, in front of all these people, how could you let a beautiful girl like her chase after you like this? How can you even call yourself a man?"

"A real man should be cool headed, not petty." His mocking tone had the crowd laughing and some looked at me as if I were the punchline of a joke.

With his usual charm, Zachary only succeeded in making me feel smaller.

Meanwhile, Ashley stood there, completely still, showing no sign of stepping in to defend me.

In that moment, I suddenly felt a sense of relief and smiled faintly.

"Well, Mr. Donovan, you stole my ex-fiancée and now you got your eyes on my current wife?" The moment those words left my mouth, Zachary’s face darkened.

Seeing the crowd whispering, he shot me an angry glance and stormed off.

Ashley was flustered red. She said spontaneously, "Trevor! How can you talk about Mr. Donovan like that? Go after him and apologize!"

I shot her a cold look and she paused after realizing her slip-up.

"Trev, don’t take it the wrong way. I’m just trying to help you."

"The Donovan family isn’t what it once was. If you make an enemy of him now, things are going to get tough for you."

I wasn’t fazed. "When he ruined my wedding and took my fiancée, that was when our paths became enemies. From that moment on, it was always going to be war between us."

Ashley seemed ready to say more, but I turned and walked off, finding a quiet corner to be alone. She watched me leave, wanting to say something, but in the end, she didn’t follow.

I waited for a bit among the crowd. I soon saw her laughing and chatting with Zachary, as though nothing had happened.

In the past three years, the Rollins family's company hasn’t grown—in fact under Ashley’s management. In fat, it’s only gotten worse.

Meanwhile its rival, the company belonging to the Donovans had made an impressive comeback, thriving and securing multiple private deals with the Roths. The Rollins was no longer the powerful giant that once nearly drove the Donovans to bankruptcy.

Maybe this was exactly what Ashley had been hoping for...

In this situation, Zachary went from being a struggling rich kid to a confident, successful young man.

As my thoughts swirled, the noise of bidding finally began. Listening to the back-and-forth of the auction, I sipped my wine in a melancholic daze, until I heard cheers.

"The diamond’s been sold! One hundred fifty million!"

"Who’s spending that kind of money? That’s a one-of-a-kind, limited edition!"

"I heard it was someone from the Donovans."

"No way! I clearly saw Ms. Roth place the bid."

At this, I paused and gave a self-mocking smile. Ashley was in her effort to impress Zachary, huh? She really wasn’t holding back.

This charity gala no longer held any meaning for me. After staying for half an hour, I decided to leave.

Just then, someone called my name.

"Mr. Rollins, Ms. Roth is looking for you, by the pool."

I was wary at this turn of event, but I walked toward the pool anyway. There, Ashley was nowhere in sight—just Zachary who was smirking smugly at me.

"Loser, Mae left you for me and now even your wife Ashley is desperately trying to win me over. See this diamond? Ashley gave it to me—one hundred fifty million!"

"What about you? What has she given you?" He waved the sparkling diamond in front of me, almost as if showing off.

I thought for a moment and shook my head.

Indeed, over the years, Ashley had given me very few things—most of them meaningless, trivial gifts. It was as if giving me gifts was just something she had to do, a task to check off.

Could that be anymore pathetic?

I didn’t want to waste my time on him and decided to leave. Before I could do that, I saw the mischievous grin on Zachary’s face. A bad feeling instantly shot up my gut.

Zachary’s gaze shifted past my shoulder, spotting a group of people rushing toward us.

The next moment, he yelled out, "Trevor! You can't steal my diamond! Ah!" He then reached out and yanked me into the pool with him.

"Zachary!"

As we hit the water, I saw the look of terror on Ashley’s face as she called out Zachary’s name.

I’d never learned to swim and was a terrible swimmer. I struggled in the water, helplessly reaching out to Ashley, pleading for help.