The movers were efficient.

In less than an hour, the house that had once been filled with the warmth of life was now cold and empty.

I looked around at the place I had lived in for almost three years, feeling a sense of loss.

Zak and I had met on a hiking trip.

After being cooped up at home for too long, my parents had ordered me to go out and relax.

I had planned to hike with a close friend, but she bailed on me at the last minute.

Unfamiliar with hiking, I soon found myself lagging behind the group.

Eventually, I realized I was lost.

To make matters worse, my phone died.

Hearing wolves howling in the distance, I burst into tears, thinking this was the end.

Just then, someone sneered beside me, "With courage like that, why did you even come hiking?"

I was about to snap back when the man handed me a packet of tissues.

He said, "Here, wipe your tears."

I took the tissues and ate the bread he offered, but I refused to thank him.

With his help, I finally reached the summit, where we watched the glorious sunrise.

But what etched itself into my memory more than the sunrise was Zak's earnest expression as he closed his eyes to make a wish.

At that moment, I believed in love at first sight.

We exchanged contacts, and I began pursuing him fervently.

Every day, I sent him a new romantic message and ordered meals to be delivered to his office like clockwork.

Zak always politely thanked me, but he would transfer the money for the meals back to me without fail.

This continued for nearly three months.

Then, one night, drunk and emboldened, I asked him why he wouldn't accept my confession.

Zak told me that a rich girl like me didn't belong in his world.

Once I understood what was holding him back, I assured him that I didn't care about his background and that I was willing to help him rebuild his life.

But still, he refused.

I eventually gave up pursuing him.

I stopped bothering him, choosing to respect his wishes.

But just as I was preparing to study abroad, he somehow found out and rushed to the airport, breathless as he stopped me.

He said, "Are you leaving the country?

"Without you around to bother me, something's been missing from my life.

"Could you stay for me?"

Hearing his clumsy confession, I was overjoyed, completely missing the gaps in his words.

In front of everyone, I happily agreed to stay.

To protect his fragile ego, I moved out of my family's mansion and willingly shared a tiny, less-than-30-square-meter basement with him.

In the third year of our relationship, Zak said he wanted to start a business, and I supported him with both hands.

I even had my father secretly fund his company.

When the company was finally established, Zak cooked a feast and promised me something.

Once the company grew successful, he would give me a wedding that everyone would envy.

And so I waited, for another three years.

But instead of the wedding I had been waiting for, I got the news that his first love had returned.

Three months ago, I discovered hundreds of tickets to Ylugas in his study, and that's when I realized he had been pining for her all along.

We had the most intense argument in our history.

I demanded to know if he had ever truly cared about me.

He assured me that if he had ever wanted to reunite with Olivia, he wouldn't have agreed to our engagement.

I believed him.

But I never expected that, on the day he was supposed to meet my parents, he would abandon me for her.

Three hours in the cold wind had blown away my delusions of love and shown me just how terrible the man I had loved for six years truly was.

I would never forget the moment I arrived, late and exhausted, and instead of asking where Zak was, my parents were worried about the blisters on my heels from walking so far.

That was the moment I made up my mind.

If his heart belonged to someone else, I wasn't going to fight for it anymore.

On the way home, tears finally slipped silently down my face.

Six of the best years of my life had been tied to Zak, and in the end, it all came to an unhappy conclusion.

This made me think of the late-night phone call Zak once made to Olivia.

He said, "If you had stayed for me back then, maybe the one standing by my side now would be you.

"But unfortunately, I can't betray Molly. She's my responsibility."

It wasn't love that kept him from leaving me, but responsibility.

Unfortunately, I hadn't questioned him right away at the time.

I always humbly believed that as long as Zak was willing to stay with me, it meant that I had a place in his heart.

But now, I finally understood my true feelings.

I couldn't tolerate the person I loved abandoning and betraying me again and again for Olivia.

After deciding to completely say goodbye to the past, I reached out to the study abroad agency from back then.

They told me it's never too late to chase your dreams.

Even though I knew they were just trying to increase their sales, I was still moved by their words.

Because of my love for Zak, I had willingly stayed home to cook and clean for him, handling all the household chores.

From a pampered girl who never lifted a finger to a housewife who now only received scoldings, I had lost myself more and more.

I booked a ticket to Blodon for the following month and listed our marital home for sale.

But, to my surprise, a week later, the real estate agent called me with a dilemma.

He asked, "Miss Allen, didn't you say the house belongs to you? Then why is there a young couple living there?"

I quickly asked the driver to take me to the house.

As soon as I unlocked the door, I saw the living room, which I had emptied, now filled with signs of life.

And just then, Olivia walked out of the bathroom, casually wrapped in a towel.

In just one week, Zak had moved Olivia in.

Even worse, there were photos of the two of them openly displayed by the entrance.

I suddenly recalled the post Olivia had made on her social media a few days ago.

[No wonder he's the boss. To make me happy, he even gifted me a luxury house.]

Back then, I had been puzzled about how Zak could afford to buy a house worth tens of millions when his company had just gone public.

It turned out he was giving my house away as a gift.

The man who once prided himself on earning his own way had become the very freeloader he despised.

The thought made me feel sick.

Seeing me, Olivia covered her flat chest with a displeased look.

She said, "Miss Allen, you're trespassing. Get out right now."

"Is this your house? Did you drink too much last night?" I snapped back.

I didn't even hide my disdain.

"This house was a gift from Zak. "You're nothing but an old woman who got kicked out of her own home. What right do you have to speak here?" Olivia retorted.

Her tone was full of pride.

She smirked, "I heard your engagement was called off.

"Too bad for you. I'm Zak's true love. As soon as I agree to marry him, he'll be ready to walk down the aisle with me."

I shot back, "Is that so? Well, make sure you lock him down. Don't let him loose to cause trouble for anyone else."

I no longer felt hurt over such trivial things.

All I wanted now was to kick this freeloading woman out of my house.

I said, "This is my house. You can leave now."

Olivia's face flushed with anger.

She snorted, "No wonder Zak doesn't like you. With a face like that and no manners, how could he ever want to marry someone like you?"

I had once been known as one of the most beautiful women in our social circle. Even though the years had worn on me, I still looked far better than her.

I tilted my head slightly and gave her a cold smile. "Then, Miss Dawson, please get out of my house as soon as possible, will you?"

Just as we started arguing, the neighbors gathered around to watch the commotion.

Through the half-open door, they immediately saw Olivia, who was standing opposite me.

"Miss Allen, I've disliked this mistress for a long time. You should teach her a lesson."

"And your boyfriend, too. He's insatiable."

"Exactly. He has a stunning beauty at home but still insists on hooking up with an ugly one."

The neighbors' support temporarily alleviated my frustration.

However, with every word they spoke, Olivia's face grew paler.

She said, "You must all be Molly's paid trolls. Just wait until Zak comes back. I'll make sure you all regret this."

The moment she finished speaking, Zak, who had just returned from work, stormed into the crowd.

He forcefully pushed me aside and, like a loyal knight, shielded Olivia behind him.

He snapped, "Molly, what are you causing a scene about now?

"Did you bring people here to take revenge on Olivia while I was away?

"This kind of despicable behavior disappoints me."

Because of his rough shove, I hit the doorknob hard, and a sharp pain shot through my back.

Yet, Zak was too busy defending the tearful Olivia to notice.

I shot back, "I haven't even asked you yet. Even if we're not getting married, what does it mean for you to bring her into our marital home?"

I gritted my teeth and questioned him, despite the pain.

He snorted, "Didn't you say you weren't going to marry me? I can do whatever I want. How is that any of your business?"

Zak's words were unusually sharp, like daggers piercing my heart.

He added, "And besides, I'm the one paying the rent. I can let anyone live here. Who are you to point fingers?"

The marital home was rented. I had spun a kind lie to ease Zak's guilt.

At that time, he had been living in a basement due to financial struggles from his startup.

The company's performance was poor, and his anxiety had affected his health, leading to pneumonia.

The damp environment of the basement was no help to his recovery.

For his sake, I reached out to my parents, who I hadn't spoken to in three years, and begged them for help.

My parents agreed, but only on the condition that rent be paid.

I negotiated, and they finally relented, asking for just 800 dollars a month for an apartment nearly 200 square meters in size.

I never touched the rent money for 36 months; it was all saved in the bank.

I was just waiting for the day he officially married me so I could return all the rent and tell him that the apartment would belong to both of us.

I had even imagined him being moved to tears when he found out everything.

But now, seeing him protect Olivia like this, I wanted to slap myself for ever being so blinded by love.

For a man who didn't love me, I had compromised so much.

Thankfully, it wasn't too late to reverse things.

I no longer wanted him, but I was determined to get the apartment back.