Chapter 3

The next day, I received a text from Sophie when I woke up. "I ordered breakfast for you. Don't forget to eat it."

She casually glossed over the fact that she'd left me alone in the car last night, trying to sweep it under the rug with a single breakfast order. If I brought it up again, it would look like I was deliberately starting a fight.

Two minutes later, Zachary posted another update on social media. In the photo, Sophie sat across from him, cooling down his soup for him. The table was covered with a lavish breakfast spread.

I liked the post, and not long after, her angry voice message came through. "Zachary has a sensitive stomach. I'm like his older sister, so I'm just making sure he eats breakfast properly. What's the problem?

"He never had anything good to eat growing up. I'm just making up for the care he missed out on. Don't tell me you're going to make an issue out of this!"

Just a single "like" was enough to set Sophie off like this. I couldn't tell if she was angry or just feeling guilty.

My phone buzzed with a reminder just then. Today was the day Sophie and I were supposed to try on our wedding attire. I calmly dismissed the notification and deleted all the wedding-related reminders along with it.

When I stepped out of my room, I found the breakfast Sophie claimed to have ordered for me sitting alone in the corner outside my door. It was a serving of extra spicy chili con carne that had already gone cold.

Sophie must have completely forgotten that I had a severe stomach ulcer. Even mildly spicy food would leave me doubled over in pain and drenched in sweat, let alone something extra spicy.

At noon, Sophie came home for once. The moment she walked in, she couldn't help but demand, "Today was supposed to be our wedding fitting. Why didn't you remind me? Don't you know how hard it is to book an appointment at that bridal shop?"

She needed me to remind her about our wedding fitting, yet she'd never once missed any of Zachary's basketball games.

Sophie slammed her bag down on the table, as if trying to intimidate me. Then, she noticed the untouched chili con carne still sitting on the table. Sophie let out a cold laugh, her expression suggesting she'd figured everything out.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? Just because I didn't eat breakfast with you, you're throwing a tantrum. Ethan, you're a grown man. Can you stop being so dramatic?"

I said flatly, "I can't eat spicy food. Did you forget?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Sophie's face before it went pale. She hadn't completely forgotten, after all.

Sophie's family company was in the construction industry. Three years ago, when raw material prices skyrocketed, she begged me to help her connect with a supplier who offered fair prices.

But on the day of the business dinner, Sophie suddenly stood the supplier up just to rush off and watch Zachary's basketball game. The supplier, Joseph Stone, was furious. And afterward, Sophie called me in tears, begging for my help.

I swallowed my pride and arranged another dinner meeting for her. Joseph gave Sophie a cold smile and asked, "So, am I important enough now that Ms. Bennett actually shows up?"

Sophie quickly grabbed my arm with an apologetic smile. "If it wasn't out of respect for you, do you think I'd bring my boyfriend along?"

She kept giving me looks to drink on her behalf and apologize, clutching at my sleeve pitifully. That night, Joseph saw our sincerity and left satisfied.

But I spent the night hugging the toilet, vomiting until my stomach went into spasms. I ended up in the emergency room with permanent damage to my stomach.

To avoid making Sophie feel guilty, I always forced myself to hide the pain whenever my condition flared up. I never expected that would make her think I was truly invincible.