Chapter 1

I had made plans with Andrew to go pick up our marriage license, but when I waited until 4 PM, he still hadn't shown up.

I opened Facebook and saw him announcing his relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Lily.

He typed: [Looking forward to the future.]

The video featured Andrew's romantic proposal and the happy moments of them holding their marriage license together.

*****

At the city hall, the newlyweds were still handing out candies.

When the candy reached me, the bride looked at me curiously and asked, "Hey, where's your boyfriend? All my candies are for couples."

I sat on a bench, watched couples stroll past, gripped my phone, and felt miserable.

My tears kept dropping.

I forced out a wry smile and said, "He's registering with someone else."

The screen of my phone glowed.

The scene of Andrew's proposal to Lily played out again.

The picture froze, hurting me again.

Seeing the dumbfounded appearance of the newlyweds, I stood up and walked away.

I didn't want to break down in front of strangers.

Andrew had proposed to me two weeks ago.

On my birthday, right in the middle of the crowd, he suddenly dropped to one knee and whipped out a ring.

He said I was the love of his life, the one he wanted to grow old with.

I was so moved, and I said yes without a second thought.

But now, I stared at that post on my phone.

I felt like the world's biggest joke.

I couldn't help but play that video again, searching for details.

No matter how I looked at it, the man grinning from ear to ear was unmistakably Andrew.

For the first time, his smile made me sick to my stomach.

Andrew and I grew up together. We started as high school classmates, then fell for each other in college. We were together for almost ten years.

All our little moments—the jokes, the fights, all the laughter and tears—keep replaying in my mind.

In his circle, everyone saw me as Andrew's future wife. I whipped up different meals for him every day and never missed a holiday when it came to gifts.

Just last night, when he got home, he held me in his arms, gazing at me with love.

He grinned. "After all these years, you finally became my wife."

But overnight, I'd turned into the world's biggest joke.

How could someone change so suddenly?

Maybe he had some hidden reasons.

I suddenly panicked, quickly took a taxi, and rushed back home.

When I was opening the door, I heard him and his friend Peter talking inside.

"Andrew, have you lost it? You and Charlotte were both set to get your marriage license today. Just what the hell is going on?" Peter asked.

Andrew's voice was louder than usual, and he clearly sounded agitated.

He said, "What do you expect me to do? Lily's bipolar episodes are getting worse. She said she just wanted a family, and that I was the only hope she had left.

"Now she has no one but me. How can I even think of leaving her at such a critical moment? You know I've always loved her."

Andrew's voice was getting more and more intense.

It turned out it wasn't me who could shake him like this. It was always Lily.

I stood there, completely stunned.

He said he always loved Lily. What about me?

"What the hell are you talking about? You've lost your damn mind!" Peter snapped.

Peter was so pissed by Andrew's insane logic that he could barely contain himself.

"Even if Lily was sick, you could've at least talked to Charlotte before pulling something like this. Who marries someone else without even a word? What do you expect Charlotte to feel?" Peter shot back.

But Andrew replied like Peter just didn't get it.

Andrew argued, "You can't even imagine how urgent it was. If I didn't propose, she would've jumped off the building. How could I possibly stop and talk to Charlotte?"

So when Lily threatened to end it all, Andrew's first move was to propose to her, not call the police.

What a joke. My heart twisted hard. I had to cling to the door, gasping for breath, just to stay upright.

"And what about Charlotte? We're all friends. We've watched you two together for ten whole years. What do you think you're doing to her?" Peter shouted.

He glared at Andrew, his anger barely contained.

Andrew paused.

Then he mumbled, "Charlotte will understand me. Anyway, we just have to wait until Lily's condition is stable. Once she doesn't want to commit suicide, I'll talk to her about the divorce. It won't be long. Maybe a year or so. Charlotte's been with me for ten years. She won't hold it against me."

"Charlotte is so understanding. She loves me. She'll never leave me," he added.

When I heard those words, I let my hand fall away from the doorknob.

Suddenly, I didn't have the guts to listen to another word.

How could he assume I'd understand?

I turned and left, wandering aimlessly into the street.

All those years with Andrew just kept playing over and over in my head.

In the classroom, he blushed and confessed to me.

After the finals, we headed down to the beach and walked, talking about where life would take us.

After we graduated, I tried cooking for him for the first time on his birthday. He was so touched and broke down in tears, swearing he'd always treat me right.

And he kissed me, saying he'd never leave me.

I gave everything to this guy, and he was supposed to be with me for the rest of my life.

And on the day we were supposed to get our marriage license, he stabbed me in the back.