My family was preparing my wedding, and the whole room buzzed with celebration.

The date was set for three days later, at the top-tier Skyline Hotel—the crown jewel of the city's most elite social circle.

At the family dinner, Mom publicly announced a piece of news.

"Eva, I canceled the Skyline Hotel you booked and transferred the deposit to Emma for her engagement next month." She pushed a cheap glass jewelry box in front of me. "And that fifty thousand dollar dowry of yours will go to Emma first too. She's marrying into a wealthy family, so the spectacle can't be small. The Nolan you're marrying is dirt poor—he doesn't care about these empty formalities."

She waved her hand dismissively. "Oh right, don't have your wedding anymore. That day you'll be Emma's bridesmaid instead."

My younger sister, Emma, clung to her fiancé's arm.

"Eva, you won't blame me, right? Mom's doing this for the good of our family."

I looked at the room full of hypocritical faces and only felt it was ridiculous.

They didn't know that the "poor guy" I was marrying, Nolan Delgado, was the real crown prince of the city's elite circle. And the "wealthy family" Emma was marrying into was nothing more than a scam that specialized in conning idiots.

——

I showed a smile. "Sure. I'll definitely go, and personally give my sister a 'big gift' she'll never forget."

"Eva is really becoming more sensible." Mom patted my hand with satisfaction. "I knew you were the most considerate of the family."

Emma immediately picked up the conversation, her voice so sweet it was cloying. "Yeah, Eva's the best. Unlike me—I've always made Mom and Dad worry about my marriage since I was little."

As she spoke, she deliberately shook the expensive jade bangle on her wrist. That bangle was left by my grandma, and it was originally meant for me.

Dad cleared his throat and put on the airs of the head of the household. "Alright, family doesn't talk like strangers. Emma marrying well brings honor to the Harding family. Eva, as the older sister, you should naturally help your younger sister more."

I lowered my eyes and looked at the plate of sweet-and-sour ribs farthest from me—my favorite dish. The lazy Susan spun, carrying it mercilessly toward Emma's fiancé, Nathaniel Lambert.

Nathaniel immediately picked up a piece and attentively placed it in Emma's bowl. "Emma, eat more. Look how skinny you are."

"Nathaniel, you're so good to me."

Emma's voice carried a hint of showing off.

Mom smiled so widely she couldn't close her mouth. "Look, look at how much Nathaniel cares about our Emma. Eva, you should learn from him. Don't keep a cold face all day. That boyfriend of yours, Nolan—he looks poor and shabby, and he's so wooden too. No sense of romance at all."

"Mom, Nolan isn't wooden. He's just quiet by nature."

"Quiet? I think it's inferiority!" Mom scoffed. "Last time he came for dinner, he didn't even have a decent outfit. When Nathaniel and I introduced luxury brands to him, he didn't recognize a single one. Seriously laughable."

Nathaniel put his arm around Emma's shoulder. "Auntie, don't blame Eva. This is just her taste. Finding an ordinary guy and living a steady life is pretty good too. Not like our Emma—she was born to be a wealthy family's wife."

"Exactly, exactly." Mom echoed.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

The housekeeper opened the door, and Nolan stood at the entrance carrying a bag of fruit.

He was wearing a light gray shirt I'd bought him. Simple, but it set off his tall, straight frame.

The moment Mom saw him, the smile vanished from her face.

"Why are you here?"

"Auntie, I'm here to pick up Eva."

"Pick up what? Can't you see our family is eating? You have no sense at all."

Zion Harding's voice came out low and gruff.

"Leave the stuff by the door. Go eat in the side room. Don't be an eyesore here."

He spoke like he was chasing off a stray dog.

Nolan didn't move. He just looked at me, waiting for my reaction.

Emma suddenly let out an exaggerated "Oh!" and stood up, a glass of red wine in her hand. She swayed toward Nolan with deliberate unsteadiness.

"Brother-in-law, you made it! I'm so happy—let me toast you!"

Before she'd even finished, her hand tilted. The entire glass of red wine splashed across Nolan's light gray shirt without missing a drop.

The dark stain spread fast, ugly and impossible to ignore.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Brother-in-law, I didn't mean it!"

Her mouth was apologizing. Her face was smug.

Nathaniel chimed in. "Emma, you're way too careless. That shirt doesn't look cheap—gotta be a few hundred bucks, right? That stain's not coming out."

Joanna pulled Emma's hand, her expression pained. "You clumsy girl. Forget it—it's just some cheap thing. I'll have Eva buy him another one later."

She turned to me.

"What are you standing there for? Take him to clean up. Don't embarrass us and ruin everyone's mood."

I stood up and ignored their little performance.

I walked over to Nolan and pulled out a tissue, dabbing at the stain on his chest.

He caught my hand and shook his head.

I looked up and met his eyes.

He knew everything.

"Mom, we're leaving."

I took Nolan's hand and turned toward the door.

"Stop right there!" Joanna's shriek came from behind. "Did I say you could leave? It's your sister's engagement party—where do you think you're going? You're the bridesmaid!"

I didn't look back.

Back at my small apartment, Nolan took off the ruined shirt.

His torso was covered in old scars. The deepest one ran from his left shoulder all the way down to his lower back.

He'd already had that wound when I first found him.

A year ago, on a rainy night, Emma had stolen a spot in a design competition I'd spent six months preparing for. I was furious. I drove out to the suburbs to clear my head.

My car broke down on a winding mountain road. Rain poured down in sheets.

That was when I found Nolan collapsed by the roadside.

He was covered in blood, unconscious. I thought he was going to die.

I dragged him into the car and drove to the nearest private clinic.

The doctor said if I'd been half an hour later, nothing could have saved him.

After he woke up, he refused to explain anything. Wouldn't say who he was or why he'd been so badly injured.

There was nothing on him to prove his identity—just a black metal tag engraved with a single character: Chen.

I took care of him for a month.

That month was the calmest of my life.

No parental favoritism. No scheming from Emma.

Just a quiet, taciturn man who needed me.

After his injuries healed, he asked me, "Why did you save me?"

"I was in a bad mood that day. Figured I'd do a good deed and build up some karma."

He was silent for a long time.

"I'll repay you."

After that, he became my boyfriend.

I thought he was homeless, an orphan. He never denied it.

I used my own savings to rent him a place, bought him clothes, and took him to every roadside food stall I loved.

He never asked me for anything. He just quietly stayed by my side.

When my family made things difficult for me, he was always there.

When I stayed up late working on design drafts, he'd silently hand me a cup of hot milk.

Today at home, he'd done the same.

I took the first-aid kit and dipped a cotton swab in iodine, carefully treating the back of his hand where the broken glass had cut him.

That had been Emma's doing—when she'd "accidentally" shattered the cup.

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

"No." He caught my hand. "Don't feel sad for me."

I didn't answer, just kept my head down and continued applying the medicine.

"That jade bangle your parents gave Emma—it was Grandma's. Meant for you."

"Mm."

"On your eighteenth birthday, Grandma put it on your wrist herself. Said she wanted you to have it as part of your dowry when you married."

"Mm."

"Then your mom said it was too valuable, that she was afraid you'd lose it. She'd hold onto it for safekeeping."

"Mm."

I'd only ever talked about this once, rambling when I was drunk.

And he'd remembered every word.

My nose stung. Tears pricked at my eyes.

I blinked hard, forcing them back.

"It's just a bangle. If she wants it, let her have it."

"Eva."

Nolan said my name softly, his fingers brushing my cheek.

"You don't have to keep doing this to yourself."

"I'm not."

My voice came out steadier than I felt.

He didn't push. Instead, he pulled a small box from his pocket.

Inside was a delicate diamond brooch—a brand I'd always loved but could never justify buying.

I stared at him, stunned.

"How did you—"

He lifted the brooch and pinned it to my chest.

"Walked past the shop. Thought it suited you."

"But this is so expensive."

"I earned the money myself."

His eyes held mine, serious.

"Eva, believe me. Everything they've taken from you—I'll get it back double. Every bit of pain they've caused—I'll make them pay it back a hundredfold."

My phone rang.

Joanna.

I put it on speaker.

Her voice exploded through the line.

"Eva! Where the hell have you been! Get your ass back here now!"

"What is it?"

"What is it? Your sister's engagement invitations need to go out, and the address listed is your place! Clear your crap out of that room! Emma's moving in! Did you hear me!"

That room—my room—was the bridal suite I'd decorated with my own hands.

Our double-happiness characters were still on the wall. Mine and Nolan's names.

"That home is mine."

"Yours? What in that house is yours! I'm telling you, Eva—if your stuff isn't out by tomorrow, I'll have someone throw all your junk in the street!"

She hung up.

I gripped my phone, my whole body going cold.

Nolan came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

He didn't say anything. Just rested his chin on top of my head.

The next day, I went to work.

Joanna followed through. That afternoon, the housekeeper sent me a photo.

Everything from my room—my design drafts, saved for years. My award certificates. Every little memento of me and Nolan.

All of it stuffed into black trash bags, piled by the villa entrance like actual garbage.

Madam says you have until today to collect this trash. Otherwise she's calling a garbage truck.

I stared at that photo. It felt like a fist had closed around my heart and was squeezing until I couldn't breathe.

Then Emma texted me.

A video.

In it, she twirled around my emptied room in a gorgeous princess dress. The double-happiness characters I'd cut by hand—torn down. In their place hung an enormous wedding photo of her and Nathaniel.