Chapter 1
I had a rare gift. I could literally smell if someone had a serious illness. That was why the hospital always sent me out on their most critical assignments.
To give my fiancé, Samuel Jones, a surprise after ten years together, I spent a whole week pulling all-nighters. At last, I got the green light to head home early.
But when I got home, I caught Samuel and my sister Lilly tangled up together in the bedroom, kissing passionately.
I threw the gift box at Lilly, and Samuel yelled at me, showing zero mercy.
He said, "It was just an accidental kiss. Is it really such a big deal?
"If I actually wanted something with her, do you really think I'd still be marrying you?"
If this had happened before, I would've totally lost it and trashed the whole place.
But this time, I just took off the ring from my ring finger and tossed it at him, my voice steady.
I said, "The wedding's off. We're done."
Samuel was covered in the same rotten disease smell clinging to Lilly.
The putrid stench spread through the room, and I'd never despised my own nose so much.
The diamond ring, the one a man could only custom order once in a lifetime, ended up at Samuel's feet.
He coldly pressed his shoe down on it.
He crushed all my love and devotion over ten years beneath his heel.
Samuel said, "I've put up with you for way too long. We came from the same womb, so how come you're not even half as sensible or kind as Lilly?
"If you throw another tantrum, watch out. I might just go through with canceling the wedding for real!"
The door slammed shut, his barrage of accusations still ringing in my ears, but inside, not even a ripple of emotion stirred.
I pulled out my phone and made a post announcing the wedding was canceled, making sure everyone saw it.
The comment section went wild, and Samuel Jones, who never bothered to interact with me online, started replying to each comment one by one.
He wrote: [It's nothing, just her throwing another tantrum. You guys get it. I'm already trying to calm her down.]
Somehow, he'd learned to twist the story and make me look like the bad guy.
He added: [Come on, don't get all worked up just because someone else got ten luxury cars for their wedding and I only got you nine. Is that really worth getting mad over?]
[And seriously, don't make me shower for three days straight just because I got a little too close to your sister. I can't handle that anymore.]
My phone rang, and my mom's sharp voice cut right through me.
She snapped, "If you don't want to marry him, then get out of my house!
"A rich and loyal guy like him? Good luck finding another one, even if you searched with a flashlight. And you're still here acting all dramatic? Why don't you just disappear already?"
My mom was still ranting on the other end, but I just tuned her out.
I dropped my phone on the table and quietly started packing my stuff, ignoring her completely.
My mom always doted on Lilly and treated me like I was invisible.
It was all because I looked just like my dad, the guy who cheated on her and ran off with the other woman.
She took the money I'd saved for college and bought Lilly a designer bag. Even though I got into a medical university, she forced me to work at a bar just to pay for Lilly's community college tuition.
When I refused to work at the bar, she ripped my clothes off, whipped me with a belt soaked in salt water, and left me locked outside all night.
One night, I was pounding on the door like crazy, but nobody answered. I was left helpless as a thug from the alley dragged me away and no one came to save me.
Right when I was about to lose all hope, Samuel showed up out of nowhere.
He kicked the thug away with some seriously badass moves, like something straight out of a superhero flick.
He wrapped me up in his coat, still warm from his body. Under the dim streetlight, he leaned down, his battered face grinning with pride right above me.
He said, "Was I awesome or what? Don't worry, if that old hag doesn't want you, I'll look after you from now on!"
He added, "But you can never call me dirty, okay? I'm going to be the cleanest guy in your life, Gisselle!"
His eyes sparkled like a sky full of stars, deeper and more dazzling than the galaxy above.
Right then, I thought that, as long as he never carried that rotten stench, those two promises would be his lifetime pass, no matter what he did.
But ever since my mom made me get Lilly a job at Samuel's company, everything changed.
He started bringing up Lilly all the time, and all the attention he used to give me was suddenly all about her.
Whenever I called out how weirdly close they were acting, people just said I was being petty or jealous, like I was the one twisting everything to look dirty.
I was spiraling out of control, losing my mind. Some nights, I seriously thought about ending it with a razor blade. The only thing that kept me hanging on was remembering all the promises Samuel made about our future together.
Maybe marriage would finally make him settle down and focus on me.
But this time, he finally went too far.
With the brutal truth right in front of me, I had to admit that the guy who once loved me with everything he had had already moved on.
While I was packing my clothes in the bedroom, Samuel grabbed me around the waist from behind.
The rotten stench coming off him was so strong, I reflexively slapped him across the face. I just couldn't help myself.
Samuel snapped at me, "How long are you going to keep this up?!"