Chapter 1

Bruce ran out on our wedding—again—for his childhood friend, Claire. It was the seventh time. Grandpa Sterling handed me ten million dollars as an apology.

But Bruce just sneered,

"Grandpa, she's not worth that much. You should invest that money in Claire's gallery instead."

Grandpa Sterling looked at me, an awkward apology in his eyes.

But I wasn’t angry at all.

I'd accepted that kind of compensation six times already. This time, I wanted something new.

I pointed at the brother Bruce despised the most and said:

"Give him to me instead. I’ll marry him!"

Bruce probably forgot. Only the man married to me has the right to become the heir of the Sterling Group.

Everyone was stunned, seeing I wasn't joking.

After all, this wasn't Bruce's first time ditching the wedding.

Before, headlines screaming "Heiress Abandons Groom at Altar" had swept the trending topics, making my family, the Chengs, a laughingstock for half a year.

Even then, I never suggested calling off the engagement.

Grandpa Sterling rushed to soothe me.

"Bruce is just confused right now. Please, just wait a little longer…"

He called Bruce again. But before he could say much, Bruce cut him off.

"Come on, Grandpa, stop trying to trick me. Aurora wouldn't say she won't marry me, no matter how angry she gets. Besides, I'm not breaking up with her. I'm just taking Claire out to relax, then I'll be back."

Claire's sugary voice chirped from nearby.

"Bruce, I'm just helping you test her! If she's willing to marry you after being ditched so many times, *that* will prove her love for you is real!"

Listening to their blatant flirting, I forced a smile.

"Are you really that confident I'll wait forever?"

Bruce seemed surprised to hear my voice. His tone faltered.

When he spoke again, his voice softened.

"Aurora, you know how Claire is. She's always depended on me since childhood. She just can't accept me getting married right now. Can we postpone the wedding again? Please? Once I've smoothed things over with her, we'll reschedule."

Postponed six times. Wasn't that enough?

When Claire found out about Bruce and me, she immediately flew back and caused a huge scene.

Bruce, stone-faced, told me right to my face that he only saw her as a sister.

But later, for this "sister," he turned me into the laughingstock of the entire city.

Grandpa Sterling was furious.

"The wedding starts in three hours! I've booked your flight; get your butt back here now! There are so many reporters outside, waiting for a show. Have you even considered Aurora's situation?!"

"I…"

Bruce's voice held obvious hesitation. My heart involuntarily trembled.

But the next second, Claire clung to him, whining.

"Bruce, the movie tickets are already bought! If you leave, I'll just have some other guy watch it with me. After all, so many guys are chasing me!"

"No way!"

Bruce's voice was laced with an angry impatience.

When he spoke to me again, his words were full of helplessness.

"Aurora, I really can't get away right now. You've handled this kind of thing many times before, it's nothing you can't manage."

He said it so casually, as if the humiliation and mockery I suffered in front of the cameras were trivial, insignificant matters.

A suffocating, dull ache pulsed in my chest, and I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

"Whatever."

Whether he came back or not, it no longer mattered.

In his rush to be with Claire, Bruce didn't catch the shift in my mood.

"Good girl, don't be mad. I even brought you a gift."

A photo popped up on my phone.

A necklace, dangling from his fingers.

Another one Claire had worn.

My place, it seemed, had become her trash bin.

I remembered the first gift Bruce ever gave me: a red ladies' watch.

Even though red was my least favorite color, I treasured it because it came from him.

Until one day, I took it for repair and, through its serial number, discovered its previous owner was Claire.

When I confronted him, Bruce showed no hint of guilt.

"I'm terrible at picking gifts. Claire just helped me out. Don't be so petty."

He claimed he couldn't pick gifts, but everyone in the city knew.

Every year on Claire's birthday, Bruce would reserve the most expensive viewpoint, setting off magnificent fireworks visible across the entire city just for her.

Jewelry typically found only in auction houses would flow like water before Claire, for her to pick and choose.

The effort he put into me was less than one ten-thousandth of what he spent on Claire.

Even now, he couldn't be bothered to buy something new just to placate me.

Claire, seemingly oblivious to the sarcasm in my voice, giggled.

"Bruce's gift to you? I picked it out, you know. Do you like it?"