The day before my birthday, Henry told me he was going to propose. And this morning, I found the ring box hidden in the pocket of his coat.

I was so excited that I canceled my business trip and planned to surprise him with a gift of my own that evening.

Just as I was on my way, I received the news that my mother had been in a car accident.

I hurried to the hospital, but there were barely any doctors on duty. I immediately called Henry Garrison, a senior physician, 99 times while crying, but he never picked up.

As I sat trembling outside the emergency room, a video of Henry proposing to Willa Saint was posted in my colleagues' group chat. In the video, Henry knelt on one knee and solemnly slid that very ring onto Willa's finger.

A chorus of congratulations erupted from all around. Only then did I notice that the crowd gathered there were all hospital personnel, who called away by Henry. And because of the staff shortage, a technical error occurred during my mother’s surgery and she lost her life.

It was only then that a drunken Henry finally returned my call, sounding utterly impatient. "Why did you call so many times? I told you I was busy with something important today. Didn't you hear me?"

Through my tears, I begged, "Henry, my mom passed away in a car accident. Can you come and see her one last time?"

But only a click of the tongue came from the other end of the line.

"Your mother is dead; she can't come back to life. What's the use of me going there? Stop being so unreasonable. I'm busy with something important right now."

After saying that, he hung up immediately.

My eyes stung as I leaned against the hospital wall, trembling all over. Henry's words had completely extinguished the last spark of hope in my heart, leaving me in total despair.

I let out a bitter laugh. It seemed that the wedding scheduled for half a month later would need another bride.

***

An hour later, Henry finally arrived at the hospital, bringing Willa with him.

Seeing me sitting on the floor with a blank expression, he frowned and helped me into a chair. He quickly glanced into the room through the glass window in the door before abruptly looking away.

"I've come to the hospital as you asked. Didn't you want me to look at your mother? Well, I've looked. If there's nothing else, I'm leaving."

I clenched my fists tightly and looked up to see the engagement ring on Willa's ring finger. My voice was hoarse. "Henry, I saw the video posted in the colleagues' group chat. Your so-called 'important business' was proposing to Willa, wasn't it? Is proposing more important than my mother's life?"

Henry froze for a moment, then spoke with increased haste, as if every word was being pushed out by his impatience. "Can you stop being unreasonable? I promised Willa I'd give her a perfect proposal. It was her wish."

I propped myself up and slapped Henry across the face.

Willa, who was standing nearby, panicked and pushed me to the ground. "What are you doing! What does your mother's death have to do with Henry? It's too much to put all this blame on him!" As she spoke, her eyes turned red and tears streamed down her face.

The moment Henry saw her crying, he didn't even spare a glance for me lying on the floor. His eyes were full of heartache as he grabbed Willa's hand, ready to leave.

"I can't help you with your mother's situation. You handle it yourself."

After watching his cold, indifferent back disappears from my sight, my knees finally gave out. I sank to the ground, every ounce of strength draining from my body.

At midnight, I returned from the crematorium to a house swallowed in darkness. Carrying my mother's ashes into the bedroom, I still couldn't accept that she was truly gone.

Three days after her burial, Henry finally came home. When he saw me, he didn't say a single word and went straight into the bedroom.

The next day, Henry was invited to attend a medical seminar and my name was on the guest list as well.

The next day, Henry was invited to a medical seminar and I was on the invitation list as well.

Early that morning, Willa rang the doorbell. She dressed in a sharp little suit, her ring finger adorned with the engagement ring Henry had given her.

"I didn't expect you to be going too. I thought you wouldn't care about Henry's affairs. Looks like I was overthinking it," she remarked lightly.

Henry shot me a sideways glance, his eyes brimming with annoyance. "She's her. I'm me."

With that, he grabbed Willa's hand and walked away. The two of them left together in the same car, while I chose to drive on my own.

But on the way to the medical university, a black car with no license plates followed closely behind me. When we reached a road with sparse traffic, that car suddenly lost control and crashed straight into mine.

My car flipped over and my body was firmly held in place by the airbag. Later, the warmth spreading across my right leg sent a surge of panic through me.

At that time, Henry's car disappeared farther and farther from my sight and the unlicensed car also vanished without a trace.

In the moment before losing consciousness, I endured the excruciating pain to call Henry for help. "Henry, I've been in a car accident. Come save me … "

On the other end of the line, Henry just scoffed, his tone coldly mocking.

"Always using a car accident as an excuse to get my attention. Suzanne, do you have any idea how important this seminar is for me today? If I'm late, it could affect my career. Drop these little schemes of yours. You're just making me annoyed."

The second the call was disconnected, I desperately dialed the emergency services and blacked out.

When I woke up again, my phone was filled with missed calls from colleagues and over a hundred demanding messages from Henry. The screen was filled with complaints about how my absence from the seminar had cost him face, prompting his rival to mock his unhappy marriage.

That rival was Jose Sanchez, his former classmate. For three years, the two of them had been locked in an open and covert battle for the vice director's position.

Later, I picked up my phone and dialed a number I hadn't contacted in a long time.

"Dad, I agree to the marriage alliance with the Sanchez family you mentioned before. I will return to the capital within two weeks. You should start preparing for the wedding."

After I finished the call with my father, Henry called again.

"Suzanne, do you have any idea how much you embarrassed me by not showing up? You truly aren't as sensible as Willa."

My eyes stung as I stared at the words on the screen. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand and tears completely blurred my vision.

It wasn't until after I was discharged from the hospital that I finally called Henry myself.

Just as the ringtone was about to end, he finally answered. An impatient voice, tinged with slight breathlessness, came through the line. "What is it? I'm on a business trip."

My voice caught in my throat. My fingers clenched the phone so tightly I couldn't utter a sound.

Perhaps sensing that his tone was harsh, Henry cleared his throat and softened his voice before speaking again. "We'll talk about it when I get back. It's late now and I need to rest."

Before I could respond, Henry hung up irritably. As the screen went dark, my shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

I reached out to turn on the bedside lamp, but to my surprise, I found an open box of condoms from an unfamiliar brand sitting on the nightstand. Tucked underneath the box were several receipts from a love hotel.

Recalling Henry's strange voice on the phone just moments ago, my heart instantly sank to rock bottom.

Henry and I had a shared cloud drive, which he suggested creating after we decided to be together.

He said it would be the ocean of our love, a place that would preserve every little moment we had shared. Yet, the album hadn't been updated in nearly a year.

I nervously opened the album and the photos that met my eyes made my breath catch.

The newly uploaded pictures started last month. Every single one of them showed intimate photos of Henry and Willa together.

Tears streamed down my face without warning, one drop, two drops.

The once-sweet vows and frozen moments now felt like tiny needles pricking my heart, causing a dense, numbing pain.

After deleting the album I decided to go find Henry. However, that love hotel wasn't far from my home.

Soon, I arrived at the underground parking garage, where Henry’s car was parked smoothly in its spot.

I drove over and soon reached the hotel. Looking at the receipts again, I noticed it was always the same room number—512.

When I reached the door, I didn't expect it to be slightly ajar. From inside came the sound of Henry and Willa laughing and fooling around.

"Henry, you're so good to me. My brother's eyes were able to recover thanks to you."

Willa's cheerful voice was muffled by a low groan as Henry replied while panting slightly. "My research results were only confirmed because your brother and Suzanne's mother contributed so much. I should be the one thanking them."

My raised hand froze upon hearing Henry's words. Meanwhile, my heart began to beat uncontrollably.

What did Henry mean? What did he mean by saying my mother "contributed so much"?

"Keep this a secret from now on. It's best if you never mention a single word of it."

Henry's voice came again, followed by Willa's flirtatious, breathless tone.

"Oh, stop it. There's no one else here and Suzanne can't hear us anyway. She'll probably never know in this lifetime that her mother's corneas were transplanted into my brother."

Henry continued, "Ugh, that woman was dying anyway. What's the use of saving someone that old? It wasn't easy to find a matching cornea. Of course, I helped you. Otherwise, why would I have gone through so much trouble to transfer her away?"

The conversation between the two inside the room plunged me into an icy abyss, leaving me paralyzed. Everything around me felt as if it were shrouded in a thick fog, blurred and surreal.

What did Henry just say? My mother's death had been deliberately arranged by them. For Willa's brother, Henry had killed my mother and stolen her corneas.

My throat began to itch and a metallic taste rushed into my nose. I opened my mouth in agony, yet I couldn't breathe.

I covered my mouth tightly, leaning against the wall as my body trembled uncontrollably.

Tears kept rolling down because I still couldn't believe that Henry and Willa had teamed up to murder my mother.

Suddenly, my phone charm slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a sharp clink. The sound jolted me back to my senses. I forced myself to my feet and rushed toward the elevator.

In the dark, deserted early morning, I made my way to a park beside the hotel. As soon as I arrived, my legs gave out and I dropped to my knees, all the strength in my body completely drained.

Overwhelmed by agony, I screamed at the lake in front of me.

Just then, two unfamiliar women emerged from the dark shadows behind the trees. They approached me relentlessly, a cold smile playing on their lips.

While my mind was still in turmoil, they lunged at me, grabbing my hair.

They pinned me to the ground, punching and kicking me until I felt like I was going to die right there.

When they were done, they calmly took out their phones. After the camera flash flickered twice in my eyes, they turned and left.

I dragged myself home, covered in wounds, only to find Henry had returned first.

The moment I entered, Henry's expression froze, his eyes instantly filling with rage. "Suzanne, where did you go today?"

My breath caught in my throat. I didn't want to answer, but that man gripped my chin tightly, forcing me to look up. When his finger brushed the cut at the corner of my mouth, a sharp sting shot through me and I couldn’t help but flinch.

"Don't touch me, Henry!" I cried out.

The thought of him having just slept with Willa in that hotel room, coupled with the truth about my mother's death, made his touch feel utterly disgusting.

My attempt to dodge him made his face turn completely dark.

Just then, Willa walked out of the bathroom wearing the new nightgown I had just bought. Seeing the injuries on my body, her eyes widened and she grabbed my hand while feigning deep concern.

"Suzanne, what happened? Why are there so many red marks on your face and arms?"

Even so, I noticed a hint of smugness in Willa's expression. Could it be that the two women who attacked me tonight were sent by her?

As soon as Willa spoke, Henry's face turned deathly pale with anger. He spoke slowly, as if he might strangle me in the next second.

"Did you get these bruises while fooling around with some other man? How many shameful things did you do behind my back while I was gone this week?"

Willa then tried to reassure him. "Henry, please calm down. I know these scars look like they were made with some kind of specialized tool, but is it possible you've misunderstood Suzanne?"

Henry clenched his fists tightly, his chest heaving with anger. "As a professional doctor, I'm not so incompetent that I can't distinguish between assault wounds and something else. Suzanne, don't you even want to explain yourself?"

His words stripped away any desire I had to explain. I looked into his eyes calmly and said, "I have nothing to explain. You can believe whatever you want."

The words had barely left my mouth when Henry raised his hand and slapped me across the face. His eyes burned with fury as he stared at me.

"How dare you say that! During this week I was gone, you claimed you were being discharged from the hospital after a car accident, yet today you show up at home covered in these marks. Suzanne, you are truly shameless!"

Tears slid down my cheeks as I felt the muscles in my face contort slightly. My heart pounded with pain and my vision blurred like a fog, obscuring Henry's face.

"Then what about you, Henry? What were you doing this past week? And why did Willa come home with you? Why don't you explain any of this?"

I lost control and shouted at the top of my lungs, looking like a madwoman.

Henry frowned, watching my breakdown with cold indifference and clear displeasure.

"Why should I explain anything I do to you? You, on the other hand, are skilled at sharing a bed while dreaming of someone else and playing with people's feelings, aren't you?"

As he spoke, he picked up the notebook I kept in the safe and waved it in the air.

"So this is your 'affection.' While pursuing me, you were pouring your heart out to this 'Mr. H' in your diary. Suzanne, you make me feel sick!"

Henry had finally discovered this diary. Back when I was pursuing him, I'd poured my heartfelt love into its pages.

Afraid someone might find it, I used the initial H to refer to him. I never imagined that now, it would be misunderstood and turned into a weapon to humiliate me.