Chapter 3

"What's wrong with the housekeeper? Is she seriously spacing out while she's supposed to be working?"

"They're paying her to be there, and she still looks like she doesn't want to do her job. How shameless can she be?"

The moment Sean noticed the cut on my wrist, his expression darkened.

"You're always so clumsy," he hissed. "Go back to your room."

Then he turned toward the camera, his usual warm smile returning as he explained, "I'll take her to get her wound treated. Everyone, please give me a moment."

He grabbed my injured wrist and dragged me all the way to the guest room. Then he tossed the disinfectant on the table without even bothering to look at my wound.

"Get some rest in here. I need to deal with the production crew now."

With that, he stepped outside.

The door locked from outside, as though he were afraid I'd come out and disturb them.

The laughter and chatter from the living room carried clearly through the door as the host spoke.

"Tell us about one of the sweetest little things you've done for each other."

"I'm always cold, so in winter, he warms up the bed for me before I get in," Jodie replied with a chuckle.

"And she remembers everything I like and dislike," Sean said, picking up where she left off.

"Netizens say you two are the textbook example of a loving couple. What do you think about that?”

Jodie lowered her eyes shyly. "We're both so lucky to have found each other."

The crew erupted into cheers.

"Kiss! Kiss! Come on!"

Amid the laughter and commotion, I could tell from the cheers alone that they'd kissed again.

My leg throbbed with a burning pain, but the ache in my heart was a hundred times worse.

That night, I drifted in and out of sleep until morning.

…

The next morning, the door opened from the outside.

Sean came in carrying antiseptic wipes. He crouched down and gently took hold of my injured leg, where the wound was still visible.

"You jealous little thing," he chided, carefully treating my wound. "You're so clumsy that you even hurt yourself over something so trivial."

Smiling, he pulled a ring out of his pocket. "Sasha, just bear with it for a few more days. Once the show is over, everything will be fine."

He slipped the ring onto my left ring finger, then pulled me into a tight embrace. "Just thinking about how I'll be able to marry you soon makes me so excited."

Perhaps just a few days ago, I'd dreamed of this moment countless times. But now, all I felt was a dull ache spreading through my chest.

My throat tightened.

"Sean, do you really love me?" I asked, my voice quivering. "If you do, why are you treating me like this?"

But he didn't seem to hear me. He took my hand and led me straight outside.

"Come on, Sasha. Go try that cake I made."

Only then did I notice that the ring was too big. It hung loosely around the base of my finger, and when he tugged me forward, the ring slipped right off my finger and fell to the floor with a sharp clink.

I instinctively bent down to pick it up, but Sean showed no intention of stopping.

"Take a look," he urged, pointing toward the cake on the dining table. "How does it look?"

He looked so proud of his own work.

"When we film the proposal during the actual show, I'll pull out a cake I made myself and propose to her on camera. It'll make for a great moment."

He opened his phone's photo gallery and held up a picture for me to see.

The diamond ring on the screen sparkled brilliantly. Compared with the plain ring he'd just given me, it was on an entirely different level of elegance and craftsmanship.

"I went to so many jewelry stores before I finally found this one," Sean rambled on, completely oblivious to my pale expression. "Jodie's ring size is really small, and none of the stores had one in stock. I had to pay extra to get the factory to rush the order. Thank goodness it'll arrive in time for the proposal scene with the production crew."