“Avery’s Valentine’s gift arrived, right? Put it in my car later. I’ll bring it home and give it to her.”

His buddy nearly lost it.

“I’ve got no issue with you spoiling your wife, but spoiling two at the same time? That’s beyond me. You’re in love with Addison, so why bring Avery back? You’ve kept the marriage a secret all this time. She’s bound to find out sooner or later. Then what? Are you going to ask Addison to step aside?”

His face instantly darkened.

“Addison is my legal wife. I’d never let her go.”

He took a breath, voice low.

“I made a promise to Avery’s parents before they passed. I said I’d take care of her. If I’d returned sooner, she wouldn’t have been forced into that overseas marriage. I heard those three years nearly broke her…”

“I owe her. I have to make it up to her, anything she wants. Anything, except marriage.”

His friend groaned in frustration.

“Don’t tell me you still haven’t let go of her? If it’s just sympathy, then get her out of that mess and give her money. Isn’t that enough?”

“Partially,” he muttered. “After all… I did love her once. Even now, I still like her.”

Just as those words fell, the sharp click of high heels echoed around the corner.

She appeared sweet and radiant, speaking into her phone with a gentle smile.

“If your gift’s not special, I won’t forgive you.”

Panic swept through the private room like wildfire.

“Remember, don’t mention her in front of her,” someone whispered in a panic.

Tears welled up without warning. I turned and fled the bar, humiliated.

The moment I stepped outside, I gasped for breath, desperate for air, but no matter how hard I tried, my lungs refused to fill.

Before coming here, I had made up a thousand excuses for him.

Maybe she was forced into marriage, and he had stepped in to help.

Maybe she had lost everything, and he helped her rebuild.

I wanted to believe that because of love, he couldn’t have betrayed me.

But no matter how many reasons I tried to tell myself, none of them could hold up against this cruel truth.

Every excuse shattered into silence because the only reason left was painfully clear.

He simply didn’t love me anymore.

It was that simple.

Rain mixed with tears as they streamed down my face. I stood by the roadside, arm raised, trying to flag down a taxi.

Behind me, the voices of employees buzzed with excitement.

“Isn’t that the hidden wife he’s been keeping out of the public eye? I heard they’ve been married for five years now. She’s gorgeous, way prettier than any celebrity. No wonder he hides her. He’s probably scared someone else might snatch her.”

“Obviously! Did you see how they decorated that private room? Do you even know how much that cost?”

Someone raised five fingers.

“Fifty thousand? That’s more than my whole year’s salary!”

“No, you idiot, five million! Do you think the rich live like us? All those diamonds used for the décor were flown in from South Africa. I’ve worked here for ten years, and I’ve never seen a private room that is blinding. And don’t even get me started on the gift he gave her!”

Just as I was on the verge of collapsing, a taxi finally rolled to a stop.

I rushed inside, terrified that even a second’s hesitation would send me running back to him.

A tangled mess of emotions tore through my chest like poisoned needles, each breath a stab to the heart.

It felt like something had been violently carved out of me. Even breathing burned.

When the car reached the gates of the university, I couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Let me off here,” I said quietly.

I stepped into the rain, walking across the campus lawn, not bothering to shield myself or look back.

People turned to stare, but I didn’t care.

Someone whispered excitedly nearby, “Isn’t that Miss Chandler?”

“Who?”

“You don’t know her? Have you never checked the forums? Back then, her love story with Senior Carter was everywhere. Childhood sweethearts got accepted into this university together, and on the very first day, he confessed to her in front of everyone. It was legendary. No drama could ever top their story.”

“But Senior Carter isn’t with her. Should we go ask? I heard they’re secretly married. Maybe we can even score some wedding candy.”

“Forget it. Didn’t you see her face? Let’s go. Don’t mess with her mood.”

Their voices faded into the distance, leaving only a heavy silence behind.

Bitterness welled up in my chest, so sharp it was hard to swallow.

He had been the older boy next door, my so-called childhood sweetheart.

From the earliest memories I had, he was always running after me.

As kids, we used to play house. He once fought off an entire group of children just to make me his pretend bride.

To make me smile, he even stole Aunt’s heirloom ring, claiming it was our token of love.

He told me one day he’d use it to propose for real.

For eighteen years, we had never been apart.

After the college entrance exams, his family wanted to send him abroad.

He knelt in the pouring rain for a full day and night with no food, no water, just to fight it.

In the end, they gave in and let him stay.

On university entrance day, it happened to be my eighteenth birthday.

At the opening ceremony, he had bribed the entire student body. Every student held up a banner that read. [Easton and Avery forever, never to be parted.]

I could never forget that moment.

The principal and teachers wore darkened expressions as drones lit up the sky, spelling out my name.

Right beside me stood Easton, holding my hand, filled with determination.

That burning gaze of his made my heart skip a beat.

Overwhelmed, I leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

That marked the beginning of our four-year whirlwind love story.

Our relationship was posted on the school forum and remains pinned there even now.

But after graduation, he was still sent abroad.

Before he left, he held me close, his eyes red as he lay beside me in the hotel bed.

We didn’t cross any lines, but the longing in his gaze was too deep, too sharp. I couldn’t even keep my eyes open.

He whispered gently in my ear. “Avery, wait for me for two years. When I come back, I’ll marry you.”

“Don’t marry anyone else.”

When I closed my eyes, he didn’t see the smile tugging at my lips, sweet, full of hope.

But soon after he left the country, everything collapsed.

That night, I lost everything: my family went bankrupt, my parents died, and even my freedom was stripped away.

I was taken abroad, forced into a marriage I never chose, and lived through three years of unbearable torment.

I had thought of running. I had thought of ending it all.

And just when I was about to give up, he appeared.

With one contract worth hundreds of billions, he shattered that man's control.

The divorce papers were signed swiftly, without hesitation.

On the plane home, I traced his features in my mind with trembling fingers.

He hadn’t changed, still just as handsome, just as unforgettable.

I thought my nightmare was over.

I thought happiness had finally returned to me.

But the moment I stepped into the villa, I was met with shelves of childish dolls.

And standing before me, in a revealing nightgown, was her.

He panicked.

“She’s my sister. Adopted from an orphanage. She looked pitiful, so I took care of her for two years.”

But I didn’t miss the flicker of pain in her eyes.

As a woman, I saw it clearly. Her feelings for him ran deep.

After I returned to the country, she had been sent away from the Carter house.

Back then, I thought it was just a one-sided crush.

But now, it seemed the one who didn’t belong was me.

By the time I got home, it was already past one in the morning.

The villa was dark, with not a single light on.

He sat alone on the couch, looking like he’d been waiting for hours.

The moment the door opened, he rushed over, eyes filled with worry.

He pulled me into a tight embrace, his voice trembling as he spoke, “Avery, where did you go? Why didn’t you tell me before leaving?”

“Do you have any idea how worried I was? I was scared that he came back and...”

Scalding tears landed on my shoulder, seeping through my clothes.

“Promise me you won’t vanish again, alright? I’m begging you, Avery.”

“I can’t afford to lose you a second time.”

His voice trembled with such sincerity that it almost made me believe him.

Ever since I came back to the country, he had messaged me every hour whenever he left for work.

Checking if I was still at home, making sure the man from abroad hadn’t appeared again.

Last month, I went to the supermarket and didn’t see my phone in time.

He abandoned a hundred-billion project just to rush home.

The moment he saw I was safe, his eyes welled up with tears.

His hands trembled as he clutched me, just like now.

“Avery, thank goodness you’re alright...”

From that day on, five bodyguards followed me wherever I went.

Only when I finally complained about the inconvenience did he pull them away.

I used to believe that was love.

But now I understood that it was never about protection.

Those men were likely stationed not to shield me from danger but to prevent me from crossing paths with Addison to keep the truth hidden from me.

The love had once been real.

But now, the absence of it felt just as real.

I forced a faint smile and gently pried his hands off me.

“Sorry, I went out shopping. My phone died. I didn’t see your messages.”

A moment later, the living room lights flickered on.

Soft light poured over the rose petals scattered across the floor. The three-tiered cake on the table, and the wedding ring clutched tightly in his palm.

Just as three years ago, he got down on one knee; his expression was solemn and reverent.

“Avery, marry me, will you?”

“The wedding I promised is three years late. Before, I was afraid you hadn’t healed. Now, I want to make it up to you properly.”

I was just about to ask, ‘Are you really ready to marry me?’

When his phone vibrated violently.

“President Carter, something’s wrong. Addison had a bleeding ulcer and was rushed to the hospital. The surgery needs a family member to sign…”

The voice didn’t even finish.

All that remained was the sight of his back as he rushed out.

He didn’t even bother checking the ring size; he just shoved it roughly onto my finger.

Then he threw on a coat and left without so much as a glance back.

“Avery, something urgent came up at the company. Wait for me to come back.”

I looked down at the diamond ring digging into my skin, the metal slicing open my flesh. Blood slowly seeped out, staining the stone.

Tears slipped silently down my cheeks.

As if under a spell, I grabbed my still-damp coat and ran after him.

At the hospital’s emergency entrance, I saw a side of him I had never seen before: frenzied, furious, completely out of control.

“Didn’t I tell you to watch her? How could you let her drink herself into a stomach bleed?”

“What the hell were you doing?”

His friend looked like a scolded child, head hung low in guilt.

“There was nothing I could do! I can’t control your wife, can I? She was upset and insisted on drinking with me. What was I supposed to do, leave her there alone?”

“Anyway, they’re still waiting for someone to sign the surgery papers. Stop yelling at me and go sign already.”

Easton scribbled his signature with a fury that nearly tore through the paper, his voice sharp and ice-cold.

“Remember this: Addison is my legal wife. Her surgeries don’t need my approval. Next time, all of you are fired.”

The surgery lasted for an hour. He remained outside the whole time, motionless.

His friend, not wanting to get dragged any deeper, muttered some excuse and slipped out of the hospital.

When Addison was wheeled into the room, Easton’s eyes reddened.

“How could you be so reckless? Don’t you know your own limit?”

Addison burst into tears, her voice trembling with grievance as she collapsed into his arms like a wounded rabbit.

“But I missed you. Today is our anniversary. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be like this, but I really can’t share you with Sister Avery.”