My painter boyfriend, Jared Brown, ran eight red lights to rush back and celebrate my birthday with me.

Everyone knew he loved me to the bone, that I was the one he would marry. But that didn’t stop him from pinning another woman in his car, creating art in an entwined embrace.

Suddenly, a shooting star streaked across the night sky.

Amid my friends' warm blessings, I closed my eyes and made a wish on my twentieth birthday.

This time, my wish wasn’t to marry him. Instead, it was to vanish completely from Jared’s world, so he could never find me again.

Dialing a familiar number, I said, “Professor Davis, I’ve made up my mind. I agree to participate in the time capsule experiment at the base.”

In seven days, every trace of me would be erased from this world, leaving Jared to hold onto a robotic replica of me, consumed by grief and regret for the rest of his life.

——

The whole Houston knew that Jared, the genius artist, adored me to no end.

A year ago, to gain his family’s approval for dating me, he knelt silently in the rain for a whole day and night.

Today, on my twentieth birthday, he personally lit up the entire city with fireworks for me.

As the fireworks illuminated the night, what I received wasn’t a romantic surprise but a message from an unknown number, containing an unspeakable video.

[A special gift for your twentieth birthday. Do you like it?]

The short sentence brimmed with provocation.

In the video, Jared’s breathing was heavy, and a woman was pinned in the passenger seat.

With the same hands he used to create his masterpieces, he tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear while wielding his most prized paintbrush.

“Relax, just one final stroke,” Jared said in his familiar magnetic voice, soothing the woman in the passenger seat.

She bit her lower lip, her dazed eyes following his brush’s fluid movements.

As he finished, she couldn’t help but coo softly, “Jared, I...”

Mid-sentence, she reached out, trying to touch something.

But Jared’s expression darkened instantly. He grabbed her chin with one hand, his tone sharp with warning. “This is not for you to touch. Remember your place.”

“Fine, I won’t touch it…” She feigned annoyance, her voice carrying a mix of coyness and flattery.

“I know that belongs to Lia. When can we move on to the next step?”

Jared let out a resigned chuckle, his expression helpless. With his slender fingers, he pressed against the back of her head and leaned down to kiss her lips.

“You’re so noisy,” he scolded, though there was an imperceptible trace of indulgence in his tone.

The video abruptly ended with her soft moans.

Clutching my phone tightly, I felt like I had plunged into an icy abyss.

As the clock struck midnight, a tear fell from my eye.

“Surprise!”

At that moment, my best friend, Annie, burst into the room with a group of friends.

I hastily wiped away my tears, hiding my phone behind me, and tremblingly turned off the screen, pretending nothing had happened.

“What are you doing out here alone on the balcony, birthday princess?”

Annie gleefully dragged me back into the living room from the seaside balcony.

In front of me was the birthday surprise Jared had meticulously prepared.

A pure, flawless white swan cake that now looked unbearably ironic.

“Hurry, make a wish and blow out the candles. Your boyfriend specifically instructed that wishes made at midnight are the most magical.”

Just then, Jared’s senior, Chester, interrupted her, “Wait, there are still fifty seconds left. That brat is timing it remotely.”

Chester narrowed his eyes mischievously, deliberately dragging out his words as he teased the group. "With such precise timing, I can’t help but wonder… do you guys, uh, check the time for everything you do together too?"

Annie immediately threw a punch his way, her face flushing red as she angrily scolded him. "Chester!! You’re getting more and more shameless!"

Amid their playful banter, I forced a smile, trying not to dampen the lively mood. But no matter how hard I tried, the smile wouldn’t reach my eyes.

Distracted, my gaze landed on the postcard in front of the cake. In Jared’s handwriting were the words [The One and Only in This Life.]

It felt like the cruelest joke.

Jared loved me so much—so much that he’d meticulously planned this birthday "surprise."

I’d once thought we would be blissfully happy forever, stepping into marriage and growing old together.

How laughable that I only now realized I was the biggest fool in the world.

Snapping back to reality, I held back my tears and, amidst my friends’ blessings, clasped my hands together and closed my eyes to make a wish.

Just as I opened my eyes, ready to blow out the candles, the door swung open, and Jared walked in.

The moment I saw him, my eyes stung with unbidden tears. A wave of sour pain spread through me, tightening my chest and making it ache. But I bit my lip and told myself I wouldn’t cry.

"Happy birthday, my darling!" he greeted.

Jared, his hair was still damp, thrusting a large bouquet of roses—symbols of love—eagerly in front of me.

Panting for breath, he grinned and said, "I made it just in time!"

With his usual tenderness, he ruffled my hair, leaned down, and kissed my forehead.

His friends began recounting his efforts, saying he had rushed back immediately after his art exhibition, running eight red lights just to be with me on time.

"Really?" I replied skeptically, my tone laced with disbelief as I pushed him away, a cold smile on my lips.

Jared seemed stunned, pursing his lips momentarily before gripping my shoulders and flashing his signature hopeful smile. "My darling, what birthday wish did you make?"

I smiled faintly. "I’ll tell you in seven days."

After the party ended, Jared went outside to see his friends off while I stayed behind to help clean up with the housekeeper.

"You should rest, miss," the housekeeper urged. "I can take care of everything. If Mr. Brown sees you doing this, he’ll feel bad."

I shook my head, saying it was fine. But as I moved a piece of hard packaging, it unexpectedly sliced my finger.

"Hiss…" I gasped softly as a line of red quickly surfaced.

"Are you okay, darling?"

Jared had returned just in time to witness it. In a few quick strides, he reached me, grabbing my hand with a look of pure concern. Without hesitation, he brought my finger to his lips to suck the blood.

"How could you be so careless? Does it hurt?" He frowned deeply, pulling me on the sofa and carefully tending to my wound.

"Why are you doing this? We have a housekeeper for a reason."

Watching him at that moment, so focused and full of care, I felt a fleeting sense of confusion.

If I hadn’t seen that video, I might still believe I was the happiest woman in the world.

But it was all a lie.

Jared claimed to love me so deeply, yet behind my back, he entangled himself with another woman.

While he went to get the first aid kit, he left his phone beside me.

His password was my birthday. It took just seconds for me to unlock it.

A blank chat window with no previous messages suddenly popped up with a new text, [I left my stockings in your car. Hurry up and bring them back to me.]

Seconds later, the message was deleted.

But I had already seen every single word.

Clutching the phone, I began to tremble uncontrollably.

"What’s wrong, darling? Are you still feeling unwell?"

Jared’s concern was focused entirely on me. He didn’t notice my shaking hands as I discreetly slid his phone face down onto the couch.

"I’m just a bit tired. I think I’ll take a shower." I brushed his hand away gently, standing up from the sofa.

Jared seemed to sense something was off. His gaze followed me with suspicion as I walked away, and then he suddenly turned back toward the corner of the couch where his phone lay.

By the time I entered the bathroom, he had already picked it up, his expression growing tense.

What he didn’t know was that just moments ago, I had implanted a chip into his phone that would sync all his chat logs to mine.

A new message appeared almost immediately. [Why did you delete it? Haven’t I told you not to text me when I'm at home?]

The reply came in an instant. [I was just trying to be thoughtful! If your precious darling finds my stockings in your car, how will you explain it?"]

[You know she’s my one and only, and you still dare to seduce me? Don’t text me again. Tonight, I belong to my darling.]

[Fine, fine, I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll go model for your nemesis instead—let him see your masterpiece from today.]

[Don’t you dare!]

Their back-and-forth made me physically nauseous.

I bit down hard on my arm to stifle my sobs, tears silently streaming down my face as I stood in the bathroom.

My blurred vision was no match for the endless flood of tears. I wiped at them furiously, but they wouldn’t stop.

I clenched my teeth and tried to comfort myself.

'It’s okay. I’m leaving soon anyway.

Whatever Jared does from now on, no matter how outrageous, it won’t have anything to do with me.

Don’t cry. It’s your birthday today. Grandma said birthday girls shouldn’t cry.

Don’t...'

But just then, a wave of nausea rose from my stomach, and I couldn’t hold it back.

"Ugh!"

Jared heard the noise and rushed to the bathroom door, knocking anxiously. "What’s wrong, darling? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

I turned on the faucet, trying to drown out the sound of my retching as my body convulsed in pain.

Swallowing my tears, I managed to force out a weak reply. "I’m fine."

At that moment, another message from that woman appeared.

[Having a nice birthday, Lia? Want to make a bet? I can have you sleeping alone tonight with just one word.]

I didn’t reply, and she grew bolder, sending one video after another.

The videos showed her and Jared, both unclothed, as he painted her in various intimate settings.

[I’m his exclusive model. These are his masterpieces. One day, I’ll stand beside him on the highest podium. Aren’t you jealous, Lia?]

I still didn’t respond. Unfazed, she continued her taunts.

[Did you know? He said the scar on your chest is disgusting, that you’ll never be fit to be his model.]

She was right—I had a scar on my chest, a memento from three years ago when I shielded Jared from a knife.

Every time he saw it, his brows would furrow instinctively. I had always thought it was out of love and concern.

But now I knew—he found it revolting.

It turned out I was an eyesore to him all along.

The pain in my chest spread throughout my body, numbing me entirely. Outside the door, Jared gripped the handle nervously.

"Open the door, darling. What’s going on?"

The housekeeper, hearing the commotion, hurried over with a bowl of sobering soup.

"Did she drink too much today? Maybe it upset her stomach?" she wondered.