Chapter 1

Three days before my wedding, someone broke into my house.

By the time my fiancé, Ethan Lawson, arrived, I'd already been rushed to the ER.

He looked at my injured arm and apologized. "I'm sorry, Mia. I didn't know the exact address of your new place."

I looked at him calmly.

"I told you three times."

Ethan froze for a moment.

"Rachel hasn't been divorced for long, and she's been having a really hard time. Try to be a little more understanding."

To Ethan, my problems were always insignificant.

He didn't care what I liked to eat or what I was allergic to. Now, he didn't even know where I lived.

But he remembered where Rachel Lane went on business trips, when her loan payments were due, and had even marked the dates of her periods on his phone.

I nodded without saying anything.

Then I pulled out my phone and accepted my company's offer to transfer me to Feronia.

Chapter 1

The moment I tapped confirm, the email approving my overseas transfer arrived in my inbox. It clearly stated that I had to report to the headquarters in Feronia, Pellmere, within three days.

Three days from now was also the day Ethan Lawson and I were supposed to get married.

I deleted the acceptance email, then cleared the call to the police from my phone history.

Ethan stepped forward with a guilty expression and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm glad you're okay. I promise I won't let you get hurt again."

His embrace was warm, but it only reminded me of all the empty promises he'd made over the years.

He had promised me the same thing many times before, yet whenever something happened again, he always found another excuse to leave me behind.

I had just started to speak. "Last night..."

The special ringtone Ethan had set for Rachel Lane suddenly went off.

He immediately released me and gestured for me to stay quiet before answering the call. "Rachel, what's wrong?"

Rachel's tearful voice came through the phone. "Ethan, where's the stomach medicine? I can't remember. If this isn't a good time, that's okay. I can just tough it out. Ow..."

Ethan didn't even look at me before turning toward the door. "It's in the second drawer of your nightstand. Take one for now. I'll come back and take you to the hospital."

A cold laugh escaped me.

We lived in the same city, and Ethan could remember exactly which drawer Rachel kept her stomach medicine in. Yet he couldn't remember the address of my new home after I'd told him three separate times.

I couldn't help asking, "Ethan, you're really just going to leave?"

"Rachel can't manage on her own. Be good, okay? I'll get you a caregiver. They're professionals. They'll take good care of you."

I watched him walk out of the room, then pulled out my phone and called the wedding planner.

"Cancel the wedding."

The planner sounded shocked. "Ms. Chandler, you've been planning this wedding for a year. If you cancel now, we can't refund any of the money. Are you sure?"

I glanced at my injured arm. "I'm sure."

Ethan's heart wasn't here anymore. There was no reason to go through with the wedding.

When the planner realized I had made up my mind, she agreed. "All right. When you have time, you and Mr. Lawson can come in and sign the cancellation paperwork."

My fingers tightened around the phone until my knuckles turned pale. "Can I sign it by myself?"

"Yes. You'll just need to sign a statement confirming that you're canceling the wedding voluntarily."

I scheduled the appointment for the morning after next.

About an hour later, I started feeling groggy. The caregiver noticed something was wrong and immediately called a nurse.

That was when I found out Ethan had told the medical staff that cephalosporin antibiotics worked well and insisted that they give me one. But I'd told him more than once that I was allergic to them.

My allergy was clearly listed in the hospital system, but between Ethan's insistence and the nurse failing to double-check, I was still given the medication.

I felt worse and worse as the night went on, and it wasn't until around five in the morning that I finally started to feel a little better.

Early the next morning, Rachel entered my room wearing a man's jacket, with Ethan carefully supporting her.

She looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mia. I didn't know you were hurt and in the hospital. If I'd known, I never would've called Ethan over."

Ethan frowned at her. "You weren't feeling well. Who else were you supposed to call? She's already at the hospital. She has people looking after her."

Then he looked up and finally noticed how pale I was. His brows furrowed, but a moment later, he pointed at the mangoes on the table.

"Rachel's allergic to mangoes. Get rid of those right now."

The caregiver couldn't hold back any longer. "Do you know your fiancée is allergic to cephalosporin antibiotics?"

Ethan's expression changed.

He turned to look at me.

Chapter 2

"You're a grown woman, Mia. Can't you pay more attention to your own health? When the nurse gave you the medication, you should've at least checked what it was."

I said nothing and simply looked at him.

Ethan seemed to realize his tone had been too harsh and was about to say something when Rachel looked at him with a wounded expression.

"Ethan, this is all my fault. If it weren't for me, you would've stayed here with Mia. Maybe I should just leave."

Ethan immediately reached for her arm. "No. You didn't do anything wrong. Her drug allergy is her own responsibility."

Rachel gently shook her head at him. "Don't talk about Mia like that. She's your fiancée. You should be the one remembering things like this for her. Please don't neglect her again because of me, okay?"

Ethan only looked at me helplessly. "Look at that, Mia. Rachel's feeling this awful, and she's still thinking of you. You really could learn a thing or two from her about how to treat others."

Learn what from her?

How to run to someone else's fiancé whenever something went wrong?

I didn't bother arguing. When someone didn't love you, anything you said would be misconstrued anyway.

Ethan took my silence as agreement.

"You're about to become Mrs. Lawson. You need to put more thought into how you handle things. If you're ever unsure on how to handle something, ask Rachel."

As Rachel clutched her stomach, I opened the voice recorder on my phone out of habit.

"Ow... Ethan, get a doctor. My stomach hurts again."

Ethan hurried out to find one.

The moment he disappeared through the door, the pain vanished from Rachel's face. She looked down at me with open mockery.

"Look at how much your fiancé cares about me. So what if you're about to get married? All I have to do is call, and he comes running."

She smiled. "Want to bet? Two days from now, he'll choose me over your wedding."

I wasn't angry or hurt. I only regretted not seeing Ethan for who he really was sooner.

Footsteps came racing down the hall, growing louder by the second. Rachel immediately put her fragile expression back on, her eyes turning red as she looked at me.

"I really don't want to take Ethan away from you. Once I'm feeling better, I'll leave."

Then she doubled over. "Ah... my stomach hurts so much."

Ethan rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms.

"Ethan, I think Mia misunderstood our relationship. Go take care of her. She's the woman you're about to marry. I can handle this."

"What are you talking about? Right now, you need me more than she does."

Ethan lifted Rachel into his arms, then gave me a cold look.

"I'm really disappointed in you."

With that, he carried her out of the room without looking back.

I saved the recording and sat on the edge of the bed, watching the sun slowly rise outside the window. For the first time, I realized I should have let go of this five-year relationship long ago.

After my IV finished, I completed the discharge paperwork and drove to the house Ethan and I had once shared.

Now that I'd decided to cancel the wedding, our photos and all the gifts he'd given me needed to go too.

I had just opened the door when I saw Ethan directing several people as they took down our wedding portrait.

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell across the photograph, making the two of us look even more like a perfect match.

Ethan turned, saw me, and walked over.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the hospital?"

Chapter 3

Ethan saw how pale I was and pulled me into his arms. "You haven't even recovered yet. Why would you check yourself out of the hospital?"

I caught the scent of Rachel's perfume on him and gently pushed him away. "The wedding's coming up. I just wanted to get my work wrapped up early, so I checked myself out."

Ethan looked a little uncomfortable. "I know I haven't been there for you much these past few days. Once the wedding's over, we'll go somewhere by the ocean for our honeymoon. I'll make it up to you then."

I smiled but said nothing.

Taking my silence as an opening, Ethan continued, "You saw how bad Rachel's stomach problems were today. I'm thinking of having her move in here for a while. That room gets plenty of sun, so it'd be good for her while she recovers. Can she stay there for now?"

This time, I didn't answer. I simply stood there and looked around the home we'd put so much care into.

From the refrigerator and sofa to the artwork and decorations, we'd chosen everything together.

My gaze finally settled on our wedding portrait and the gifts we'd exchanged, now sitting in the living room beside the workers.

Ethan hurried to explain. "Rachel just got divorced, and she's still in a really fragile place. I'm worried seeing all this will upset her, so I was going to have everything moved to your new apartment for now. Once she's feeling better and has gotten past the divorce, we can bring it all back."

So in his eyes, every memory we'd made together mattered less than Rachel's feelings.

I nodded. "Do whatever you think is best."

Ethan visibly relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face. "I knew you'd understand."

I went into the guest room, packed up the rest of my things, and was about to leave when I saw Ethan heading out while talking on the phone.

With my luggage in hand, I gave the house one last look and turned to the workers. "You may sell everything here that belongs to me, including the photos and gifts. Donate whatever you get for them."

Then I left Ethan's house without looking back and headed to the office to finish my handover and the paperwork for my overseas transfer.

My supervisor couldn't help praising me. "The overseas headquarters has kept this position open for you for three years. They're thrilled you're finally coming."

Every time headquarters had offered me a position, I'd turned it down so I could stay with Ethan.

Only now did I realize that in this relationship, I was the only one who had been left behind all along.

Other than my direct supervisor, no one at the company knew I was transferring overseas.

When I got back to my new apartment, I immediately noticed things inside that didn't belong to me.

Ethan stood there holding the spare key I'd given him, looking completely at ease.

"Rachel said the other house is full of memories of you and me, and she was worried you'd be upset if she stayed there. I remembered you gave me a spare key, so I brought her here instead."

I let out a cold laugh and lowered my head, continuing to pack the clothes I was taking with me.

My fingers tightened slightly around the shirt in my hands.

So when Rachel needed something, Ethan could remember everything just fine.

He frowned at me. "If you don't agree with this, just say so. Don't act so cold toward me."

I looked straight at him. "If I say no, will you actually make her leave?

"This is my home. You had no right to use my spare key to bring her in without asking."

Ethan immediately argued back. "Mia, how can you throw her out? Rachel just went through a divorce, and she's still not well. This is the only place she feels comfortable right now. Do you really have to make her leave?"

Rachel rushed out of the other room.

"Mia, don't leave. I'm the one who should go. Ethan, just take me back."

Ethan refused immediately. "No. You could pass out from the stomach pain at any time. You're not going anywhere.

Chapter 4

I picked up my suitcase and walked out. Footsteps sounded behind me as Ethan chased after me.

"Mia, Rachel's been crying since you started giving her attitude."

I kept walking, but Ethan stepped in front of me and blocked my path. His expression turned serious.

"Apologize to Rachel and tell her you weren't trying to throw her out, and I'll show up at the wedding the day after tomorrow. Otherwise, we're done. I don't want a wife with no compassion."

I looked up at him. Faced with such blatant favoritism, I felt nothing anymore.

"Do whatever you want."

I walked around him and drove to my best friend Sophie Shaw's place.

The moment Sophie saw me with a suitcase, she pulled me inside. When I told her Ethan had threatened not to attend our wedding unless I apologized to Rachel, she was furious.

"You've been together for five years. How can he treat you like this?"

I shook my head, unconcerned. "Don't be mad. I'm leaving for the Pellmere headquarters the day after tomorrow. None of this has anything to do with me anymore."

Early the next morning, I got ready and headed to the wedding planner's office. The voluntary cancellation form was waiting on the desk, and I signed my name without the slightest hesitation.

The wedding I'd spent so much time and effort planning was officially over.

On my way through the parking garage, a familiar tightness suddenly seized my chest. My asthma was acting up.

I searched frantically through my bag as it became harder and harder to breathe, but my inhaler wasn't there. With trembling hands, I called Ethan.

"I... I'm in the parking garage at the wedding planner's office. I'm having an asthma attack... I don't have my inhaler."

I collapsed to the ground as my vision began to darken, clinging to the hope that Ethan would come. Just before I lost consciousness, I heard his impatient voice through the phone.

"Can you stop pulling stunts just to make me worry about you? I'm telling you now, unless you apologize to Rachel, I won't be at tomorrow's wedding."

He hung up.

Using the last of my strength, I called emergency services.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in a hospital bed. The moment Ethan saw that I was awake, the tension on his face eased.

"Thank goodness, you're finally awake, Mia. I'm sorry. I thought you were lying to me before, so I didn't come. I'll stay with you today, and tomorrow we'll go to the wedding together."

I stared at the ceiling without giving him a response.

A second later, Rachel's special ringtone broke the silence of the room. Ethan answered immediately, and his expression grew more serious as he listened.

"Rachel's stomach is acting up again. I need to go check on her. I'll be back soon."

I closed my eyes. I had no desire to respond.

I waited from daylight into darkness, then through the night until morning. Ethan never came back.

By the time sunlight filled the hospital room once more, I had already completed my discharge paperwork and was in a cab headed for the airport.

My phone rang. It was Ethan.

"Mia, Rachel's stomach problems are really bad this time. Go to the wedding venue first. I'll be there later."

The scenery outside the window slipped past.

"Ethan, we're done."

I hung up and blocked his number.

The cab reached the airport soon after. I took my suitcase and walked inside.

Unable to reach me, Ethan left Rachel behind and rushed to the wedding venue. When he arrived, everyone was standing outside, unable to enter.

The wedding planner looked at him in confusion.

"Mr. Lawson, didn't Ms. Chandler tell you she canceled the wedding?"