Nolan was taken aback, displeasure flashing in his eyes. "Don't be silly. Didn't we already agree to get the marriage license tomorrow?"

He assumed I was just messing with him and reached for my injured hand.

I dodged his touch and said thoughtfully, "I'm not joking, Nolan. I don't want to marry you anymore."

He let out a sneer and suddenly asked, "And you don't want Aiden anymore either?"

My heart tightened. I never imagined he would use Aiden to threaten me.

I had my son, Aiden Birch, out of wedlock with Nolan when I was just a teenager. He was four years old and had been raised by the Birch family since birth.

The Birches were a wealthy family, while I was just the daughter of a lowly housekeeper.

They wouldn't allow me to raise my child, claiming someone of my status couldn't provide for a child of noble blood.

Even though I'm Aiden's mother, I barely get to see him.

Nolan knew Aiden was my weakness, and I couldn't put up much of a fight.

He reached for my hand again to examine the wound, saying, "You should visit Aiden more often. He's even calling Aria 'Mommy' now."

I knew he was implying I wasn't caring enough for our son.

It was not that I didn't want to see him, but I was restricted to seeing Aiden only once a month.

When his parents made that decision, he was right there, but he didn't say a word in my defense.

I pulled my hand back and continued packing up the first-aid kit, saying indifferently, "Then let Aria be his mom. She's eager for it anyway."

Nolan snatched the disinfectant bottle from my hand and smashed it on the floor, his face livid. "Scarlett, haven't you had enough? Why do you always have to compete with Aria? What's wrong with her being good to Aiden?"

His words brought back a memory from last month when I went to see Aiden. I accidentally overheard Aria coaxing him with lollipops.

"Sweetheart," she said. "When your mommy comes to see you, throw rotten eggs at her. Then let Aunt Aria be your mommy, okay?"

The four-year-old didn't know any better. He called her "Mommy" and threw rotten eggs at me, clapping his hands in delight.

I was a mess, but she was smug. Nolan's parents, Amanda and Oscar Birch, rushed over and simply said the child was too young to understand, while Nolan chose to stand by and watch.

That day, I fled the Birch Estate, only to be accused of being petty.

Some feelings, once they fade, become like a festering wound. No matter what you do, it's wrong.

"She did nothing wrong," I said sarcastically. "It's all my fault. Are you happy now?" I pushed him away and walked out.

Perhaps my coldness provoked him because he flew into a rage. "Why have you become so unreasonable? The gentle and kind Scarlett I once loved is dead."

Yes, the Scarlett of the past was dead. But hadn't the Nolan who once loved her deeply also died in the memories?

Nolan was the heir to a wealthy family, and I was the daughter of his family's housekeeper.

We were worlds apart, him in the skies and me on the ground; by all accounts, we shouldn't have crossed paths.

Yet, the impossible happened.

We attended the same school but not the same class. I was a top student, excelling in my studies, while he was known for smoking, skipping classes, and getting into fights.

We should have never interacted, but then he had a seizure while alone, and I happened upon his secret.

In the sports equipment room, he lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

Fearing he might bite his tongue, I reached into his mouth only to be bitten so severely that I still bear the scars.

After that incident, Nolan clung to me, fearing I would reveal his secret.

On the way to school, he'd block my path with his motorcycle, insisting on giving me a ride.

After school, he'd wait outside my classroom and snatch my backpack to carry it on his shoulder.

When I fainted during morning exercises, he rushed me to the school clinic.

For me, he quit smoking, stopped skipping classes, and no longer fought.

The day we went to the mountain to watch the sunset, he confessed his feelings.

Yelling into the valley, he shouted, "Scarlett Haven, I like you!"

Eventually, his parents found out about us and vehemently opposed our relationship.

He was locked up, and my mother was fired under the false accusation of stealing Aria's necklace.

Unable to bear the injustice, my mother jumped off the rooftop.

In the pouring rain, I held my mother's body and cried until I passed out; Nolan sneaked out to help me handle her funeral.

Outside the funeral home, I overheard Nolan arguing with his parents, threatening to sever ties.

At that moment, I resolved to love him for a lifetime.

Later, as an exchange student, I went abroad to study, and Nolan, abandoning everything, came with me.

He found a job there, and the wealthy heir became a laborer in a foreign land.

Seeing his struggles, I secretly took a part-time job to help out, balancing work and study.

Life was tough, but being together with the one you love is the greatest happiness.

I thought we would be happy forever until that incident made Nolan decide to return home.

But after returning, everything changed.

For Aiden's sake, Nolan and I went to the city hall.

We filled out forms, and just as we were about to sign, Aria called, crying that her cat was dying.

Nolan's heart went into a frenzy, and in his haste, he left me once again to go to her, entirely forgetting his promises to me.

The staff looked at me with sympathy, but I actually breathed a sigh of relief.

It felt like escaping from hell.

"Miss, do you still want to take this license?"

I tore the paperwork into shreds and tossed it in the trash can, smiling as I replied, "No, and I won't in the future either."

I wanted to free myself!

Just as I got home, I received a photo from Aria.

Nolan was holding her, her red lips pressed against his white shirt.

[Nolan is mine, and I will never let you take him away from me!] her message read. It was a blatant provocation.

I had always known that Aria's feelings for Nolan were more than platonic, but her status meant she could never be with him.

What she couldn't have, she wouldn't let me have either.

She did provocations, favoritism, and all sorts of schemes to drive a wedge between us.

I didn't believe Nolan couldn't see it; he just chose to indulge her.

After dinner, Nolan sent a message saying he wouldn't be coming home tonight.

The cat had died, and Aria was in a bad mood. He was afraid she might do something rash alone.

I didn't reply, calmly watching TV shows.

As I was about to sleep, Aria sent another message. It was a photo of Nolan holding her as they slept.

The young man and woman were in thin pajamas, their bodies nearly touching.

It used to upset me, but now my heart is still.

When love was gone, nothing mattered anymore.

During my stay with the Birch family, it was always like this. Aria would often climb into our bed in the dead of night, push me aside, and cuddle up to Nolan.

She even shamelessly helped him scrub his back while he showered, proudly claiming it was a practice they had grown up with.

Laughably, Nolan even defended her, accusing me of making a big deal out of nothing.

Later, when he saw I was furious, he promised to keep his distance from Aria in the future.

But his promises were worthless.