Chapter 1

A month before our wedding, my fiancé—Christopher Sanders—disappeared.

I searched the entire city but couldn't find him.

On the seventh day of his disappearance, I received news that he had been spotted in Louville.

I took the next flight there overnight.

Finally, I found him on a cruise ship.

Just as I was about to knock on the door, I heard his voice, filled with mockery.

"I only went after Jessica Walter to provoke Hugh Freeman. Now that I've got her, she just seems boring."

I froze after hearing that. He didn't sound drunk. On the contrary, he sounded completely sober.

Following that came the cruelest words I'd ever heard from him.

"And after tasting her, I found her quite dull."

Laughter filled with amusement echoed around him.

"As expected of Mr. Sanders, conquering the unattainable flower of Redfern Valley."

Christopher seemed to enjoy the flattery and continued, "She acted like she was willing to die for Hugh when pursuing him in the past, but she turned out so unbelievably naive. What a pity."

"Why?" someone asked.

Christopher slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "It's a pity that even though I was her first man, I wasn't her first love."

He continued, "She loved Hugh for ten years. Who knows if she's really over him? If he wasn't my rival, I wouldn't have bothered playing the role of the devoted lover for Jessica just to get back at him."

Someone teased, "You've been with her for three years, Mr. Sanders. Why the sudden regret?"

Christopher sounded irritated as he scoffed, "It's precisely because I spent so long chasing her that I can't accept this."

Another voice chimed in from the crowd, "I heard she's been looking for you everywhere, almost going crazy. You've been missing for days now. Are you sure it's okay?"

Christopher took another drag of his cigarette, exhaled, and chuckled. "Isn't it fun to leave her humiliated at the altar?"

On his face, I saw no expression of guilt, pity, or love. There was only satisfaction and the triumph of long-awaited revenge.

My fingers dug into my palms as my heart felt like it was being stabbed with needles, each stab making it harder to breathe.

I always thought Christopher was my salvation—the final destination of my journey in love.

I made sure my feelings for him weren't just gratitude but genuine love before accepting his proposal.

That day, he was so happy he lit up the entire city with fireworks.

After three years together, he bought an island in my name and proposed under a sky full of floating lanterns.

I thought it was love. I thought it was romance.

I never imagined it was all just an elaborate act to get back at Hugh.

So, the past ten years of devotion, all the ways he had helped me—was it all just a performance?

In my daze, memories began to resurface.

…

At 12, I was brought back to the Walter family from a small southern town. I was timid, insecure, and anxious.

Back then, Hugh had shielded me from bullies just once, and I fell hopelessly in love with him.

I pursued him with such intensity that everyone around me knew about it.

But he loathed me to his core.

Eventually, I realized it was pointless and gave up on him.

That was when I finally noticed Christopher, the one who had been silently watching over me all along.

That night, it rained heavily, and he stood beside me the entire time, holding an umbrella over my head.