Chapter 1

The wine bottle bearing my name was placed right in the center of the village altar.

Ivan Banner squeezed through the crowd with an excited expression as he pulled me forward.

He said, "Hurry up. It's almost time! You've been holding onto your wine for so many years. It finally gets to meet its rightful owner. Everyone in the village is envious of the relationship between you and Suzanne."

He was genuinely happy for me.

However, Suzanne Landon didn't walk toward me. She turned around and walked straight toward Finley Graham.

I stood rooted to the spot, my fingers clenching into a fist.

Finley was also wearing the village's festive clothes today. He held a bottle of wine in his arms. Even with his head lowered, he couldn't hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Suzanne, will you drink my wine?" he asked.

The whole area quieted down instantly.

Suzanne took the bottle from his hands without even looking at me. In front of everyone, she drank the entire bottle without the slightest hesitation.

There was absolute silence at the scene.

The first people to show disapproving expressions were several of the elders.

Where we came from, the wedding wine wasn't something one could drink casually. Once a woman drank a man's wine, she was expected to marry into his family according to tradition. The entire village would bear witness.

Suzanne had grown up here. She knew all of this.

And she still did it.

Ivan was the first to object. "Have you lost your mind, Suzanne? You drank his wine! What about Chad?"

Suzanne frowned and glanced around, as if she was annoyed that he was making an unnecessary fuss about what she did.

"What's the big deal? It was just a sip of wine," she countered.

Upon hearing those words, I suddenly felt like laughing.

For 28 years, I had guarded that wine for her for as long as I could remember. But in her eyes, it meant nothing much.

Finley stood to the side with his head lowered as he spoke in a soft and timid voice. "Ivan, don't blame Suzanne. I was just fooling around and said I wanted her to try drinking my wine. I didn't expect her to actually drink it..."

Ivan's eyes became bloodshot with rage. "Finley, you knew exactly what that wine represented! Haven't you taken enough from Suzanne and Chadwick all these years?

"She took you to social gatherings, brought you to celebrations, and took you home with her. And when Chad received gifts, you always had to get one too! Now, you're even trying to take his fiancee!"

As soon as he finished speaking, murmurs sounded around us.

He was right.

Finley had never been just an ordinary subordinate. All these years, he had stayed by Suzanne's side and taken away far too many things that should have belonged to me.

Whenever Suzanne and I celebrated a festival, he always appeared. Whenever I received a gift, he always had one too.

Even this time when we returned to our hometown, she had personally brought him along. And now, even at the most important wedding wine ceremony, she openly showed that she favored him in front of the entire village.

Ivan turned to look at me, his voice catching in his throat. "Chad, say something."

I gently patted the back of his hand and said, "Don't get angry. She's not worth it."

Ivan froze. He probably hadn't expected me to be this calm.

Soon, the ceremony came to a hasty end.

But Finley deliberately came over to me, still wearing that timid, innocent expression.

"Chad, I really was just fooling around. Don't get the wrong idea."

I was just about to speak when Suzanne walked over and stepped between us. She reached out to put a hand on my shoulder, just as she had done countless times before, trying to push me back into my usual role of being understanding and forgiving.

"Chad, that's enough," she said.

I stepped aside, avoiding her hand. "Stop. You're technically Finley's wife now. We should keep our distance."

Suzanne's expression instantly darkened, and her hand clamped down on my shoulder. "What did you say?"