Chapter 1

Seven years after our breakup, I ran into Andrew Carter at a classmate's wedding.

Things were different now.

He looked noble and handsome, with a beautiful girlfriend by his side.

And I wore an outdated uniform, a pair of black-framed glasses perched on the bridge of my nose.

It felt like we weren't from the same world.

At one point, I overheard one of his friends teasing him. "Andrew, seven years have passed. You finally moved on, right?"

He gave a short, amused laugh. "She looks terrible, honestly. I didn't even recognize her at first glance today."

I clenched my hands tightly.

Eventually, I left before the ceremony was over.

*****

It was my classmate Cato Langford's wedding.

There were still two empty seats at our table.

"Didn't you guys know Drew is back in the country?" a voice called out.

Gasps went around.

Several eyes immediately turned toward me.

At that moment, the hall doors swung open.

The man I hadn't seen in seven years strode in and took a seat across from me.

Our eyes met, and my heart jolted.

"Sophia, what have you been up to all these years? You seem so stiff now," someone said, covering a laugh with a hand.

"Don't take it the wrong way, but when you walked in, we didn't even recognize you."

"And what's with those awful glasses?"

"She was never that pretty to begin with, and she has zero sense of style. Totally basic."

I clenched my hands in my lap and glanced at the man opposite me.

Andrew Carter lifted his eyes, his gaze icy and unreadable, settling on me.

Finally, the group moved on to other topics.

"Drew, what have you been doing abroad these past seven years?" someone asked.

He held a glass of red wine and smiled faintly.

"When did you get back?" another asked, and the chatter rose again.

A curious voice piped up, "I heard foreign girls are really hot. Honestly, you must have had quite a few girlfriends while you were overseas, right?"

His hand froze mid-hold on the glass.

A hush fell over the table.

He set the wine down, a smile playing on his lips—mysterious, unreadable. "Try living abroad for a while, and you'll find out."

Clearly, they were still itching to make fun of me.

"Sophia, you still haven't said what you do for work now," said a woman who, years ago, seemed to have liked Andrew as well.

I didn't want to answer.

But no one there was going to let it go.

"I work at the library, organizing books," I replied.

Almost everyone at the table drew in a sharp breath.

"Library? No wonder you look so old-fashioned."

"Yeah. All those books must have made your eyes go square or something."

Several people there came from prominent families.

I didn't want to provoke them.

I quietly lowered my head and kept eating.

"Don't you think Sophia's just like those girls in old dramas? Only interested in studying, to the point of turning herself into a bookworm?"

"I've always wondered something. Drew, what did you ever see in her back then?"

I felt myself start to crack.

My classmate Holt Radcliffe snorted coldly.

"Jessica, a few jokes are enough. Why are you still going?"

I froze, utterly drained, and used the excuse of going to the restroom to escape.

"Look at her. So embarrassing. Sitting next to her, I'm afraid her nerdiness might rub off on me."

"Drew, it was really a blessing you broke up back then."

"She was so tacky and old-fashioned—who could stand her?"

In the restroom, I rubbed my hands so hard that the skin on the backs of them turned red. Only then did I force back the sting of tears.

I lifted my head and looked at the mirror.

Finally, I took off my thick glasses.

But now, I could barely make out the person staring back at me.

Seven years ago, a fire had damaged my eyesight.

Whenever I went out, I had to wear glasses. Without them, I was practically blind.

I stepped out of the restroom.

A few feet away, two people were standing with their backs turned.

"Drew, after all these years, haven't you moved on from the past?" one of them said, holding a cigarette between his fingers.

"Seven years have passed. What's there that I can't forget?" Andrew replied. "Honestly, she looks really ordinary now. If today were the first time we met, I probably wouldn't even give her a second glance."

I froze at the restroom door, my legs trembling slightly.

He crushed the cigarette beneath his shoe and pulled out his phone. "I need to take this call."

A clear female voice came through the line. "Drew, I'm here. Come downstairs and get me."

He hadn't moved from where he was standing, yet my chest felt like it was being seared by a sudden, scorching fire.

Finally, I quietly walked into the stairwell and left the venue.

*****

That evening, I was helping Ethan Collins with his homework when Cato called.

"Hello, Cato," I answered.

"Sorry about earlier today. I should've taken better care of things," he said.

I shook my head. "It's fine, Cato. Today's your wedding; you've been busy."

"I'm mostly done now. I heard a bit about what happened at the reception, and I was a little worried about you," Cato said.

There was a pause on the line before he continued, "How's Ethan? I brought a big bag of candy. I was going to have you take it home for him."

I smiled faintly, "Thank you."

"And he's going in for another surgery, right? Have you managed to cover the costs?" he asked.

My fingers clenched into a fist. "I'll figure something out."

"I've gotten a lot of gifts for the wedding. If it really comes down to it—" he began.

I cut him off. "No, Cato. After marriage, it's all marital property anyway. You've already done enough for me. I'm grateful enough as it is."