Nathaniel Reid had always despised being bound by our engagement.

To spite me, he recklessly raced cars and caused trouble, indulging in all sorts of reckless behavior.

And every time, I cleaned up his mess.

Then, a girl named Joanna Smith appeared in his life.

On the night of my birthday banquet, he scoured the entire city for a simple breakfast wrap for her and never even bothered to show up.

I had already prepared for this moment.

That night, I approached my family and asked to change the engagement.

"It didn’t have to be Nathaniel."

I thought of the distant, composed man from my dreams—the one who had always hidden his quiet, unwavering love for me.

A smile flickered across my lips as I said softly, "Didn’t he still have an uncle?"

Nathaniel Reid was absent from my birthday banquet.

While everyone speculated about the grand surprise the heir of the Reid family was preparing for me, all I received was a phone call.

His tone was casual, and he said, "You know, Joanna isn't in a good mood today. She’s craving the pancakes from her childhood, so I'm helping her find that place.

"Miss Lane, aren't you the one who loves playing the role of the gentle and understanding fiancée? I assume you can spare a little kindness and patience for this, right?"

Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to have him on speaker.

There was no pretense in his words, just pure mockery.

Before I could say anything, the call was already disconnected.

It wasn't an explanation—just a notice.

Nathaniel had always been like this with me.

Because of that, he also missed his father’s furious roar.

"That brat has gone too far!"

His mother tried to console me. "Naomi, don’t be upset. I’ll drag him over to apologize to you tomorrow.

“As for that girl, Joanna, she’s just a passing fling, nothing more than a stray cat or dog. I promise you, she won’t affect your relationship with Nathaniel in any way!"

I listened quietly, forcing a faint, pale smile.

Today was my birthday.

It was also supposed to be the day our wedding date was officially announced.

But the person who once swore to spend every birthday with me was nowhere to be seen.

My parents’ faces were grim.

Yet, I knew they were already calculating how to leverage this unexpected turn of events to force the Reid family into making greater concessions in their upcoming business dealings.

So, when I brought up the idea of breaking off the engagement I was met with reprimands as expected.

Everything was unfolding exactly as it had in that dream.

“Ridiculous!”

My father frowned, his tone displeased. “Naomi, it’s perfectly normal for men to have their little indulgences outside. You need to remember that you are the one Nathaniel is going to marry. There’s no need to fuss over those insignificant nobodies.”

Even my mother, who had once thrown countless hysterical fits over my father’s affairs, urged me not to be so narrow-minded.

Was I being petty?

I lowered my gaze, a faint smirk of mockery tugging at my lips.

After a moment, as if reaching a decision, I murmured, "It didn’t have to be Nathaniel."

I thought of the distant, composed man from my dreams—the one who had always hidden his quiet, unwavering love for me.

A smile flickered across my lips as I said softly, "Didn’t he still have an uncle?"

…

Nathaniel and I grew up together, and we were a perfect match in terms of both family background and status.

It was only natural that we got engaged when we came of age.

But at some point, Nathaniel began to grow distant, his warmth toward me fading into indifference.

He despised my presence.

Even more, he resented the way I tried to restrain him as his fiancée.

To spite me, he did one outrageous thing after another.

I lost count of how many times I had to clean up his mess.

I even witnessed a friend advising him not to treat me so cruelly.

The strikingly handsome young man simply leaned against the wall, lowering his gaze.

A tiny ember flickered at his fingertips, flaring and dimming in turns.

After a long pause, he stubbed out his cigarette and let out a short, mocking laugh.

"Isn’t this exactly what she loves doing?

"Miss Lane has worked so hard to craft that gentle and considerate image, all to secure her place in the Reid family. You’d better stay out of it. If you ruin her plans, she might not be so grateful. Who knows? She might even come after you for it."

His words dripped with ridicule and malice.

I stood frozen.

It felt like an invisible hand had clenched around my heart, the pain so sharp it nearly stole my breath.

I even forgot about the shards of glass embedded in my palm—the injury I had gotten trying to stop Nathaniel earlier.

But he never noticed.

The only reaction he had was a brief, instinctive step in my direction when I fell before he stopped himself, frowning in irritation.

"Mind your own business."

I ignored the pain, telling myself I needed to handle things here first before finding Nathaniel to talk.

But I never expected this was how he truly saw me all along.

I forced myself to stay calm, convincing myself that this had to be a misunderstanding that should be cleared up.

But before I even had the chance to figure things out, a girl named Joanna Smith appeared by Nathaniel’s side.

He shielded her carefully as if she were something fragile and precious.

And with her, he showed a gentleness and patience I hadn’t seen from him in years.

It was the day I first saw Joanna that I had a dream.

In that dream, Nathaniel still ended up marrying me.

He shed his reckless ways and grew into an outstanding heir to the Reid family.

But toward me, his wife, he was respectful, yet distant.

I tried so hard just to get him to treat me with even the slightest warmth.

And for a moment, it seemed like I had finally made some progress.

Until one day, I accidentally touched a handcrafted photo frame he left in his study.

Nathaniel erupted in fury.

"Naomi."

He called my name, his gaze icy as he stared at me.

His voice bristled with anger. "I’m already married to you. What more do you want?"

It wasn’t until much later that I learned the truth.

That frame was a wedding gift from Joanna before she left.

Tucked behind the frame was a letter from Joanna.

What a cruel joke of a gift.

I thought it was nothing more than a nightmare until everything that happened at my birthday banquet today aligned perfectly with it.

Snapping back to reality, I forced my voice to remain steady.

"If we really need to choose a business partner from the Reid family… wouldn’t Liam be the better choice?"

Liam Reid was hailed as a near-mythical genius in business—brilliant beyond reason yet so cold and indifferent he seemed almost inhuman.

Even Nathaniel’s father had to tread carefully around him.

He was far superior to Nathaniel in every way.

But he was also someone the Lane family could never hope to reach.

My father fell into a long silence before finally responding with a cold, clipped remark.

"Come talk to me about this again when you’re certain you can pull it off."

…

The next day, Nathaniel didn’t come to apologize.

There wasn’t even a simple text to explain himself as expected.

As the youngest heir of the Reid family, he had always been indulged.

Instead, it was his mother who called, her voice filled with apologies.

Once the call ended, my father told me to forgive Nathaniel.

But it seemed my words from yesterday had stirred something in him, perhaps a hint of ambition.

So, after a moment of hesitation, he refrained from pushing me to send a message first to make amends.

I quietly let out a breath of relief.

However, throwing out bold words was one thing—following through was another.

For starters, I didn’t even have Liam’s private contact information.

Moreover, at the moment, he was still overseas.

There wasn’t even a chance for a carefully planned "coincidental" encounter.

A dull ache formed at my temples when I thought about relying solely on that dream.

But before I could come up with a proper solution, trouble found Nathaniel once again.

…

It was the second time I had ever seen Nathaniel lose control like that.

I was kidnapped once.

Nathaniel was the one who found me in an abandoned factory, leading the police straight to my location.

"Naomi…"

His eyes were red as he took in the bruises on my face. His hand lifted slightly but hesitated, as if afraid that even the slightest touch would hurt me.

Then, unable to suppress his fury any longer, he snapped.

Teeth clenched, fists tight, he threw punch after punch at the kidnappers, his rage so brutal that no one dared to step in and stop him until, through the pain, I called out to him.

"Nathaniel, it hurts."

"Nathaniel, stop!"

It was a similar scene with the same voice pleading with him.

But this time, I wasn’t the one who managed to stop him.

The ache in my chest spread slowly, but it was still bearable.

And over time, it would fade.

I watched, calm and detached, as Nathaniel delivered one last ruthless kick before turning, panic-stricken to check if Joanna was hurt.

His concern for her was unmistakable.

"You’re really just going to stand there and take this?"

The friend who brought me out to clear my mind was fuming, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Does that trash even remember he has a fiancée?"

I stopped her.

I planned to slip away quietly.

But before I could leave, one of Nathaniel’s friends spotted me.

"Well, well, looks like our future Mrs. Reid has a knack for showing up at just the right time!"

He deliberately raised his voice, blocking my path with a smug grin.

Then, turning to Nathaniel, he joked, "Alright, Nate, take Joanna and get her injuries treated. Your fiancée’s here. She’ll handle the rest."

They all assumed, without question, that I was here to clean up Nathaniel’s mess.

I had no choice but to stop.

Nathaniel looked up then and finally saw me.

For a brief second, he froze.

His fingers instinctively loosened around Joanna’s hand, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.

But just as quickly, it vanished, replaced by realization, then cold fury.

"Naomi."

Nathaniel curved his lips into a smirk, though the expression never reached his eyes.

"This was your doing, wasn’t it?"

I frowned. "What?"

"You were upset that I skipped your birthday banquet, so you had someone target Joanna on purpose."

Step by step, he closed the distance between us, his expression growing sharper, colder, almost terrifying, until he stood right in front of me, looking down with a cold, condescending gaze.

"This is just like you, isn’t it? Playing the perfect act in public while scheming behind the scenes—deceptive and completely fake."

I was stunned.

Beyond Nathaniel, I caught sight of Joanna, who should have looked frightened.

Instead, she seemed uneasy, deliberately avoiding my gaze.

I see.

Understanding dawned, but I forced myself to stay calm as I explained, "I have no reason to do something like this.

"This was just a coincidence. If I had known you two would be here, I wouldn’t have even stepped out of my house."

It was the truth.

But Nathaniel didn’t believe me.

He suddenly grabbed my wrist, his voice dripping with mockery.

"You really think I’d fall for your lies again?

"Naomi, haven’t you been scheming all this time to marry into the Reid family? And now, before you’ve even secured your place as Mrs. Reid, you’re already acting high and mighty, trying to discipline me?

“Who do you think you are? What right do you have to interfere in my life?"

His grip tightened, the pain sharp enough to make me wince.

My brows furrowed as I gritted out, "Let go."

But he didn’t. His expression only grew darker, his irritation mounting.

I had no leverage with Liam yet.

For now, I couldn’t afford to completely fall out with Nathaniel or the Reid family.

But the situation was almost laughable.

The same man who once handled me with such delicate care, as if I were made of porcelain was now doing everything he could to hurt me.