I dodged Xander's car in a panic, but the brakes suddenly failed. Luckily, the car slammed into a wall, and I barely managed to save my life.

I had just been lifted into the ambulance when the vehicle suddenly exploded.

Both of my legs were fractured, and a large shard of glass pierced deep into my abdomen. I almost died from blood loss.

When Bianca saw me pinned under the car, lying in the pool of my blood, she merely frowned and said, "Xander was badly frightened. He's not in a good place. I'll take him to the hospital."

At that time, I still held onto a sliver of hope for her. However, I lay in the hospital ward for an entire month before she finally came to visit me.

The first thing she did was plead on Xander's behalf.

"Xander's depression is getting worse. He's even threatened to kill himself to make it up. Please don't call the police. Just do it for me, please?"

I looked at Bianca, holding my hand, sobbing hard.

In the end, I gave in, but my heart started turning cold from that day on.

…

Lying in the quiet hospital ward, my injuries from three months ago had not fully recovered.

An endless itch mixed with pain crawled through my body, driving me almost insane.

Unable to bear it any longer, I pressed the call button, but no nurse came.

Helpless, I dialled Bianca, hoping she could arrange a caretaker for me. However, I could not reach her no matter how many times I tried.

Then, on Xander's social media, I spotted her.

They were kissing passionately in the firelight. Behind them, the burning estate was unmistakably the last place my mother had lived before she died.

In the video, they had recklessly lit fireworks around the estate, trampling on the rose garden that my mom had spent all her life's energy caring for.

Then, they set it on fire, burning the peach blossom tree that Bianca and I had planted together when we were children, until nothing remained but ashes.

Bianca let Xander set everything on fire, even stopping the firefighters from approaching, all just to see Xander smile.

I could not believe what I was watching. I called her maniacally.

After countless calls, Bianca finally answered the phone in an icy tone, "I already said that I'm taking Xander out to relax. Were you deaf or something?"

I questioned her in a hoarse voice, "Taking him to relax is one thing. How dare you touch my property?! Don't you know that's where my mother lived before she died?"

Bianca replied impatiently, "Enough. It's all your fault. There's nothing wrong in using your things to make it up to him! Besides, a dead person was once there. It'll just make that place haunted! Only you treat it as something special. Xander is just helping you cleanse that place of negative energy!"

"That was my mother!"

Facing my outburst, Bianca merely tutted and said perfunctorily, "Your mother's long dead! Why let such a huge estate go to waste? Do you have that much money that you don't even know how to spend it?"

She added, "I've already sent out news that we'll have our wedding the day after tomorrow. This time, you must cheer Xander up. Once he's feeling better, we'll get our marriage registered. Xander really is too kind…"

Her words disgusted me so much that I felt a heave of nausea.

Xander's voice rang out in the background, "Bianca, are you done washing up? I'm ready! I've prepared red wine and candles tonight. It'll make you very happy!"

Bianca explained in a soft panicked voice, "I promised Xander a candlelight dinner. Go get some rest. I'll see you at the wedding the day after tomorrow!"

Then, she hung up.

I looked at my phone, finding it all rather comical.

We were all adults. Anyone could tell what was going on from the faint panting and sound of water mixed into her final explanation.

Suddenly, my phone vibrated.

It was a message from the wedding gown shop.

[Mr. Fuller, the wedding dress that Ms. Newton has sent over has been cleaned. When would you like it delivered?]

I sent a response to the wedding gown store.

[You can just burn it.]

The next day, I dragged my injured body home.

The moment I entered, I saw Xander looking at me smugly.

When he saw me, he deliberately exclaimed loudly, "Bianca, Wilson's been discharged so quickly! I told you he was just faking it to gain your sympathy!"

Bianca looked at me with disgust, but also with a hint of unease.

"Enough. Since you're not injured, stop wasting public resources."

I wanted to punch Xander in the face, but Bianca shoved me aside and snapped, "Wilson, enough! Xander has been generous enough not to hold what happened at the wedding against you. Stop acting like a mad man!"

I looked at Bianca, who had firmly placed herself in front of Xander, shielding him.

For a moment, her figure overlapped with the memory of the girl who once protected me during an earthquake years ago.

I looked at the provocative smirk on Xander's face behind her. Every last bit of attachment I had to our relationship was suddenly gone.

Seven years of being together, and none of that was as important as a smile from Xander.

Bianca said, "Wilson has gone mad! Just ignore him, Xander. I've made your favorite dishes, so I'm sure you won't get an upset stomach!"

Then, she pulled Xander to the dining table, one that I had painstakingly designed, to dine with him.

When I entered the living room, I finally understood why Bianca looked a little uneasy.

Our wedding portrait, which used to hang in the living room, had been replaced with a photo of her and Xander.

The portrait had been dumped on the floor, and my face was cut up into pieces with a blade.

Other than our wedding portrait, everything that belonged to me in the house was completely gone. It was as if I had never lived there at all.

Seeing me staying silent, Bianca looked a little guilty.

She said, "Xander will be living here for a while. I got someone to clear your things away. Don't be so petty! Just come and have some food."

She casually waved me over as if she were talking to a pet. I looked at the food on the table, but I could not bring myself to smile.

They were all spicy dishes, something I could not eat. However, Xander loved spicy food, which was why Bianca made them.

That night, Xander claimed that he would like to sleep in the same bed with Bianca as her male best friend, claiming it as Bianca's last night of singlehood.

"Alright!"

I nodded in agreement, leaving Bianca a little shocked.

She looked at me and said with a rare hesitance, "Wilson, y-you really don't mind? In the past, I needed to call you to ask for permission whenever I went out with him."

Then, she quickly added, "It's good that you understand. Xander and I are just best friends! Nothing more!"

Seeing her thump her chest in confidence, I almost wanted to shove photos of them sleeping together on my phone in her face.

In the end, I looked at my phone without any expression and said, "Why would I mind? Didn't you say you wanted to cheer Xander up?"

Xander patted me hard on my shoulder, unable to hide the smugness in his eyes.

"Wilson, you finally understand. I promise that your wedding tomorrow will be a memorable one! Bianca said I can do whatever I like, so don't get mad tomorrow!"

"Sure!"

I flashed him an ambiguous smile. Then, I said, "Perfect timing. I've also prepared a surprise at the wedding tomorrow. I'm sure you'll love it!"