"Don't think that investing ten billion buys my personal freedom."

I clenched my phone tightly, tears spilling down despite my efforts to hold them back.

The hotel I booked was right next to the company. The next morning, as soon as I stepped downstairs, I unexpectedly heard Adrian's voice.

"For the bridal bouquet, go with Phalaenopsis orchids. My wife likes them."

My nose stung. I remembered when we were eighteen, when he planted an entire estate full of Phalaenopsis orchids to confess his love to me.

For a moment, it felt as if I had forgotten everything that came before. I hurried toward him.

Then I saw Zoe standing in the middle of the sea of flowers, holding the bouquet and spinning in place.

"Phalaenopsis orchids are too old-fashioned. Irises look much better. If I could walk down the aisle holding irises and marry you, I would have no regrets in this life."

Adrian stared at her for a long time, then smiled gently. "Alright. We'll do what you want."

My legs felt as heavy as lead. I could not take another step forward. My stomach churned violently.

Zoe's resemblance to the eighteen-year-old version of me was uncanny. I could not accept that the man I had loved for seven years was searching for traces of me in someone else.

Adrian spotted me first. The tenderness on his face vanished instantly. He said with clear displeasure, "Where have you been these past few days? The wedding planners couldn't find you and dumped everything on Zoe. Is that even appropriate?

"You can see it yourself. Zoe is very capable. After we get married, I don't plan to send her abroad. I'm going to promote her to vice president of the group."

Excitement immediately flared in Zoe's eyes.

I sneered inwardly. Last night, I went back to the office and worked through the night for one reason only—to withdraw the investment.

Adrian was fully immersed in his sweet date with Zoe. He never noticed the messages on his phone.

I looked at him indifferently. "Do whatever you want."

Under Adrian's furious stare, I turned and walked away, dialing a number. "Uncle, withdraw the ten billion investment for the Coles. And do you remember the marriage candidate you arranged last time? I want to meet him."

……

On the eve of the wedding, the bride was required to return to the Cole family estate to observe a longstanding family rite.

I had already decided to call off the engagement. Nevertheless, Adrian's parents had always treated me very well. His mother, Mrs. Ophelia Cole, was a close friend of my own mother's. Something as serious as breaking off the engagement had to be conveyed to them in person.

Mrs. Cole held my hand, joy nearly overflowing from her face. "Sweet child, I've hoped since you were little that I'd have a daughter-in-law like you. Tomorrow, it will finally come true.

"Don't worry. After the nonsense Adrian pulled before, Hubert and I have already taught him a lesson. He was just temporarily bewitched by that little fox. Once you two are married, his heart will naturally come back to you."

Mr. Hubert Cole, usually stern, also wore a rare smile. "Iris, I've prepared a whole table of dishes you love. When Adrian gets back later, we'll have him apologize to you properly, alright?"

Seeing their kind, affectionate smiles, I found it hard to say no.

The warm, harmonious scene seemed to stir Adrian's memories. When he looked at me, there was rare tenderness in his eyes.

He sat down beside me and pushed a jewelry box toward me. Inside was a dazzling diamond necklace.

"I wasn't in the right mood before, so I went out of my way and picked out a necklace to make it up to you."

I let out a long sigh and did not take it. "Adrian, are you sure you actually put thought into choosing this?"

Inside my jewelry box lay three identical necklaces, all apologies from the years whenever Adrian had angered me.

The first time I received one, I thought the necklace was filled with his love for me.

The second and third times, I managed to lie to myself, telling myself he was just too busy and had forgotten.

In the end, I could not fool myself.

Adrian frowned impatiently, about to speak, when Mr. Cole shot him a look to silence him.

His tone softened immediately. "I have neglected you these past days. Wasn't all of it for the wedding preparations? We're getting married tomorrow. After the wedding, I'll make it up to you properly, alright?"

From the time I was eighteen, I had been waiting to marry Adrian.

Even after making up my mind to call off the engagement, feelings like that could not be severed overnight.

I was just about to speak when the front door was pushed open. Zoe burst in, crying. "Mr. Cole, Iris's wedding dress got stained during transport by accident… The wedding is tomorrow. What should we do?"

Adrian could never stand seeing Zoe cry. He pulled her into his arms, full of concern. "Well, if it's dirty, then change it. It's nothing serious."

"I happened to pick a simple one for Iris. I'm not sure if she'll like it."

I looked at the wedding dress in her hands. The fabric was cheap, hanging loose and shapeless.

I could not help mocking, "Is that a wedding dress, or clothes for mourning?"

Leaning against Adrian's chest, Zoe's face slowly drained of color. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have decided to change the wedding dress on my own. Don't worry. Even if I scrub my fingers raw tonight, I'll wash the dress clean for you."

Adrian barked sharply, "Enough!"

He turned his gaze to me, his eyes cold. "I promised you the position of Mrs. Cole, and I've already delivered. And now you're going to make things difficult for Zoe over a wedding dress?!"

He spoke with righteous indignation, as if I were the one who had stained the dress. He just crushed the very last trace of hope that had just ignited in my heart without any mercy.

I gave Mr. and Mrs. Cole an apologetic smile. "Mr. and Mrs. Cole, I don't think I can stomach this meal today."

Mr. Cole flew into a rage and strode forward, slapping Adrian hard across the face. "If you don't draw the line with this woman, then everything belonging to the Coles will have nothing to do with you!"

Adrian looked at him coldly. "If it weren't for the Coles, would I even need to get married?"

My chest tightened in pain. So I had long stopped being the person Adrian wanted to marry.

Zoe cried as she rushed forward. "This is all my fault. I'll leave. Please don't argue because of me."

Her words only ignited Adrian's protectiveness even more.

Just as I was about to stand and leave, my eyes accidentally landed on the emerald bracelet around Zoe's wrist. I rushed forward and demanded, "Where did you get that bracelet?!"

Unfortunately, before I could reach her, Adrian yanked me back. My lower back slammed into a marble memorial table, and burning ash scattered over me.

He paused, his face dark enough to drip water. "It's just a bracelet. Is this really worth making such a scene?"

I realized it all at once. "You stole it from my jewelry box and gave it to her, didn't you?"

A flicker of hesitation flashed through Adrian's eyes before he resolutely stepped in front of Zoe. "This was originally the Coles'. Who I give it to has nothing to do with you."

I stared at Adrian for a long time, my eyes full of disappointment.

Mrs. Cole was so furious she could barely speak. She pointed at Adrian and scolded him, "You unfilial son! This bracelet is something our family passes down to our daughters-in-law. How could you casually give it to an outsider?!"

He knew exactly what that necklace meant.

I met Adrian's silent gaze and suddenly smiled. "Since Miss Bennett likes it, then let it return to its rightful owner."

Adrian panicked instantly and grabbed my arm. "What do you mean?"

Beside him, Zoe suddenly cried as she tried to take off the bracelet. "I'll give it back to you. Please don't be angry, okay?"

She moved too quickly, red marks instantly appearing around her wrist.

Adrian rushed over at once, stopping her and tightly holding her hand. When he looked at me again, his gaze was filled with undisguised disgust. "Look at her. Zoe is a thousand times more sensible than you. If it weren't for your Warren family using investment to demand repayment of favors, why would I ever marry a woman like you?"

I looked at the bracelet, still sitting securely on Zoe's wrist, and suddenly felt utterly exhausted.

He was the one who knelt in front of my father and swore he would treat me well for the rest of his life. Only then did my father agree to invest.

I let out a sigh and turned to leave. "Since you think this was leveraging favors for repayment, then let's call off the engagement."

The moment the door closed, violent arguing erupted on the other side.

The elevated roads of Alderidge were as congested as ever. I looked up at the giant screen displaying wedding photos of Adrian and me and felt nothing but irony.

Three messages popped up on my phone.

"Iris, stop making trouble. I've already had the wedding dress cleaned and sent home. Tomorrow, you'll look beautiful wearing the wedding dress I made, and you'll marry me."

"I'm calling in all the major media outlets to record this important moment of alliance between our two families."

"Iris, I didn't break the promise I made when we were eighteen."

Calmly, I pulled out the SIM card and tossed it out the car window. Along with it went my memories of being eighteen.

I would indeed be attending the wedding tomorrow.

Just not to marry him.

……

On the wedding day, Adrian listened to the mechanical female voice on the other end of the line and irritably stubbed out his cigarette.

No matter what he did, he could not get through to that number that used to pick up within seconds.

"Iris isn't answering my calls anymore."

Scrolling up the call log, he saw that that familiar number had made ninety-nine missed calls. It was the day he had accompanied Zoe to take wedding photos.

That day, Zoe had cried and begged him, saying she was about to go abroad and wanted to take some photos as a keepsake.

Putting on the wedding dress he designed himself would count as having married him once.

Looking at that face that resembled Iris by 70%, he was momentarily transported back to when he was eighteen, when he had sworn with absolute certainty to marry Iris.

Then why wasn't it Iris standing with him on the snowy mountain, taking wedding photos?

Zoe quickly noticed the change in his mood and hurriedly sent over a live video from the wedding motorcade.

"Mr. Cole, look. Iris has already gotten into the wedding car. Maybe she just didn't bring her phone with her?"

Adrian looked at the video of me dressed in a pure white wedding gown with my head slightly lowered as I smiled. There was joy in my eyes that he had not seen in a long time.

For no clear reason, he relaxed, the corners of his mouth lifting unconsciously. "Maybe." No matter what he had done before, after today, he would definitely make it up to Iris properly.

Zoe's face went pale. She opened another video that an assistant sent.

In the video, beside me sat a man with a cold, restrained presence, gently tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear.

She bit down hard in secret. "Impossible... I must be seeing things. How could Iris be with that man?"

At the entrance of the wedding hall, the media surged forward in a frenzy. The flashlights stabbed painfully into my eyes.

"Miss Warren, we heard that Mr. Cole personally designed the wedding dress you're wearing. Such deep devotion!"

"At a time when Cole Group was on the brink, the Warren family generously provided ten billion in investment. Was that out of Miss Warren's personal feelings, or from an investment standpoint?"

"What are your thoughts on today's so-called wedding of the century?"

……

I gently pushed aside the microphones and walked straight toward the center of the hall.

Adrian heard the movement and turned around. The instant he saw me, the wine glass in his hand crashed to the ground. His voice shook uncontrollably.

"Iris, why aren't you wearing the wedding dress I made for you? And this one you're wearing… who made it? Why have I never seen it before?"

I ignored the panic in his eyes and turned, snatching the microphone from the host.

Facing the cameras, I smiled brightly. "Sorry, everyone. Today, on behalf of Warren Group, I am here to clarify that the so-called ten-billion investment is completely unfounded."