Chapter 1

After a decade of devotion, my partner—freshly retired from military service—had at last come back to wed me. However, while exploring his old device, I discovered 512 GB of messages brimming with yearning for another person.

Despite her blocking him, the red alerts didn't deter him from sending lengthy notes and amorous video declarations to her.

With a heavy heart, I went to the medical center to retrieve my pre-wedding health report, only to witness him on bended knee, offering a ring and pleading:

"Zolenn, I abandoned my aspirations for you. I simply ask that you keep the baby! If you agree, we can obtain our marriage license immediately!"

His desperate appeal, laden with deep emotion, prompted me to tear up both the pre-wedding and pregnancy test documents on the spot.

As he wished to provide a home for another woman and her child, I decided to remove myself from the equation.

Following my miscarriage and escape from our engagement, he deserted his true love—Zolenn Smith—and her child. He became obsessed with finding me.

Now, in the crowded hospital entrance, Yzail, typically averse to public spectacles, had been kneeling for ten minutes. His tall, straight posture reflected his determination to marry.

The ring he held matched exactly what I had envisioned in my proposal fantasies.

"Zolenn, please keep the baby and become my wife. Will you?" he implored.

Zolenn softly touched her abdomen with her right hand and extended her left toward him.

The ring, which I had long admired, now adorned her finger.

They embraced and kissed passionately as the crowd's cheers and whistles pierced my heart like a dagger.

I shredded my pre-wedding health check and pregnancy test reports and turned away.

Three years prior, Yzail claimed that an unwed pregnancy would harm his career, so he abandoned our first child.

When he resumed his military duties, I underwent the procedure alone, recuperated in the hospital alone, and mourned alone.

The child departed three years ago, and my love for him perished then too.

He never paused for my child, but for Zolenn and hers, he relinquished his lifelong ambition.

My child and I? We were merely a jest. The baby in my womb now felt like an even crueler one.

After arranging an abortion, I entered my vehicle, only to spot Yzail and Zolenn in the parking area.

"Yzail, if you truly wish to marry me, you have two choices: either call off your engagement or make Lanaya your bridesmaid."

"Canceling the engagement isn't proper. I don't want people gossiping about you."

"Then make Lanaya my bridesmaid!"

I eased off the gas pedal, curious to see if Yzail, the man who always prided himself on his integrity, would agree to such an outlandish request.

"Very well, you little schemer. Now you can relax and marry me, right?" he laughed.

"But you must inform her on the wedding day. If she flees, I'll be without a bridesmaid!" Zolenn added.

"Don't fret, she owes me her life. I've safeguarded her for ten years. Now that I've found someone I want to protect forever, asking her for this small favor will surely save face for her. She'll consent!"

They pressed against the column, kissing as if they were alone in the world, shredding what remained of my heart.

I removed the key from the ignition and sat silently, too drained to drive.

They kissed all the way to their car and departed.

Struggling to contain my emotions, I phoned my uncle.

"Uncle, does your company still employ useless individuals? I need you to take me in."

Surprised but pleased, he inquired, "You no longer wish to wait for the man you've been holding out for?"

I glanced at the stack of Chinese herbal prescriptions I had been taking to prepare for pregnancy, my heart heavy with sorrow.

"Marriage and children aren't everything. Building a career and being with family—that's what truly matters."

My uncle, who had witnessed my decade-long pursuit of love, teased,

"Then I'll arrange your overseas trip. Once you're here, I'll keep you so occupied you won't have time to dwell on anything else."

"The man you waited ten years for—a man who promised you a home—how deeply could he truly love you? You were merely his backup plan all along."

"With us by your side, there's no challenge you can't overcome!"

Had I not seen those amorous messages, I would have confidently told my uncle that Yzail was my soulmate.

But the reality was, those ten years of love? They were nothing more than a cruel deception.

En route to the hospital to collect my pre-wedding health report, I couldn't comprehend the betrayal.

But when I saw him proposing to the very woman who had nearly ended my life, it all became clear. He had left the military to marry her.

For years, I had worried that during our extended separation, Yzail might have fallen for someone else, but I never imagined it would be Zolenn.

And to win her over, he had agreed to humiliate me at their wedding.

I was so absorbed by these thoughts that I lost focus on the road. I slammed on the brakes and was hit from behind.

Clutching the steering wheel, my heart pounded in fear. Just then, Yzail's call came through.

"Lanaya, the doctor said you've already collected the pre-wedding health report. Where are you?"