After dating Asher Bennett for ten years, he finally proposes to me. He puts a blindfold on me, claiming that he wants to give me a surprise.

But the moment I step into the room, I feel a bucket of cold water being splashed onto me.

"When are you going to wake up from your fantasies, Claire Sutton? Why would I even marry you in the first place?"

With trembling hands, I take off the blindfold, only to see Asher sitting on the couch while drinking some alcohol languidly.

"See? I told you she'd come! Whoever's the loser of this bet, you'd better pay for the drinks!"

Upon noticing my silence, Asher says mockingly, "Hey, Claire! You're not getting any younger, you know! So, you might as well just marry some random dude at this point to avoid growing old all by your lonesome!"

The moment his words fall, his friends all laugh at me while looking at me in disdain.

But when I follow Asher's instructions and marry another man, why is it that he regrets letting me go?

Asher Bennett greeted the server with a laugh.

"Waiter, bring me one glass of every drink on this menu! And one of each appetizer too!"

After speaking, he pulled a hundred-dollar bill from his friend's pocket and handed it to the server as a tip. The moment I saw that, I knew I'd been made a fool of again.

Asher's friend complained loudly. "Holy shit, how can you be so stupid?

"Anyone could tell this was fake! As if you'd ever get this lucky!

"Seriously, Claire Sutton, can you stop being so full of yourself? Why would he ever marry you?"

As I listened to them mock me back and forth, I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt.

Asher downed a glass of whiskey, then said with mock sincerity, "Free drinks really do taste better. Thanks so much!

"But don't feel too bad. After all, I did promise you a surprise."

He fished a cheap bracelet out of the trash can and held it out to me. The woman beside him couldn't help but chime in.

"Asher, why are you giving her someone's garbage?"

As she spoke, she made a point of showing off the expensive designer bracelet on her own wrist. Her eyes were full of mockery. Asher stared at me and smirked.

"Claire doesn't care about material things like that. She loves anything I give her. Right, Claire?"

When I took the bracelet, his friend sneered. "Wow, talk about being desperate. She really took it."

In the past, I would have argued until I was hoarse. However, now, I simply took the bracelet and used it as a hair tie to pull my hair back.

"Thanks. I'm supposed to be making toasts today, and loose hair wouldn't look right."

Asher paused for a second, then burst out laughing.

"Wait, Claire, you actually took that seriously? Making toasts? Do you think I'd ever bring someone like you home to meet my parents?

"You're living in a fantasy. There's seriously something wrong with you!"

He crossed his legs and looked at me with pure disgust. Even though I'd expected this, hearing him say it out loud still hurt.

The truth was, I'd known all along that today's proposal was nothing but a cruel joke.

Yesterday at noon, I made lunch as usual and brought it to Asher's office. Just as I reached his door, I heard laughter coming from inside.

Through the crack in the doorway, I could see Asher sitting on the couch with a cigarette in his hand.

"Asher, you're something else. Only you would get a kick out of bets like this. But let's see if this delusional woman actually falls for it this time!"

"You've tricked her so many times already, though. Will she really believe it again? I remember she got pretty mad last time!"

"How about this? If Asher loses the bet, we can have Violet sing for us. I heard she's studying music..."

Before he could finish, Asher kicked him to the ground. His face turned terrifyingly dark.

"What the hell do you think Violet is? She's a serious music student! Not some bar chick!"

Everyone in their circle knew that Violet Shaw was the person Asher cared about most. Her reputation mattered more to him than his own life. If anyone said a single bad word about Violet, they'd end up broken and bleeding the next day.

The guy who'd just made the joke immediately dropped to his knees to apologize. "I'm sorry, Asher!

"I'm an idiot, I'm sick in the head. You're the bigger man here, so just ignore me!"

Watching this, I felt like my heart was being ripped apart. I didn't even realize I was crying until the tears soaked my collar.

Asher had long forgotten the promises he had once made to me.

"Little girl, from now on, you'll stay with me. I'll protect you. No one will dare to hurt you," he'd said.

"Claire, if we're both still single in ten years, let's just get married," he'd said.

I'd held onto those two promises all this time. Yet he'd forgotten them all.

Today marked exactly ten years, and I felt that I really should get married. However, the person I needed to marry wasn't Asher Bennett.

Snapping back to reality, I forced a smile.

"Alright, I need to go get my marriage license. I won't keep you any longer."

The moment I took a step toward the exit, Asher grabbed my wrist tightly. "Claire, what are you trying to pull?

"Don't tell me you actually want to drag me to get a marriage license with you? Can you have some self-respect?"

Looking at his face full of disgust, I felt completely helpless. The Asher who once fought a gang of thugs alone to protect me was long gone. Now, he couldn't wait for me to disappear.

Just as I was about to explain, a sweet voice rang out. "Asher!"

I turned my head to see Violet jogging over to Asher's side. She blinked at him flirtatiously. Asher immediately released my wrist and wiped his hand on his clothes several times before taking Violet's hand. He looked at her tenderly, his voice going soft.

"What are you doing in a place like this? This isn't the right place for you."

Violet put her hands on her hips and pouted with displeasure.

"You have some nerve! I heard your friend was proposing today. That's such an important occasion, and you didn't even invite me? You actually came here alone!"

Panic flashed across Asher's face. Then, he looked around, randomly pulled one of his friends forward, and said with a laugh, "Well, you've been so busy with training lately. I didn't want to disturb you.

"Ray here was proposing to Claire today. You showed up at the perfect time. Let's all witness their happy moment together!"

After speaking, he nudged Raymond Smith. Raymond hurriedly put his arm around my shoulders and chimed in.

"Right! We're about to go get our marriage license!"

I looked up to find myself face to face with his oily, acne-covered skin. Out of everyone in this group, I hated him the most. He was always making crude sexual jokes about me in front of everyone. He was also the one who had ruined my reputation.

Raymond bent down and whispered in my ear. "Asher will never want you. Why don't you be with me instead? I bet I can make you feel amazing!"

Disgust rolled through me. I shoved him away hard and headed for the exit. Seeing this, Raymond moved to pull me into his arms.

In my desperation, I shouted, "I already have a husband! He'll be here any minute!"

The moment those words left my mouth, everyone froze before bursting into laughter.

"Claire, give it a rest. Aren't you tired of living a lie?"

"Seriously, Ray's crazy about you. Don't break his heart like that!"

"Get together! Get together! Kiss her! Kiss her!"

Watching me get humiliated, Asher showed no concern whatsoever. Instead, he joined in the jeering.

"Claire, I actually think you and Ray make a pretty good match."

I clenched my fists and said through gritted teeth, "I told you, I already have a husband!

"If you don't believe me, you can all come with me to city hall and see for yourselves!"

Worried they still wouldn't believe me, I reached into my bag for an invitation, only to remember I'd handed out the last one yesterday. When she saw my expression, Violet put on a sympathetic act.

"Claire, you know I've always had your back, but this time I really need to speak up for Ray.

"He finally worked up the courage to confess his feelings. If you don't want to accept, fine, but how can you hurt him with such a terrible excuse?

"After all, everyone knows you've been chasing after Asher this whole time. Where would you even get a husband?

"Don't be upset. Everyone just wants what's best for you, so just stop lying. You're only hurting yourself."

When Violet finished, everyone nodded in approval.

"She really is cultured, being a music student and all. So refined and reasonable."

"No wonder Asher likes her. I'd pick someone like that too. Who would want someone as unreasonable as Claire Sutton?"

At that, Violet frowned slightly as if feeling sorry for me. "Claire, just apologize, and we can pretend this never happened, okay? We're all still friends."

That same line again. Whenever there was any kind of conflict, she always played the peacemaker. She seemed to take my side, but really, she was just forcing me to admit fault.

It worked perfectly on Asher and his friends. So I opened my phone, scrolled through it a few times, then held it up in front of them.

"I'm out of paper invitations, but I saved a digital copy. If anyone's interested, feel free to come. I'll make sure to give you all a proper welcome."

The group crowded around to look at the invitation. Someone gasped.

"Holy shit! A wedding on a private island!"

"This island is privately owned. It's worth hundreds of millions!"

Hearing this, Asher scoffed and locked my phone. "God. This is obviously fake. Does Claire look like someone who could afford to get married there?

"She probably took someone else's invitation and changed the names. Talk about shallow and vain!"

After he spoke, everyone's mocking expressions intensified.

"Claire, you really know how to delude yourself!"

"That's what I'm saying. How could someone like you possibly land a wealthy man who owns a private island?"

Violet came over and took my arm, trying to reason with me. "Claire, there's really no need for this. Why are you humiliating yourself like this?

"Even though Asher doesn't have feelings for you, he's always treated you like family. Acting like this will only make him hate you more!"

Asher waved a dismissive hand. "Violet, you can't reason with someone like her. Just leave her alone."

I sighed and pulled off my gloves. A massive diamond glittered on my ring finger.

Violet went still.