Sure enough, in less than five days after arriving, Harry has gotten used to Grandma and I.

A month later, he and I hitched a ride with our neighbor into town to sell the harvest from grandma's corn field.

Ten acres of corn brought in 2,250 crowns. After deducting the cost of fertilizer, pesticides and transportation, we cleared 1,050. I gave Harry a cut—350 crowns. And, that night, he lay awake hugging the cash until morning.

The next day, with dark circles under his eyes, he sat beside me and said, “Joyce, let’s date. I’ve got money now.”

Of course I knew he had money. Harry Wallace, the heir to the powerful Wallace Family, never lacked that.

From that day on, he started pursuing me. Everywhere we went, people whispered.

"Typical rich boy... his ex just left and he’s already moved on?"

Then one day, he showed up with 10,000 roses to propose me.

I said yes.

He froze for a second, then pulled me into his arms, grinning like a fool. I could hear his heart pounding through his chest and mine beat just as fast.

What those people didn’t understand was—Harry might’ve had all the money in the world, but what he rarely got was something genuine care.

After we got together, my biggest challenge became my background.

But I never bowed my head or backed down. I threw myself into exams, internships and late nights, until finally, I became the top lawyer standing by his side.

Sadly, dreams don’t last forever. His ex-fiancée, his once puppy love who had once left him had came back.

Rose Tabard cried in his arms all night. The next day, my title was stripped and Rose became the lead counsel.

Harry looked exhausted when we spoke. “Joyce, I had no choice. The Tabars have done a lot for my family. I can’t just ignore their request.”

“When we’re married, be rest assured that you’ll be the future Mrs. Wallace. You have to learn to weigh the pros and cons. Sacrifices are part of the deal.”

So I gave in. I watched him and Rose attend events together, throw lavish birthday parties for her, even buy matching necklaces for their engagement.

I kept waiting through endless hope and disappointment, until one day it hit me... Maybe he didn’t need my love anymore.

That day, I waited for him from morning till night. In the end, his assistant came instead, to try on his tux for the wedding.

I finally snapped. When I called Harry, however, he was even angrier than I was.

“Joyce, do you have any idea what I’ve sacrificed just to marry you?” he snapped. “Rose and I aren’t playing house. We’re working. It’s just a damn tux. Can’t you tell what really matters?”

Seven years. From dating to engagement, not a single photo together. And yet he let Rose post couple selfies from their ski trip on his socials.

I used to think that as long as he loved me, I could endure anything, any inequal treatment he’d done. Now I understood. All the sacrifice and the poor treatment I got… came from the fact that Harry didn’t love me anymore.

Two days later, I picked up my grandmother’s accessory box from the mortuary.

Just as I was signing the papers, Harry called. “Where are you? We’re supposed to be trying on wedding outfits today.”

I looked down at my grandma’s accessory box in my arms, ready to tell him no, but he had hung up soon after informing me, “Send me your current address. I’ll send someone to get you.”

I didn’t send anything, but a car showed up anyway. To my surprise, Harry was driving himself.

He yanked at his collar, clearly irritated. “I know I was wrong not to visit your grandma. I should’ve gone to the hospital, no matter how busy I was.”

“She may have stolen something, but she’s still your grandmother—the woman who raised you. You owe her that respect,” Harry said.

My brows tightened. “She didn’t steal anything. And if we’re getting married, she’d be your grandmother too!”

“Alright,” he sighed. “There’s no hard evidence, so fine—let’s say she didn’t. Rosey said it was her mother’s necklace that went missing and she panicked. That’s why she called the police.”

“She feels bad your grandma ended up in the hospital. So let’s head there first and check on her, okay?”

Harry rolled down the window. Rose was in the front seat, smiling sweetly as she waved at me.

“I heard your grandma has high blood pressure,” she said. “I forgot to ask the police to keep meds on hand… so I bought her the best and most expensive medication. She’ll be out of the hospital in no time.”

Her syrupy smile made my stomach turn. “Don’t bother pretending to care, Save the act," I said coldly.

Rose’s smile froze mid-face.

Suddenly, Harry’s expression darkened. “Joyce, be grateful, would you? Rosey and I skipped two meetings to come here. We’re not here for your drama. Get in the car and stop wasting time.”

Rose nodded quickly, trying to recover. “Ms. Albyn, I came to apologize, sincerely. I admit I overreacted… It was all just a big misunderstanding.”

But her little “misunderstanding” had cost my grandma her life.

I clutched the urn tighter in my hands and took two steps back. “Sure, go ahead and apologize—on your knees.”

Rose’s eyes welled with tears.

“How could you say that? I’m here because I really want to apologize… I even brought medicine for your grandmother. Why are you telling me to kneel? Are you really trying to embarrass me?”

“This is all my fault, right? I lost something and panicked—it’s all on me." She then added, "You two, go and enjoy picking out your wedding outfits. I should’ve never come back…”

Rose he flung open the car door and ran off.

However, Harry caught up fast, grabbing her and pulling her into a hug. He gently comforted her as she sobbed into his chest.

Then he looked at me. “Joyce… even if you’re angry, you can’t make decisions for your grandmother.”

I met his eyes. “It’s fine. She already heard everything.”

Harry froze at that. I turned and walked away soon after.

***

The funeral service had already messaged several times—the burial was about to begin.

By the time everything was over and I got back to the city, it was already late. I had nowhere to go, so I checked into a cheap motel just to get some sleep.

After my shower, my phone kept buzzing. Harry had sent me photos of wedding dresses.

When I didn’t reply, he called again. And again. I didn’t care. I turned off my phone and rolled over. However, I didn’t expect what happened next.

Half-asleep, I jolted awake when the locked motel door was suddenly forced open.

Harry stood in the doorway, breathing hard, then exhaled in relief. “You scared the hell out of me. You can’t just shut off your phone and disappear. If you didn’t want to see Rosey, I get it. That’s why I came myself.”

I didn’t have the energy to fight him. So, I got in the car.

Fine. I’d go back. I needed to grab the gold bracelets Grandma left behind anyway.

But as soon as I opened the door to the apartment, the lights flicked on.

Rose stood in the center of the room, dressed in a bunny costume. She popped a party cannon in my face. "Happy 10-Year Meet-Cute Anniversary to me and my dearest Harry!”

I froze.

Behind me, Harry laughed in surprise. “I thought you went home! Why are you back already? And what is all this… You actually remembered the date?”

So that’s why he had time to chase after me earlier, because Rose had gone home. He only comforted me because his other woman wasn’t around.

Now he was holding Rose as she threw herself into his arms.

They laughed together and she shot me a smug, satisfied look.

I didn’t say a word at that and calmly walked into the bedroom.

Once I opened the door, I saw that it was packed wall to wall with junk. Like a storage closet, or a trash heap.

Even the wedding dress Harry had just brought home ended up being used as a hanger for trash.

I didn’t even glance at it. I just went straight to the pillow, searching for the gold bangles Grandma had left me.

The little brown cloth pouch was still there, but it was empty.

My mind went blank with a loud ringing in my ears.

I was trying to think, maybe they fell somewhere. Then I suddenly heard Rose’s sickly sweet voice from outside the room. “Mom said since I lost the necklace, she wanted to make it up to me, so she gave me this pair of gold bangles.”

“Harry,” she said playfully, “I’ll give you one. Can you go talk to my mom for me?”

Harry chuckled. “You little schemer. You think I don’t know what you’re up to? You just want us to wear matching jewelry, don’t you?”

“Oh, come on,” Rose pouted, leaning into him. “I know you’re marrying Ms. Albyn, but we grew up together. You’re like a big brother to me. Just because you're getting married doesn’t mean I stop being your little sister, right?”

She nestled into his chest and Harry pulled her close. Their wrists were side by side, each of them wearing one of the matching gold bangles.

My heart split open in an instant.

I stormed into the room and yanked Rose’s arm away. “Give it back! You're not worthy to touch that!”

I didn’t even use much force, but she dramatically fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Rose immediately turned to Harry with teary eyes. “Harry, I was just trying to share the bracelet with you! Ms. Albyn is being so mean!" She added, "And it’s from my mom! I already lost my necklace and now she’s trying to take this from me too?”

Harry’s expression turned cold. “Joyce, apologize. I let you slide earlier today, but now you’re just being mean! Apologize to Rosey!”

I stared at him, my voice flat. “Apologize for what? That bracelet was my grandmother’s. She left it to me—for our wedding.”

Harry blinked, he wasn't expecting htat. Then, scoff escaped his lips, “Stop lying. Your grandma’s a poor country woman. If she could afford gold bracelets, why would she steal a necklace? So, Apologize.”

I was done arguing.

I grabbed Rose’s wrist and tried to pull the bracelet off. Suddenly, she bit down on my hand.

The bracelet slipped from both our hands and hit the floor with a metallic clang. Before I could even bend down to pick it up, Rose stomped on it, successfully snapping it in half.

In that moment, it felt like she shattered the last bit of hope I’d been holding onto.

I nearly went black out, my hands trembling as I reached for the broken pieces. “Rose, that was the only thing I had left from my grandmother…”

Rose immediately replied, “Ms. Albyn, you still refuse to admit you were wrong? No wonder you’re her granddaughter. Your grandma stole my necklace and now you’re trying to steal my bracelet too?”

She clutched her perfectly fine ankle like she was injured and began threatening to call the police.

I didn’t hear a word out of her lips. All I could think about was lunging at her, tearing that smug look off her face.

But the moment I stood up, Harry slapped me. Hard.

He stared at me like I had just ruined every illusion he had of me. “Joyce, I thought you were different. But I guess you’re just as petty and greedy as everyone else. You can’t even leave Rosey’s bracelet alone!”

“Fine, this is your last chance,” he said coldly. “One week. Fix the bracelet and bring it—along with your grandmother’s apology—to Rosey’s hospital room. Make a public apology in the papers, too.”

“If I don’t see sincerity, there won’t be a wedding.” He picked Rose up in his arms and left without looking back.

I knelt on the floor, shaking, gathering the broken bracelet pieces into my hands.

And I cried silently.

That night, I signed for a delivery, packed my things and boarded a southbound flight with nothing but a plane ticket in hand.

At the hospital, Harry waited until the very last day of the week, but I never showed up to apologize to Rose. Meanwhile, Rose lay comfortably in her hospital bed, lazily eating grapes Harry fed her.

“Harry, do you think Ms. Albyn’s running away? Maybe you should just marry me tomorrow instead,” she said.

Harry felt a sharp jolt in his chest. He glanced at his phone—it hadn’t buzzed once all week. Resisting the rising panic, he forced himself to stay calm.

“She won’t bail. Joyce may be blunt and tactless, but she wouldn’t just walk away from the wedding.”

Trying to reassure himself, he drafted a text message, editing it several times before hitting send: [You don’t need to make anything public. Just return the repaired bracelet and the wedding can go on as planned.]

The message took a long time to send. In the end, a red exclamation mark appear.