Mary made a show of running off, sniffling. She only managed to take a few steps before Zachary pulled her back.

Gently, he coaxed, "She didn't mean it like that, Mary. The company's been doing better and better ever since we hired you. How could you bring bad luck when you're my lucky charm?"

Mary's voice trembled with tears. "But… Victoria doesn't seem to like me. She's upset that I wore her wedding dress, but I was really careful with it. I only tried it on for a photo—"

Heartbroken, Zachary pulled some pieces of candy out of his bag and offered them to her. "Don't cry, Mary. She's just being unreasonable. You'll feel better after having something sweet. I brought this imported candy just for you."

My heart sank as I watched him take out the candy and hand it over so naturally.

Back when we were young and in love, I used to get dizzy from low blood sugar all the time. Sometimes, I'd just collapse out of nowhere while walking down the street.

Zachary was terrified after experiencing it once. From then on, he always carried candy with him, just in case.

But later, his life got better as his company grew.

The candy was no longer meant for me. Now, it belonged to Zachary's secretary, Mary.

Self-mockery tinted my gaze as I watched how affectionate they were.

Just then, a couple arguing nearby glanced over. "Look how sweet they're being. You can tell they've been together for a long time. Hey, can I ask how you trained your boyfriend to be so thoughtful and gentle? He's even carrying candy around just for you!"

Mary and Zachary both froze for a moment, then looked up at me, flustered.

Mary forced an awkward smile. "You've misunderstood. We're not a couple."

She pointed at me and continued, "Victoria is my boss' fiancee—"

The couple's expressions immediately changed. They nodded awkwardly and hurried off.

Even strangers could tell they looked far more like an affectionate couple.

I felt there was no point in dragging this out any longer. I cut straight to the point. "The wedding dress is ruined. I don't want it anymore. Just pay me for it, Zachary. We're calling off the engagement."

"Call it off? Who do you think you're threatening, Victoria?" Zachary looked up coldly and scoffed.

He continued, "Mary was kind enough to bring your wedding dress all the way here to you. Despite this heat, she didn't even stop to take a sip of water and just rushed over because she was worried you'd be anxious. And you're still nitpicking? Do you really think you're some high-maintenance wealthy heiress?"

Zachary's gaze was full of mockery as he gave me a once-over. "Do you really think you have that kind of luck? Haven't you been with me all these years just waiting for me to make it big so you could marry rich and live your life as some rich housewife? You'd really give that up?"

A smug smile crossed Mary's expression for a split second. But the next moment, she burst into tears.

She shouted, "Please don't call off the engagement because of me, Zach! I don't want to be the reason for all this! Since Victoria—your future wife—doesn't like me, I'll just resign and leave the company. I'm sorry, Zach. I won't be able to help you anymore—"

Sobbing, Mary bit her finger hard enough to draw blood, about to write a resignation letter on the ground.

"How could you resign?" Zachary pulled her into his arms, concerned. "This has nothing to do with you. Just let her throw a tantrum if she wants. Didn't you say you wanted some barbecue? I'll take you to have some right now."

Before leaving, he pulled out several bills and flung them in my face. "Didn't you want me to pay for the wedding dress? Take the money and get lost."

I watched as they got into a luxury car and drove off. I bent down, picked up the cash, and chuckled coldly.

I thought to myself, "What you owe me is far more than just this 200-million-dollar wedding dress, Zachary. Since you've chosen this path, I'll make you pay back everything you've taken."

Andrew Ford, Zachary's assistant, stood there awkwardly, holding the wedding dress. "What should we do with this wedding dress, Ms. Stone?"

I didn't even glance at it. "Throw it away."

I didn't like keeping secondhand goods. No matter how expensive it was, I wouldn't want anything someone else had used before.

It was the same for people.

…

I made plans to grab drinks with my best friend, Sherry Lancelot.

After we had three glasses, my phone suddenly buzzed twice.

Mary had sent me a video, along with a few texts. "Victoria, haven't you always wanted to know what was on that wedding dress? I'll tell you.

"Zach was the one who agreed to let me wear it. He said he had to marry you after all those years you spent with him, but he was willing to let me wear your wedding dress and be his bride just once.

She continued, "You'd never guess this, but the photographer in that private studio was Zach himself. He got carried away and couldn't hold back, so he made love with me while I was still wearing it."

That video was so explicit that it was hard to watch.

I hadn't even clicked into it before Sherry snatched my phone away.

She fumed after watching it, stomping her feet angrily. "That bitch! No wonder Zachary keeps going out of his way to protect that secretary of his. Turns out they've been messing around behind your back this whole time! How shameless!"

"You're the heiress of the Stone family, Victoria. Are you really going to let this pass? I'll deal with that scheming homewrecker myself!"

Sherry had always been impulsive.

I stopped her before she could even make it out the door. "There's no need."

Sherry's eyes turned red with frustration. "But tomorrow's your wedding. What are you going to do?"

She had always worried about my relationship.

Over the past five years, whenever she mentioned Zachary, she always thought he was poor and wasn't good enough for me.

All I had to do was leave him, and I could go back to living as the wealthy heiress I was meant to be.

Yet for the sake of so-called love, I had carefully pretended to be poor and stayed by his side while he built everything from scratch.

I lowered my head and chuckled. "Do you really think a man like that is worth marrying, Sherry? I've already thrown the dress away. There's no need for the wedding to proceed anymore."

As I spoke, the sound of shattering glass came from behind me. I turned around and met Zachary's cold, hostile gaze.

He said, "Can you stop making a big deal out of nothing, Victoria? You even threw away the wedding dress? Who are you trying to threaten?"

Frowning, Zachary strode over, looking completely unreasonable as he slammed the shopping bag in his hand down hard.

"To think that Mary was kind enough to consider how you might have felt wronged today. She even convinced me to go to a bridal shop to get you a brand-new wedding dress after dinner. You're truly ungrateful!" he spat.

Mary stood behind Zachary, looking flustered. Her eyes were wide when she looked at me pitifully. "It's all my fault, Victoria. I shouldn't have tried on your wedding dress without your permission. I only make three thousand dollars a month, but I'll pay you back—"

Biting her lip, she shakily pulled out her wallet and took out several 50-dollar bills. With reddened eyes, she held them out to me.

Zachary said, "You don't need to pay her back, Mary. She's been living off my family and using our money all these years. And now she's putting a price tag on a stupid wedding dress? How shameless can she be?"

Sherry grew exasperated when she heard his words. "You're the one with no shame, Zachary! Do you have any idea how many times Victoria secretly helped you over the years? If anything, you're the one who's been living off her! Do you even know that Victoria is—"

Before she could reveal my identity, I frowned and shook my head at her.

There was no need to deal with people like this any more than necessary.

I looked at Zachary and said coldly, "Since you think I owe you, go ahead and make a list of everything. I'll do the same with all my expenses. We can settle this in court."

Shock crossed his face, then he laughed in disbelief.

Pointing at me, he sneered, "You said it yourself. You're the one calling off the engagement, Victoria. Don't regret it later. The invitations have already gone out, so all our friends and family will be there tomorrow. Let's see how you're going to handle it without a groom!"

With that, Zachary wrapped his arm around Mary and left. Even his tone sounded smug, as if he couldn't wait to watch me make a fool of myself.

Sherry frowned, clearly worried. "Now is not the time to be acting on impulse, Victoria. So many guests are coming for your wedding tomorrow. What are you going to do?"

I was unusually calm as I looked up at her. "If I recall correctly, your older brother just got back two days ago, right?"

Sherry froze, then covered her mouth in shock. "Victoria, don't tell me you're thinking of marrying Will? Oh my, he'll be over the moon if he finds out! I need to head back and tell him right now! He pursued you for eight whole years. If he knew he had a chance to marry you, he'd be smiling in his sleep!"

Sure enough, the message got to William Lancelot in less than half an hour.

I was sitting in the bar, downing drink after drink, when he came up behind me and pulled me into his arms.

William's tone held a hint of nervousness and excitement as he spoke. "You're finally willing to look my way, Victoria. I heard from Sherry that you're planning to switch grooms tomorrow?"

I turned around and met his affectionate gaze.

William was Sherry's older brother. He'd pursued me for eight years straight.

He had tried more than once to win me over while I was dating Zachary. He even said he was willing to be my backup, that he'd be first in line whenever I broke up.

I looked at William and nodded. "Yes, I'm planning to do that. Would you be willing?"

"Of course!" he replied without hesitation. "I heard about everything from Sherry today. Zachary isn't worth anything. You were right to dump him."

William's voice was beyond tender. "I'll prove to you that choosing me is the right decision, Victoria. See you at the wedding tomorrow."

The next day, I waited quietly for William to come pick me up.

From a distance, I saw a long line of cars approaching.

But instead of a nicely decorated wedding car leading the line, a hearse pulled up, looking much like a funeral procession.

Andrew frowned at the sight. "You're pretty unlucky to run into something like this on your wedding day. The groom's convoy should be here soon, Ms. Stone. Do you want the bodyguards to clear these cars out?"

I shook my head, expressionless. "We should pay our respects. Just let them pass first."

Andrew hurried over to speak with them. "Ms. Stone is kind enough to let you pass first. Wrap things up and move along. Don't hold things up."

But the line of cars didn't budge.

The window of the lead car rolled down, revealing Zachary's furious face. "Who are you calling a funeral procession? These are the cars here to pick you up for the wedding!"

Just then, another convoy of wedding cars pulled up from the opposite direction and stopped, ready to pick me up.

Zachary looked at me with open disgust. "Do you have any shame at all, Victoria? You hired someone to pick you up just to make a show of the wedding? Are you trying to make yourself a laughingstock?"

I replied coldly, "I'm not marrying you. I told you we're done."

Zachary looked at me with mockery in his eyes. "Why would you be standing here in a wedding dress if you're not marrying me? Don't tell me you found a new groom overnight."

I nodded. "That's right. And whoever it is, it's definitely not you."

Zachary didn't believe a word of it and acted as if he'd just heard a joke. "Stop pretending to be tough. You've waited five years for this day. There's no way you'd just walk away. As long as you drop the attitude, say something nice, and apologize, I'll still marry you today—"

I glanced at the cars behind him with a mocking smile. They looked even more convincing with the headlights on. "You're here to pick me up? Anyone who didn't know better would think this was for a funeral."

Zachary's expression immediately darkened.

Before he could respond, a soft, tearful voice cut in. "What are you talking about? What do you mean it's a funeral procession? It's just minimalist decorations. Why would you say something like that?"

Mary stepped out of the car in a red dress, teary-eyed. "Are you still upset about me wearing your wedding dress yesterday, Victoria? It's all my fault.

"I thought you wouldn't mind me trying it on just for a photoshoot. I'm from a small town, and I've never done a photoshoot like that before. I don't even have a boyfriend. I just wanted a few pictures."

She continued, "You're wearing a new wedding dress today anyway, and it didn't affect the wedding. Can you forgive me? If you're still upset, I'll get on my knees and start begging for your forgiveness—"

Mary made a show of trying to kneel while crying. Zachary quickly pulled her back up before she could even get on her knees.

He snapped, "That's enough, Victoria. Mary stayed up all night trying to make it up to you. She even went to all the trouble of arranging your wedding procession. Don't be so ungrateful."

That explained why the funeral procession was here. As it turned out, this was Mary's handiwork.

At this point, it wasn't surprising anymore.

I remained unmoved. If anything, I even started waving toward the wedding convoy across the street.

"What are you waiting for?" Zachary snapped angrily. "Get in the car already."

Even now, he still thought I was marrying him.

It wasn't until a man in a groom's suit walked toward me. "What's going on, Victoria?"

William took my hand gently, his expression protective as he glanced at the others.

Zachary's eyes darkened at the sight. He chuckled coldly. "I didn't expect you to go so far as to hire an actor to keep up the act, Victoria."

The moment he finished speaking, Andrew rushed over in a panic. "There's been a mistake, Mr. Everdon. Ms. Stone is getting married to someone else. The wedding cars across the street were arranged by the groom. Please step aside."