For example, she said she was still young and didn't want to be tied down by marriage. For example, she wanted her career to be more stable so that she could better support my family's business after marriage. Every reason was supposedly for my own good.

Because I loved her, I truly believed she was thinking of me and even worked to calm my sister, who had long wanted to beat her up.

I waited six years. My friends joked that if I didn't marry soon, we'd reach the seven-year itch. Only then did she agree to my tenth proposal.

The wedding date was set and the preparations were made, but she still refused to meet my parents, claiming she wanted to surprise them at the wedding.

Then, in the blink of an eye, Terry returned to the country with his terminally ill mother. Only then did I realize I was a joke.

I smiled bitterly and helped Patricia retrieve her ID card from the drawer, "Don't worry, I'm not interested in another man's wife."

This remark seemed to sting Patricia. She frowned and said, "How many times do I have to explain for you to understand? This is just a pretend wedding. Once it's over, I'll be entirely yours. What more do you want?"

I said casually, "I understand. Go ahead and get the marriage certificate. It's best to fully commit to the act." The sincerity on my face made her hand tremble as she reached for her ID card.

Perhaps feeling guilty, she explained, "I won't really register the marriage with Terry. It's just a formality at the civil affairs office ..." Even formalities require an ID card?

I responded nonchalantly with an "Oh," which left Patricia momentarily unsettled by my unusual reaction.

She stepped closer, intending to comfort me with a kiss. But just then, Terry, who had likely been eavesdropping for some time, suddenly barged in between us.

He moved aggressively, subtly using force to push me backward. I stumbled and fell to the ground, while he pulled the nearly-colliding Patricia into his arms.

Frightened, she clung tightly to him. The two of them, pressed close together, lost their balance and fell to the ground.

I coldly watched as Patricia sat on Terry and he, his face flushed, rasped in a voice just loud enough for me to hear, "Patricia, you're … crushing me ..."

Blushing, Patricia let out a light cough but didn't remove her hand from his abs.

Terry, his eyes full of suggestiveness, glanced at her before turning to me with a feigned helplessness, "Anthony, I'm sorry. You can hit me or scold me, but don't take it out on Patricia! If she gets hurt from the fall ..."

Uninterested in watching the nauseating pair clinging to each other, I stood up and headed for the door, "If she's hurt, you can check her yourself. Do you need me to close the door for you?"

At my words, the desire-filled flush on Patricia's face instantly darkened. Whether from anger or embarrassment, I couldn't tell.

She scolded me right away, "Anthony! How can you be so filthy?"

Filthy? She was the one sitting coyly on Terry without getting up, who exactly was being filthy? Considerately, I closed the door for them.

While waiting for the elevator, Terry came out with his face still damp with suspicious water streaks and blocked my path, "Anthony, I'm sorry. Please don't misunderstand me and Patricia. It really was a misunderstanding just now! If it weren't for my mother insisting on seeing a marriage certificate, I wouldn't have troubled Patricia! I beg you, please respect my filial piety and don't cause trouble at the wedding!"

"When the time comes, I'll divorce Patricia and return her to you!" As he spoke, he actually tried to kneel and beg me.

Before he could, the now-composed Patricia rushed over to pull him up, glaring angrily at me, "Anthony, I'm warning you, don't go too far, or there'll be no turning back! From today until the wedding is over, stay at home and behave yourself. I'll arrange for a bodyguard to watch over you!"

As she spoke, she called her secretary and instructed them to send someone to keep an eye on me to prevent any disruptions. Then, glancing at the time, she hurriedly left with Terry to the civil affairs office.

As the elevator doors closed, I didn't miss the smugness and provocation in Terry's eyes. Nor did I miss Patricia asking, "Terry, did you bring your ID card?"

This wasn't a show for Terry's mother, it was a show for me.

Before the bodyguards she arranged arrived, I quickly drove to the bridal shop to retrieve the wedding dress. It was a custom-made, handcrafted gown from Italy that I ordered specifically for marrying Patricia.

Recently, she had lost some weight, so certain parts needed to be adjusted. It made no sense for her to marry someone else while keeping the dress I ordered, this was unreasonable.

When I arrived at the bridal shop, the owner was surprised and said, "Mr. Summer, your girlfriend picked up the wedding dress a few days ago! She even brought a man along to try it on. I wasn't in the shop at the time ..."

Seeing my expression change, the owner quickly checked the surveillance footage. On the video, Patricia wore the wedding dress I had custom-made and slowly walked toward a visibly stunned Terry.

"Terry, do I look good?" The smile on her face was one I had never seen before and Terry's eyes lit up like green flames.

"You look amazing, even more beautiful than in my dreams! Patricia, pinch me. Let me see if this is a dream. For years, I could only marry you in my dreams ..." He choked up as he spoke.

Patricia, full of tenderness, stood on tiptoe and kissed the tears off his face while said, "Silly, thank goodness you came back in time. Otherwise, I would've married someone else ..."

The shop owner, watching the video of the two passionately embracing, awkwardly apologized to me, "Mr. Summer, I'm sorry. This was a mistake by my staff ... I'll find an excuse to get the wedding dress back for you right away!"

It was clear to everyone, I had been cheated on and even my wedding dress was taken. Furious, the owner immediately made a phone call.

The moment they spoke, Patricia's voice turned angry, "Did Anthony ask you to get the wedding dress? Tell him I'll wear this wedding dress to marry him, so stop making trouble!"

I never expected Patricia to be so shameless. What made her think I'd still marry her?

The shop owner, left holding a disconnected line, awkwardly offered me compensation.

But the culprit was clear, so I simply sent Patricia a screenshot of the original wedding dress order.

She called me immediately, "Anthony, what do you mean by this? Just because I wore the wedding dress early, you want money from me? Shouldn't you feel it's even more valuable since it's been worn twice?"

But when Terry suggested keeping the dress as a memento, she promptly hung up and transferred the money to me.

She threatened me, "You'd better have the shop owner order me another handcrafted wedding dress, one better than this one, or I won't marry you!"

After six years of love, it dawned on me for the first time that I might have never truly known Patricia. Looking at her location pinned at the civil affairs office, I thought I would feel heartbroken, but instead, I felt nothing at all.

I disabled the shared location feature on our couple's app just as Secretary Beckett arrived with two bodyguards.

"Mr. Summer, as long as you don't cause trouble, we won't interfere with your movements!" Once overly polite to me, Secretary Beckett now spoke in a superficially courteous tone but looked at me with complete disdain.

Too weary to deal with such a turncoat, I went to my office, resigned and then drove home.

When I arrived at the parking garage, the automatic gate failed to recognize my car.

The security guard checked the system and informed me that the parking space was now linked to another vehicle. After scanning again to re-enter the garage, I saw a new car parked in my spot.

It was the car Patricia had mentioned two months ago, claiming it was a birthday gift for me. But now, stepping out of it was Terry.

He spotted me immediately but pretended not to, deliberately flashing a marriage certificate while saying to Patricia, "Patricia, once the civil affairs office opens tomorrow, I'll file for a divorce with you right away. That way, I won't delay your wedding with Anthony." Terry's eyes were even redder than the marriage certificate.

Patricia pinched his cheeks playfully, coaxing him, "Silly, why are you in such a rush? Anthony won't marry anyone but me. Even if he has to wait ten or twenty more years, he'll do it willingly."

I stared at their backs as they walked hand in hand into my house, then I decided to book a hotel. Feeling restless, I headed to a nearby park for my usual run.

After a lap, I unexpectedly ran into Patricia and Terry, who were holding hands while strolling. Patricia leaned affectionately against Terry, their conversation full of whispered endearments.

I wasn't interested in their sweet nothings. Plugging in my earphones, I turned to jog in the opposite direction. What I didn't notice was someone following me.

Suddenly, a cloth soaked in a sedative covered my mouth and nose as I was dragged into a car. I struggled with all my strength, but the person's grip on my neck was unyielding.

Through the car window's reflection, I saw a face eerily similar to Terry's, about 70% alike. "If you want to compete with my son for a woman, you deserve to die!" someone hissed at me.

I waved frantically for help toward Secretary Beckett in the distance, but he acted as though he didn't see me. After answering a call, he walked away with the two bodyguards without hesitation.

The woman holding me down was shockingly strong, nothing like someone terminally ill. When I regained consciousness, my body felt weak and Terry's mother lay pale in a pool of blood.

Before I could understand what was happening, Patricia stormed in with a group of people.

Seeing his mother's condition, Terry let out a piercing scream, "Mom! What's wrong? Don't scare me!"

He held her tightly and shouted at me, "Anthony! What did I ever do to you to deserve this? Why would you hurt my mother so cruelly? She only has a few days left to live!"

Patricia, who had a fear of blood, didn't dare look directly at the scene but still managed to call an ambulance while angrily punching me in the chest and shouted, "Anthony, you've utterly disappointed me!"

Just as she was about to call the police, Terry stopped her, "Patricia, forget it. It's my fault. I shouldn't have asked for your help. I just want my mom to be okay now ..."

Enraged, Patricia turned to scold Secretary Beckett, "Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on him and stop him from causing trouble?"

The three men, who had been absent during my ordeal, responded in unison, "Miss Mcbride, Anthony was driving too fast. We couldn't keep up."

Before dating Patricia, I had a notorious love for street racing. So their excuse was completely believable to her.

Suppressing her discomfort, she crouched down to comfort Terry, who was on the verge of fainting from grief. She said, "Terry, your mom has always been blessed. She'll be okay, I'm sure of it!"

The 'corpse' on the floor trembled slightly but didn't dare open her eyes.

Swallowing the metallic taste of blood in my throat, I said coldly, "Enough with the mourning. If you keep crying, your mom won't be able to keep up the act."

Terry's face contorted in rage. Picking up the bloodstained knife from the floor, he lunged toward me, ready to fight.