Chapter 1

Victoria, my girlfriend of ten years, was perfect.

She was beautiful, successful, and highly capable. Her only flaw was her absolute love for crushing my self-esteem.

When I got a 3.9 GPA instead of a perfect 4.0 in college, she told me I "just wasn't smart enough."

When I finally earned my first $50 from my online writing, she scoffed and said my work was "utterly worthless."

Later, at the tuxedo shop, when Victoria pointed at me and complained that my body wasn't fit enough and that I didn't look like a proper groom...

I finally snapped. For the first time in ten years, I roared at her:

"If you think I'm so worthless, why the hell are you marrying me?!"

In the luxury tuxedo shop, the moment I stepped out of the fitting room, even the strangers waiting nearby gasped.

The sales assistant smiled warmly. "Mr. Miller, you're tall and lean. You look incredibly handsome in this suit."

"Go show your fiancée. She's going to love it."

I gave a weak smile. "I wouldn't be so sure. Her standards are sky-high."

After ten years together, Victoria had always demanded absolute perfection from me. She had never given me a single compliment.

But today, looking at myself in the mirror—broad shoulders, narrow waist, standing tall and sharp—I actually felt good.

Surely, Victoria would like this, right?

Would she praise me? Would she think I was handsome? Would she be starstruck like the other wives in the shop?

With a fluttering, hopeful heart, I gently tugged on Victoria’s sleeve.

In the next second, my hopes were ruthlessly crushed.

Victoria turned around, scanned me coldly from head to toe, and said, "Ethan, you're still too fat."

My smile froze. Even the sales assistant looked incredibly awkward.

"Your face looks puffy, your arms are thick, your frame is too broad, and your waist is bulky. It looks terrible on you."

Victoria let out a heavy sigh. "Ethan, you don't look like a groom at all in this. Honestly, only I could put up with you."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was just loud enough for everyone in the shop to hear.

Sympathetic, mocking, and amused glances fell upon me from all directions.

In that moment, I felt like a piece of cheap merchandise on display, judged and devalued by Victoria. I didn't feel like a human being.

A lump formed in my throat, suffocating me.

To fit into this tuxedo, I had followed Victoria's strict demands, working out every single day.

For three months, I had starved myself, eating barely anything.

I had lost twenty pounds just to look decent at our wedding, just to stand beside her and not look out of place.

Why did she still have to do this to me?

Maybe it was the hunger making me emotional, or maybe it was the crushing weight of a decade of disappointment.

Whatever it was, after ten years of holding it in, I cracked.

I ripped off the bow tie and, for the first time in my life, roared at her: "Victoria! If you think I'm so worthless, then don't marry me!"

"Fine! I don't look like a groom! I'm not good enough for you! So, the wedding is off!"

Staring at Victoria’s shocked face, I took a deep breath and finally uttered the words that had haunted my mind a thousand times:

"Victoria, let's break up."