However, it was impossible for me to make it far with a very drunk Thomas lagging behind me. We were caught and apprehended immediately by the gang of men.

I picked up a brick from the ground and tried to hit them, but they punched me first in the face and pushed me to the ground.

Meanwhile, Thomas seemed to have finally woken up from his drunken stupor. He shook and shivered in fright and quickly fled.

I was held down on the ground, their knees digging painfully into my back. I could also feel sharp glass shards stabbing into my back, and it hurt so much that I could only grit my teeth in agony.

"I've really called the police on you! They'll be here in a few minutes! You can still run if you leave now!"

However, that only earned me two more slaps to my face. I was so dizzy from their hits that my ears began to ring. I heard them calling me a meddling nuisance, and they even threatened to teach me a good lesson.

Then, I heard the wailing of the police siren in the distance.

"Damn it!"

The men cursed aloud and quickly dispersed.

I lay on the cold, hard ground, gasping loudly as I tried to catch my breath.

At least, this was a good thing to have happened. Nothing terrible had happened to Thomas. I probably wouldn't end up being hated and accused of being his murderer anymore.

I had only just managed to stand up when someone suddenly shoved me hard against the wall. My back hit the brick wall, and the glass shards dug deeper into my skin, hurting me so much that my vision went black.

"Marcus Shaffer! I've already agreed to marry you! Why must you still do this to yourself and even drag Thomas into the mud this time too?"

Carol was holding a shivering Thomas in her arms, and she glared daggers at me with her icy, cold glare.

I was shocked. I didn't understand what she meant. "What did you just say?"

"That's enough!" she screamed at me. "Are your self-harming acts not good enough for yourself now? How dare you hire gangsters to beat you up and even drag Thomas into this mess?

"That's it. I'm never going to believe a single word you say anymore!"

Thomas' eyes were reddened as he wept. "Carol, I'm scared… Those people were so frightening… I really don't know where Marc found them to give me such a scare like that…"

Carol's voice softened immediately. She turned to him and began comforting him in her arms. "Don't be afraid. I'll send you to the hospital now."

I finally understood everything that was going on.

Thomas had pinned all the blame on me, and Carol believed every word he said.

She helped Thomas into a cab and left without ever sparing me another glance.

I laughed bitterly. My back was practically cut open, and I was losing blood fast. I didn't have the strength to explain myself. I didn't even have the strength to ask for help anymore.

Just before I closed my eyes, I thought I caught sight of a few passers-by looking at me in shock.

When I opened my eyes again, I realized that I was now lying in a hospital bed.

A police officer entered my ward, introduced himself as Officer Joe Carrington, and handed me an investigation report.

"Luckily, you made the police report in time, Mr. Shaffer. According to the information we have on hand, these men are all part of a syndicate that primarily preys on young men and women at bars, abducts them, and then forces them into filming lewd videos for blackmail."

Joe paused for a bit. "If it weren't for you, your brother would probably have been the next victim."

I nodded silently.

I knew about all this beforehand. This was the exact way Thomas' life was ruined in my past life.

Back then, Thomas had been humiliated by nearly all of them. The men had then taken photos of his nude, ruined self and posted them on the internet.

The night before Carol and I got married, Thomas had thrown himself off a 21-storey building to his death.

He left behind an incriminating letter written in red ink. I could still remember every word.

"It was all Marcus' fault! If he hadn't stolen my spot from me, I would never have gone to the bar that night! I would never have ended up like this! Marcus had everything; he even had Carol, but he still vowed to steal everything from me!

"I hate him! He was the one who killed me!"

This letter was the very reason Carol also hated me with all of her heart for the next ten years.

Even Mom and Dad stopped answering my calls.

But this time, everything was going to change.

She had protected me from a truck accident in my past life.

This time, I protected the person she loved the most from disaster.

We didn't owe anyone any favors anymore.

I fell into a deep sleep right after that. Yet, when I opened my eyes again, I saw Carol sitting next to my bed, looking rather awkward, with a deep frown on her face.

I didn't know when Carol had come in to visit me. She had even lent me her arm to sleep on as a pillow.

I was shocked and looked at her in confusion.

Did she lend me her arm as a pillow because I'd complained once that the hospital pillows were too hard?

Carol pressed her lips into a thin line and carefully withdrew her cramping arm.

"The police called your family. I know about everything now. I'm sorry for misunderstanding you last night."

I stared at her. Her arm was very stiff, and she couldn't even bend it at the elbow. I guess I'd been using her arm as a pillow for far too long.

Carol was the first one to avert her gaze.

"As for the wedding flowers… We'll use champagne roses and everything you like. It'll be arranged accordingly during the wedding," she said.

I was shocked. "Did you confirm this with the designer?"

"Thomas told me about it."

Just then, my phone buzzed again, and it was from the wedding planner.

"Mr. Shaffer, we have contacted Mr. Thomas about the invitations, and everything has been changed to his name."

Oh. So, Carol was the only one who didn't know that she wouldn't be marrying me.

Maybe that was a good thing after all. It would be a pleasant surprise for her.

I raised my head slightly. "I wish you all the happiness in the world."

Carol frowned, a hint of confusion appearing in her eyes. However, she quickly resumed her usual stoic expression after that.

"I owe you one for this. What do you want from me? Just tell me."

I shook my head and said, "There's no need for that. I did it willingly."

Carol's phone started ringing this time. When she saw that it was a call from Thomas, she immediately answered it and said, "Don't be afraid. I'll be right there."

She ended the call and absent-mindedly toyed with the hem of the blanket on my hospital bed.

"I'll be waiting for you at the wedding."

"You'll see my wedding gift but not my person there," I said, smiling at her. "Carol, I hope that you'll live a life full of happiness and be safe for the rest of your life."

Carol frowned again. "Don't joke around. Who would I be marrying if not you? Don't think too much of it. I'll still marry you like I said I would. Might as well get it right."

Then, she turned and left me behind.

I watched quietly as her figure gradually disappeared from view.

My phone then buzzed again with a new text message. It was from the IPF body disposal team.

"Dear Mr. Marcus Shaffer. Your flight details in three days have been confirmed."

I replied with a simple "OK".

…

The day of the wedding swiftly arrived.

Carol wore her wedding dress and sat in the room, clenching the champagne roses in her hand so much that some of the petals had begun to wilt. She was waiting for her groom to come and get her.

She was supposed to hate this wedding and not look forward to it at all. However, she couldn't understand why she felt a sense of anticipation in her chest.

Time slowly ticked by. Finally, the door opened.

She held her breath and turned to look at the newcomer.

"Carol!" Thomas exclaimed happily. He was wearing a tuxedo and had a fresh champagne rose in the button of his lapel. He was glowing. "Don't you think that I look like the most handsome groom in town?"

Carol froze in place. Then, she suddenly leapt to her feet.

"What are you doing here?"

"Carol!" Her bridesmaid, Bessie Nolan, came rushing toward her. "Marcus' wedding gift has just arrived!"

The gift was a watch that she had given me in the past, accompanied by a wedding card.

She quickly opened the card. The sight of my neat handwriting was like shrapnel to her eyes.

"I've returned this gift to its rightful owner. We don't owe each other anything anymore. I wish you and Thomas all the love and happiness for the rest of your lives."

She crumpled the card in her fingers.

"Where is he?" Carol asked, her voice trembling.

Bessie was just about to speak when her phone began ringing urgently. She answered the call. However, her face turned deathly pale after hearing the other person speak at the other end of the line.

"Carol, we just received news… The plane that Marcus had been on, with the rest of the IPF crew… It crashed just outside the border."