For the 23rd time, I'm left standing at the altar as Jace Larkin hurries off because his foster sister, Celine Keaton, threatens to end her life again. The guests mock me, saying that we'll never tie the knot and attending our wedding will bring bad luck.

I tune them out, holding on to Jace's promise that he'll come back and marry me. I buy his promise yet again, only for him to prove me wrong one more time.

After I clean up the mess and pacify the angry guests, I reach home in the middle of the night. While passing the study, I hear Jace's voice. "Cece's always been mentally unstable. Of course, I have to stay with her. Regina will never leave me, even if I postpone our wedding a hundred times."

Sorry, Jace, but I'll have to disappoint you this time. Blinking back tears, I unlock my phone and text my childhood friend, Clement Halloway. "Let's get married in three days."

After my fiance left me standing alone at the altar for the 23rd time because of his foster sister, I finally decided to leave.

The moment I sent a message to Clement Halloway, my phone rang. "Rina, did he hurt you again? Stay put. I'll go teach that scumbag a lesson right now!"

Before I could answer, Jace Larkin emerged from the study. I hurriedly muttered that it was nothing and hung up on Clement.

Jace's brows drew together. "Who were you talking to just now?"

"It was just a telemarketer."

He didn't buy it and insisted on checking my phone. Fortunately, he didn't recognize the number. After seeing the unfamiliar digits, he relaxed.

That was typical of him. He never loved me, but he knew exactly how to keep me under his thumb.

His demeanor immediately softened. He sat beside me, twirling my hair around his fingers. Having been with him for seven years, I knew that whenever he felt guilty, he couldn't help these small, telltale gestures.

"I shouldn't have left you again today, but Cece tried to take her own life once more. This time, the hospital called me and gave me a heart attack!" he said apologetically. "The doctor said she lost a lot of blood. If she had arrived a few minutes later, she might have died."

This was the 23rd time he had apologized to me, and Celine's 23rd suicide attempt. To be honest, I had once passed her hospital room and caught her looking fine and perfectly lively.

Instinctively, I shifted away and freed my hair from his hand. "It's fine."

It was fine, because I was about to leave him anyway.

He leaned closer and brushed the tip of my nose with his finger. I was about to say something when the doorbell rang.

He went to answer it and returned with a cake. "I knew you'd be upset, so I bought your favorite strawberry cake! See? I remember the little things." He smiled as he unboxed the cake.

Yet, the one who had always loved strawberry cake was Celine.

The first time he walked out on me during our wedding, he had made up for it with dinner. I accidentally ate shrimp and ended up in the emergency room with a severe allergy. The second time he left, he bought me a puppy. I started sneezing nonstop because of my rhinitis.

Every make-good of his missed the mark completely.

"Come on, have a bite, Rina!" He tried to feed me, but his phone went off with an incoming video call.

I instantly knew it was Celine because he had set a special ringtone just for her.

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he set the tray down and answered the video call.

"I feel so dumb, Jay. The water pipe at my place burst, and I don't know how to fix it. I'm not brave enough to call a plumber at this hour.

"I even cut my leg. Look!" The camera panned to her ankle.

Her wound wasn't even bleeding. If she had given it another minute, it would have healed.

Jace, however, panicked. His voice was filled with concern. "Hang on, I'll be right there!"

He wanted to explain himself to me, but I merely nodded. "Go ahead."

I no longer begged him to stay like before. I was even more obedient than I used to be.

He froze for a second and surprisingly promised, "I'll definitely be back tonight. Cece was just discharged from the hospital, so she can't be left to her own devices."

Celine had met Jace when he had been doing charity work. She'd been abandoned by her parents and tried to take her own life, and Jace had happened to see it. He'd taken it on himself to be her older brother, telling her that from then on, she had a family now and wasn't allowed to give up on life.

I'd always seen this as proof of his kindness and would smile as I told my friends I hadn't fallen for the wrong man. Looking back, it was laughable.

Less than ten minutes after Jace left, Celine called to taunt me. "You can forget about marrying Jay. See? All it takes is a video call from me, and he's at my door in a heartbeat.

"He even went out in the middle of the night to buy me Band-Aids and said he'd stay with me tonight!"

This time, I chose strength over silence and shot right back, "May you two rotten souls stay together forever and never ruin another life!"

Instead of arguing back, she deliberately left the line open so I could hear her greeting Jace at the door. I hung up and sat in the living room, drowning in memories of the past.

Jace still hadn't come home at midnight. He had lied to me again.

I didn't feel sad this time, and I stopped flooding him with messages.

Since I was about to leave, I slept even more soundly than usual.

…

The following day, I woke up and started packing first thing in the morning. I stuffed all the gifts Jace had ever given me into a torn bag and dumped it in the trash downstairs.

Before leaving, there was one last thing I had to do. I dialed the number I'd called countless times. "I'd like to cancel my wedding. You no longer have to prepare anything."

The wedding planner knew how much I had been looking forward to it and only canceled after confirming it with me several times.

At some point, Jace had appeared at the doorway. "What did you cancel?"

Celine was standing beside him.

I was about to come up with an excuse, but he didn't give me the chance. "Forget it. Cece's the one who matters now."

His tone left no room for argument, and when he talked about what had happened to Celine, his voice rose in anger. "Cece's boyfriend is an irresponsible jerk! The moment he found out she was pregnant, he ran off like a coward. I'm her brother and also her boss.

"She has no other family. If I don't look out for her, no one will. I want her to stay with us for a while, and I need you to help me take care of her."

Because he felt sorry for her, he had taken her in as his foster sister and also appointed her as his personal assistant so she wouldn't have to struggle at work. And now, he wanted me to be her housekeeper.

I stared at him in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind, Jace? You can hire help. Why should I be the one to care for Celine?"

"Cece's frail and needs constant care. You're the woman I love and trust the most. I don't feel safe leaving her with a stranger.

"Don't be difficult. I'll let you call the shots for our wedding afterward." He squeezed my shoulder to calm me down.

"There's no room for both of us in this home!" The words tore out of me, leaving me drained.

His amiable demeanor vanished in a heartbeat. He scowled. "I'm not asking for your opinion, Regina."

Then, he pulled out his phone and made a call. "Reassign Regina's responsibilities. She'll be on leave for some time. If the project can't proceed without her, discontinue it."

Just like that, the project I had worked on for half a year was discarded because of Celine.

After hanging up, he reached out to hold me. "Be good. You'd only be a burden at the office. You'll be better off staying home and looking after Cece."

Celine's approaching footsteps made him freeze. She walked in with small, careful steps, hanging her head like a child who had done something wrong. "Jay lost his temper because of me. I'm sorry, Rina. I'll be counting on you from now on," she said timidly.

I ignored her and didn't spare Jace another glance. "Fine. Be my guest, then."

In any case, I was leaving the day after. I might as well make room for her then.

Overjoyed, she instinctively tried to wrap her arms around his neck, but he stopped her.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Jace went to answer it.

Even before she stepped inside, the overpowering scent of his mother's perfume had permeated the air. "Hurry up and kick Regina to the curb. You've been together forever, and she still hasn't given you a child. Clearly, something's wrong with her!

"Now that Cece is carrying your child—" I emerged from my room, and she saw me.

Jace panicked and blurted out, "What on earth are you talking about, Mom? Cece's baby isn't mine!"

His mother avoided my gaze and lightly covered her mouth. "There I go again, running my mouth. I merely overheard something on the phone about someone being pregnant and jumped to conclusions. Please don't take it to heart, Rina!"

I took one look at her and said, "I won't, Mrs. Larkin."

I couldn't believe Celine was carrying Jace's child. It felt as though a huge bombshell had gone off in my mind. My chest tightened until I could hardly breathe.

Memories flooded back, and the seven years I had spent with Jace suddenly felt like a cruel joke. I rubbed my eyes hard, refusing to let my tears fall.

I remembered the third year of our relationship, when Jace had excitedly asked me to take him to a labor pain simulator so he could know what childbirth felt like. He had barely made it to level four before breaking out in a cold sweat, and I urged the staff to stop out of concern for him.

Holding my hand, he said that if even level four pain was too much for him, yet I would one day have to endure something far worse, he would cherish me and treat me well for the rest of his life.

We once pictured what our future child's eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth might look like. I belatedly realized that I wasn't the one who should have felt moved at all.

…

After dinner, once his mother left, I went to tidy up my room. Nothing could change my plans for tomorrow.

Noticing that I was packing, he looked a little nervous. "Why are you packing your belongings?"

"I'm just making the room more comfortable for Cece."

His gaze softened, and he wiped the sweat off my forehead. "Thank you for helping Cece, Rina. When this week is over, I'll book the wedding venue you wanted last time."

The wedding venue I liked had been changed at the last minute because his mother hadn't approved of it. Now, I would no longer need that venue.

Had he cared to look, he would've noticed the suitcase under my desk that I planned to take with me the next day. Unfortunately, he didn't notice a thing and simply went to the kitchen to peel an apple for Celine.

It didn't matter anymore. By this time tomorrow, I would be out of his life.

The following day, Jace left for work, leaving Celine and me alone at home. The air was thick with tension.

I was calling my assistant to confirm my schedule for the evening when Celine waddled over with one hand on her back. "Don't think your little act of obedience yesterday will make Jay like you!"

I looked up at her. As soon as she met my eyes, it was like a switch had been flipped inside her. "Mrs. Larkin was right yesterday. The baby in my belly is Jay's!"

Right after saying that, she arched her back a little to make her belly stand out.

I received a message from my assistant. "The flight will be delayed because of the rain."

My brows knitted. Celine mistook it as me reacting to her words and raised her chin. "You've been with Jay for seven years and still haven't had a child. Is it because you don't want one?"

Covering her mouth, she giggled. "You probably don't know this, but every time he's in bed with me, he says that you're so dull, like a dead fish, and I excite him in ways you never could!"

Celine expected me to explode or crumble, but I merely nodded apathetically. "I see."

I might have clung to some foolish hope for Jace the day before yesterday, but not anymore. I asked my assistant to book me another flight.

When my stomach started growling, I went into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

There was a note on the fridge—a meal plan that Jace had taken the trouble to consult the doctor about and carefully copied down himself the night before. He'd gone out early to buy the ingredients and reminded me countless times before leaving for work to cook everything exactly as instructed.

Every dish on that list was something I didn't care for.

I numbly set the food on the table. Celine barely took a bite of it before she clutched her stomach, crouched down, and curled up, sweat breaking across her forehead.

I watched coldly as she called Jace. "Jay, I just ate Rina's cooking and my stomach's killing me… Am I going to die?"

Jace sounded incredibly worried as he reassured her, "Don't be scared, Cece. You're not going to die. I'm on my way home right now!"

It usually took half an hour to get home from his office, yet he made it back in less than ten minutes. He burst through the door and scooped Celine into his arms.

Celine slumped weakly against him. "I… I think I just… saw blood. Is our baby… leaving me?" she whispered before breaking down into tears.

"Don't worry. You're not bleeding. I'll rush you to the hospital right now!"

He shot daggers at me. In all the seven years I had been with him, I had never seen him so frantic and out of control. He had never looked at me that way before, either.

"I told you repeatedly to follow my recipe to the letter. Why didn't you do as I say? If something happens to her or the baby, our wedding is off! I won't marry a vicious, scheming woman like you!"

I clenched my fists, anger surging in my chest. "Celine didn't even touch the food I made!"

Without hearing me out, he ordered his assistant to take me with them to the hospital.

…

After arriving at the hospital, I was dragged to the door of Celine's hospital room. Before I could plant my feet, his mother stormed over and slapped me hard across the face. Searing pain spread across my cheek, and I almost fell to the ground.

She didn't even bother to pretend anymore as she yelled at me, "You filthy slut! If anything happens to my precious grandson, I'll see to it that my son dumps you!

"I opposed your relationship with my son from day one, yet he wouldn't listen to a lick of sense! Now that he's met a real catch like Cece, you should stop clinging to him!"

For years, I had sent her gifts during every holiday to earn her approval, yet no matter what I did, she was never satisfied.

Clutching my cheek, I wanted to get out of there, but Jace's assistant pinned me down firmly. "Forgive me, Ms. Hollis, but Mr. Larkin said you can't go anywhere until Ms. Keaton comes to."

The doctor said Celine was fine. The phantom pain was brought on by anxiety.

The door swung open, and Celine was sitting on the hospital bed, clinging to Jace. "I thought I was going to die, Jace. Thank goodness you brought me to the hospital!"

He stroked her hair, his smile looking warm and indulgent. "So long as I'm here, nothing will happen to you, Cece."

His mother patted her chest. "You scared me out of my wits, Cece. Thank heavens you're okay!"

When Jace emerged from the ward and realized he had wrongly accused me, he lowered his head and took my hand. "I was wrong, Rina. I lost my head just now. Does your face hurt?"

He smacked his own forehead in frustration. "I'm sure you know Cece's pregnant and needs special attention. Anyone in my place would have been anxious. Don't be jealous. My heart and soul belong to you."

I couldn't help but sneer inwardly. His promises felt as cheap and easy as air.

"Let's get our marriage certificate next week and hold our wedding the day after," he continued, saying things that made me sick to my stomach.

"I'm not a fan of the baby's breath necklace, but if you like it, you can wear it. Also, you said you wanted to go to Finholm for our honeymoon. I've already planned half of the trip!"

Without saying a word, I nodded stiffly. He gently ruffled my hair. "Cece can't be left unattended. You must be tired. Head home, rest up, and come back tomorrow to look after her."

Without sparing him another glance, I made a beeline for the exit. I went straight home, grabbed my luggage, and headed straight to the airport.

Before boarding the plane, I took out my SIM card and tossed it into the trash. I bid farewell to Jace.