Chapter 1

Theodore Holloway had been my fiancé for nine years. I was almost thirty, yet he still refused to marry me.

He claimed he was a free spirit who loved his independence, and he wanted to enjoy life with his girl buddies for a few more years before stepping into the grave of marriage.

But I could only lay my hands on my grandfather's inheritance if I married before the age of thirty.

I loved only Theodore. To get him to marry me, I had exhausted every trick in the book over those nine years. I hunted down dozens of rare treasures for his antique-obsessed father. I became a master chef for his mother, who was a fussy eater. I even cleaned up after his trouble-making younger brother countless times.

They accepted everything I gave without hesitation, yet they never once talked about my marriage.

On my twenty-ninth birthday, Theodore forgot my birthday and went off to a hot spring with his female friends.

I was so tired of it all. I didn’t want to wait any longer, so I decided to break off our engagement.

Theodore claimed he didn’t care, but after I officially broke off, he panicked.

*****

At one minute past midnight, my twenty-ninth birthday was officially over. I had sent Theodore five unrelated messages throughout the day, trying to drop hints, but he didn't reply to any of them. It was like he had vanished into thin air.

But that evening, he suddenly posted on his social media: [As an apology to our Janee, I'm treating her to a staycation at a hot spring hotel!]

He then posted a photo of himself and his female friend, Janetta Yalmer. They were both in the same hot spring pool, wrapped in nothing but towels.

I put my phone down to go to sleep when it suddenly rang. The name "Fiancé" flashed on my screen.

"Sherilyn, I'll text you the address. Come here quickly," Theodore uttered and ended the call before I could say anything.

But before then, I managed to hear his male buddies in the background, hyping it up and yelling, "Surprise, surprise!"

A spark of hope lit up inside me. I hurriedly changed out of my pajamas, grabbed my keys, and headed downstairs. Halfway through my drive there, my phone buzzed with a message from Theodore.

It said: [Buy a cake on your way. Get the taro flavor.]

He still hadn't replied to any of my earlier messages. It was as if he didn't receive them at all.

But I loved anything that was taro-flavored.

Even though I was quite puzzled, I still brought the taro cake to the hot spring hotel. I then headed straight to the room number he gave me.

As soon as I walked in, I was greeted by colorful streamers and the smell of fresh flowers.

"Hurray! Here's wishing that cursed pimple on Janetta's chin will disappear! We even bought a taro cake just for this! May our Janee never meet another pimple again, and always have Theodore by her side!" someone shouted.

Theodore didn't even look at me as he took the cake from my hands and headed straight for Janetta Yalmer, who was surrounded by her friends.

Laughter and chatter filled the room, but nobody paid any attention to me. I had trudged through the wintry, snowy weather to get a cake without realizing that the cake was not for me.

I bit my lip bitterly and turned to leave.

"Hey, where are you going, Sheri? Janee needs someone to massage her back, and you're the only girl here," Theodore yelled out eagerly.

That was the only instance of excitement he had reserved for me.

I replied gruffly, "It's late. I have to go to bed."

Theodore looked pissed off. One of his male buddies chimed in, "Theo, your girl's feeling left out. You should go cheer her up!"

Thus, Theodore walked over to me with annoyance. "What's with that attitude? I invited you so that a bit of Janee's luck can rub off on you. Why are you acting like some petty, pitiful party pooper?"

This guy was my fiancé, and we had already held our engagement party previously. Yet now, he had booked this hotel and spent so much money on Janetta on my birthday, just so that her good luck could rub off on me?

Suddenly, I didn't want to leave. After all, it was freezing outside. "Fine, I'll stay."

Theodore's expression softened. He led me to Janetta's side, but swiftly abandoned me so that he could cut the cake for her.

"Argh!" Janetta suddenly fell down and landed on the floor heavily.

As I stared at her in surprise, Theodore suddenly grabbed me by the hair and yelled furiously, "You can't vent your anger on me, so you are taking it out on Janee, aren't you? Apologize to her now!"

I held my stinging scalp and wanted to say I hadn't done anything. In fact, I didn't even go near her.

But when I saw everyone glaring at me in anger, I remembered how none of these people had ever taken my side whenever there was a conflict between Janetta and me.

The last time I refused to apologize, Theodore smashed the wall of figurines I had spent more than ten years collecting before my eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," I muttered with my head hung low.

Theodore huffed in exasperation, and suddenly I felt a wave of tenderness brushing over me.

He was smoothing down the hair he had messed up on my head.