But he had forgotten that Wendy was severely allergic to alcohol.

“Wendy, just drink this glass and we’ll let the earlier misunderstanding go. It’s Kyle’s birthday today, her happiness is the most important,” Nathan said.

Wendy looked at him deeply, unable to stop herself from saying, “I’m allergic to alcohol. If I drink, it’ll cause serious problems…”

Before she could finish, Kyle’s eyes once again welled with tears and Nathan cut her off impatiently, “It’s just a small glass of wine, what could possibly go wrong? Stop being so dramatic, will you? Worst case, I’ll have someone take you to the hospital afterward.”

Wendy didn’t want to argue anymore. What was the point? Everyone was waiting for her to drink it, as if not drinking would make her a criminal.

She shut her eyes tightly and downed the wine in one go.

Only then did Nathan finally smile in satisfaction, reaching out to pat her head gently, as if offering comfort.

Everyone carried on as if nothing had happened, the atmosphere at the party growing lively once more. Nathan's eyes remained fixed on Kyle, full of affection and longing.

He didn’t notice that Wendy’s entire body had turned red, her face starting to swell and she was beginning to show signs of suffocation.

She rushed to the restroom, trying to clear her head with cold water. When she turned around, she found Kyle leaning against the doorway, waiting for her.

Kyle sneered, “You saw the kissing video I sent you last night, didn’t you? Do you know how much Nathan loves me? He even said he’d die for me. And you? You’re just a stand-in and a body double at best. Know your place and back off willingly.”

She kept on taunting, but Wendy could no longer hear her clearly. An uncontrollable sense of suffocation tightened around her throat.

Kyle noticed what was happening and smirked smugly. “Hahaha, you're swelling up like a pig’s head! What do you think? If I lock you in here, how long will it take for Nathan to even notice you’re gone?”

Like a demon, she stepped forward and shoved Wendy hard into the restroom, slamming the door shut and locking it tight.

Wendy was engulfed in unbearable pain so that she didn't even have the strength to bang on the door. She could only lean weakly against it, struggling to breathe.

Meanwhile, in the hall, Nathan was being encouraged by the crowd to play a mouth-to-mouth passing game with Kyle, who had just returned from the restroom.

The atmosphere between the two was charged with flirtation. Although they could’ve easily passed the item to each other, they deliberately drew it out to mimic a kiss. Their gazes lingered on each other with unmistakable intimacy.

Nathan seemed to be fully immersed in the gentle allure that was Kyle. But before long, he began to grow distracted.

His heart pounded uneasily in his chest, as if something was slipping away without a sound and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t grasp it.

He suddenly looked up, scanning the surroundings before abruptly asking, “Where’s Wendy? Where did she run off to on her own?”

The people around teased him, “Nathan, Kyle is standing right in front of you, why are you still thinking about that stand-in?”

Kyle caught sight of the worry on Nathan’s face and a flicker of resentment flashed across her features. She replied breezily, “She might’ve gotten upset earlier and gone home on her own. She’s a grown woman, what could possibly happen? Let’s keep playing.”

Not wanting to dampen Kyle’s mood, Nathan did his best to keep her entertained and happy.

By the end of the night, both of them were drunk. Kyle twisted in his arms like a snake and he instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist.

But as he held her, something felt off. For some reason, the moment his hand touched Kyle’s waist, a vivid image of Wendy came to mind, how she would lie in his arms each night, how her waist fit perfectly in his embrace.

An unsettling unease grew within him.

Abruptly, he pushed Kyle away and strode quickly toward the restroom.

He had been keeping an eye on Wendy out of the corner of his eye all along, so he vaguely remembered. After she entered the restroom, she never came back out.

He strode quickly into the restroom, loudly calling out Wendy’s name, but there was no reply.

Kyle hurried after him, trying to dissuade him. “I already told you, she probably went home. Nathan, it’s my birthday today. Don’t you want to spend more time with me? Or have you already replaced me with a new girlfriend and forgotten all about me?”

Inside the locked restroom, Wendy was nearly passing out. In a daze, she vaguely heard Nathan’s voice, but when she tried to respond, she found she couldn’t make a single sound. Her throat refused to cooperate.

The conversation outside fell clearly and unmistakably into Wendy’s ears.

She heard Nathan’s slightly helpless response. “Kyle, don’t you know what kind of feelings I have for you? Even Wendy… is just your substitute.”

Only then did Kyle smile, her voice soft as she asked, “Then now that I’m back, will you leave her and come back to me?”

There was a long silence outside the door. Nathan didn’t reply right away.

Then came a soft sigh from him. “Kyle… she loves me deeply. I…”

He didn’t finish the sentence. But Kyle’s eyes reddened instantly. She pressed him, voice trembling. “You’ve fallen in love with her, haven’t you? Didn’t you say you’d only love me for the rest of your life? If I hadn’t gone abroad to further my studies, wouldn’t we already be married by now?”

Seeing Kyle’s tears welling up in her eyes, Nathan finally relented and said helplessly, “Alright, I only love you.”

Kyle suddenly kissed him. He froze for a moment but ultimately didn’t push her away. Instead, he responded to her kiss.

In the quiet of the moment, a faint knock came from the bathroom door. Nathan snapped back to his senses and quickly unlocked the door. The moment he saw Wendy collapsed inside, barely conscious, his mind went blank.

Her entire body was flushed red and she was on the verge of fainting. That instant, it was as if his heart seized tightly and he could no longer think straight.

He scooped Wendy into his arms and rushed toward the hospital. His expression was as dark and menacing as if he were about to kill someone. The moment he saw the bathroom door had been locked from the outside, he understood that someone had deliberately trapped Wendy in there.

Fortunately, her life was saved. When Wendy opened her eyes, Nathan was sitting by her bedside. The moment he saw her wake up, he quickly brought a glass of warm water to her lips.

With guilt in his voice, he said softly, “I’m sorry, Honey. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have let you drink.”

Wendy’s heart twinged in pain. He had witnessed her allergic reaction to alcohol before, yet in front of Kyle, it was as if he had lost all sense.

Now, he was avoiding the topic of her being locked in the bathroom, but Wendy chose to confront it directly. “Nathan, it was Kyle who locked me in there. Do you believe me?”

Nathan lowered his eyes, avoiding her gaze.

It was obvious. He already knew Kyle was the one behind it, but he had no intention of blaming her.

Wendy suddenly smiled, but all she felt was an overwhelming sense of disappointment.

Nathan said in a hushed voice, “Alright, Wendy. Kyle just got back from abroad and it was her birthday that day. Could you cut her some slack? She’s just a bit childish, not a bad person.”

Wendy turned her gaze to the window, hiding her tearful eyes as if that alone could help her appear more carefree and more unbothered.

She would always remember what Nathan had once said, “As long as I’m here, you don’t have to back down for anyone. I’ll always be your support.”

Now, it all felt like a cruel joke.

The day Wendy was discharged from the hospital, Kyle came to visit her in person. Everyone knew the truth, but no one mentioned it.

While Nathan stepped out to pay the hospital fees, Kyle raised her proud chin and spoke in a tone that reeked of false modesty, “You don’t actually think that just because I locked you in the bathroom and almost killed you, Nathan would blame me, do you? How ridiculous. He even comforted me afterward, saying that if anything had happened, he’d take the blame for me.”

Wendy couldn’t even be bothered to look at her.

Kyle, clearly irritated by her indifference, became flustered. Her eyes flicked with a calculating glint as she grabbed a nearby glass of water and splashed it onto her own face. Then, as if making a dramatic decision, she shattered the glass and drew it across her hand. Blood quickly surfaced.

With a triumphant look, she sneered, “Wendy, I’ll say you did this to me. What do you think, will Nathan believe me or not?”

Wendy looked at her, completely dumbfounded. The scene felt like something out of a cliché soap opera, yet she was living it and paying the price.

When Nathan returned to the room, what greeted him was the sight of Kyle soaked and tear-streaked, her hand bleeding.

His expression shifted instantly. Panic flashed across his face as he rushed to her side to check her injury, his voice lowering with concern. “What happened? I was only gone a few minutes and you’re already like this?”

Kyle leaned into his arms, looking pitiful and aggrieved. “Wendy is still holding a grudge over what happened on my birthday. She suddenly lost her temper, splashed water on me and even used broken glass to cut me…”

Her eyes were filled with tears, making her seem incredibly pitiful at that moment.

Nathan's expression turned cold in an instant. He turned to Wendy and said sternly, “Wendy, why are you so vengeful? I already told you that what happened that day wasn’t Kyle’s fault. Do you really have to hurt her over it? She’s never had to suffer any grievances since she was little. What right do you have to make her suffer? Then again, you’re an orphan, born without anyone to teach you any manners…”

He suddenly stopped, as if realizing how cruel his words had become.

Wendy just looked at him, looked at how easily he distrusted her, how he blamed her without distinguishing right from wrong, even using her background to hurt her.

She suddenly let out a cold laugh and said icily, “Yes, I’m an orphan. I grew up lacking proper upbringing, but I’m not stupid enough to do something like that in a hospital with surveillance cameras!”

Nathan was stunned for a moment. Kyle quickly clutched her hand and cried out in pain. He immediately turned to take her for treatment, striding out of the hospital room.

Wendy left the hospital alone and returned to their home. She gathered up every couple’s items from the past few years and threw them all out.

Right on top was a photo they had taken on the day they first got together, both of them smiling brightly, making plans for the future, even planning to get married this year.

Now, those memories were nothing more than garbage.

Just as she was about to head out and throw them away, she ran into Nathan coming back. His face was still cold. When he saw the things in her hands, he demanded, “What are you doing? Just because of what happened earlier, you want to throw away all our memories?”

He snatched the box from her without another word and placed it back in its original spot. But Wendy didn’t care.

She would be leaving soon anyway. All these memories would no longer have anything to do with her. Her feelings for Nathan would be wiped clean.

He grabbed her arm and said earnestly, “Wendy, I know you have issues with Kyle, but right now, I’m your boyfriend. Can you stop being so jealous and petty all the time? Kyle is very important to me. I hope you can be more tolerant of her.”

Wendy closed her eyes, feeling suffocated. It was that same line again, be more tolerant of her. She couldn’t help but retort, “Why should I always be the one to tolerate her? And how could you wrongfully accuse me without even checking the facts? Is it really that hard to look at the security footage?”

Nathan’s expression turned completely cold as he stared into Wendy’s eyes. “Kyle and I have been childhood lovers for over ten years. I trust her.”

That single sentence “I trust her” shattered every last defense Wendy had.

It became clear that both love and its absence were painfully apparent.

She quickly lowered her head, afraid her cheap tears would be seen. In the next moment, Nathan’s phone rang. It was a call from one of his close friends.