Chapter 1

One month before the wedding, Ryan Jackson decided to cheat.

His friend asked, "Are you getting serious with that secretary? What about your fiancée?"

Ryan replied casually, "How can I settle down without trying other women first? I'd never feel satisfied."

"And anyway," he added, "Sia is a good girl. She only wants this last month with me before the wedding. If I let her go now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"As for Flora," he said with a cold, mocking look, "isn't this much fairer to her than me cheating on her after marriage?"

A month later, Ryan came back, full of joy.

He told me that he loved me more than he'd realized and promised he would never leave me again.

I was torn. Ryan's words sounded convincing, but his best friend wouldn't let me walk away.

*****

45 days before the wedding, Ryan didn't notice me sitting on the couch behind him at the bar.

His friend sighed, "You and Flora have been together since school, and you're each other's first love. Now you're getting married. That's something special."

Ryan took a slow sip of his drink, his voice flat but laced with disdain.

"That's exactly why it's so damn boring," he scoffed. "I mean, is that fair? I've never been with anyone else. How am I supposed to know she's the one?"

I felt a rush of anger. We argued about the wedding details earlier, but that didn't give him the right to vent with such cruel words.

Levi Harris chimed in, "Ryan, ease up. You might end up eating those words."

Ryan sneered, "You say Flora's great, and I'll regret losing her. But even the best grow tiresome after ten years. Staying with her disgusts me, but walking away feels like a waste."

Ryan was drunk, head bowed, muttering to himself, "Now I'm stuck with her for life. However, wanting to try something different in the end? That's just human nature."

My heart skipped a beat, a creeping sense of dread settling in.

Levi fell into an uneasy silence. After a long pause, he said, "Ryan, you're not planning to date that secretary before marriage, are you? Cut it off with her. Flora will be heartbroken if she finds out."

My heart turned to ice, leaving my body weak and numb. Two years ago, I chose to stay at Teencent while Ryan went off to manage our newly established subsidiary, Tisla.

Sia Fisher was the secretary Ryan had hired six months ago. My last impression of Sia was when Ryan complained that the connection-hired secretary kept bothering him with trivial matters, which really annoyed him.

Ryan replied, "How would she know? She never checks my phone or asks where I am. I could be chatting with Sia right in front of her and she wouldn't suspect a thing.

"And what exactly do you want me to do? There's nothing between Sia and me.

Levi said, "Flora trusts you because she loves you."

"Love?" Ryan said while swirling his glass and raising a mocking brow. "She'd say she loves and trusts me when she's annoyed at reporting her whereabouts."

"Everyone can see how much she loves you and how much she wants to build a home with you."

Ryan shot back, "Yeah, that's why I'm sacrificing my whole life to marry her and make you all happy. Isn't that enough?

"Just look around. Is there anyone who can stay faithful to just one person forever? Maybe not even her, Flora."

"Do you not love Flora anymore?"

The question brought an uneasy silence. I held my breath, waiting for Ryan's answer.

"Flora is more like family to me. After all these years, I'd never let another man bully her.

"Why do you keep bringing up love? That's the kind of naive thing Sia would talk about."

What he really meant was he loved Sia, not me.

I blinked back the tears, feeling heartbroken.

We'd known each other for five years and spent another five as a couple. Starting from nothing, we built a fortune worth hundreds of millions.

I loved him for ten years, believing love gave us the courage to trust each other. Before he told me to stop checking in, I'd realized I was just sharing my life with him.

Levi hesitated, then said, "Sia knows you're engaged but still clings to you. She's probably just after your money. She's no good. You—"

Ryan's voice turned ice-cold as he snapped, "Watch your damn mouth. If you can't show some respect, just get out." He defended Sia without hesitation.

"Sia's endured all the judgment just to stay by my side. She's the one who told me not to cheat because she didn't want Flora to get hurt.

"Forget that I have a fiancée. We eat, talk, and share everything together. How is that any different from being a real couple? Who are you to judge her?"

Ryan spared no effort in defending Sia, completely missing the growing awkwardness on Levi's face.

"Now that I'm getting married, Sia finally found the courage to speak up. She said she'd leave and wouldn't ruin my family. She just wanted this one last month. Is that so wrong?"

Ryan continued, guilt in his voice, "She's a good girl. It's my fault for making her watch me marry someone else. That's just too cruel to her."

Cruel? What about me then? He talked as if he'd given up Sia and traded his whole life for me.

No wonder he'd grown so restless and busy. He even left halfway through my dress fitting. Now I understood why he insisted on a quiet, low-key wedding.

Stunned and numb, I stood up and walked away. I couldn't bear to hear another word.

The man who once vowed to tell the whole world he would marry me was long gone.

Levi didn't dare speak against Sia anymore, but he still couldn't help saying, "What about Flora? You almost lost your life for her. Are you ready to let her go?"

Ryan went silent, rubbing his temples in frustration before running a hand roughly through his hair, his brow furrowed deep.

He replied, "Damn it, I never said I'd leave her. But if I just walk away from Sia like this, I'll regret it.

"I just want to be with someone I truly care about. Why does that have to be so fucking hard?"

Ryan took a deep drink, finally making up his mind.

"Enough," he said. "This once, I'll be true to myself. Only after this will I fully commit to Flora and never betray her again."

"But what if you don't want to come back to her?"

"Not a chance." Ryan's reply was absolute.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "Even if that's the case, it's still better than cheating after marriage. At least this way, it's fairer to Flora."

I stood at the doorway, surrounded by the noisy crowd, yet Ryan's words came through clearly to my ears.