Chapter 1 The Marriage is Off

"You're calling off the marriage?" Samantha, Anthony's mother, stared at me with disbelief. She was completely stunned.

This engagement had dragged on for years, and she knew better than anyone how obsessed I had once been with her son. She still had no idea what her son had done, so Samantha tried to talk me out of it.

"Maybe think it through, Melinda. Once you get that marriage license, I'll prepare the grandest wedding! You'll get what you deserve."

I did not answer her. Instead, I played the voice recording I took before I left the hospital. The conversation killed whatever reason Samantha had to say.

"Three years, thirty-one times. Every time we try to get a license, an accident happens, and he's behind every single one."

I calmly placed all the surgery bills and critical condition notices in front of Samantha. "He thinks marriage is suffocating. Then, I'll let him walk away as a free man. Calling it off is better for both of us."

The truth was making Samantha shake with rage. She looked at my battered body, and after a long silence, she finally nodded. "Before your parents… they hoped I would take care of you. And now… We owe you."

I nearly sniffled, but I held my sadness down.

When I left the house, Anthony's car was already parked by the road.

He rolled his window down and looked at me calmly. He rolled down the window and looked at me calmly. His tone was so businesslike it almost sounded cold. "The city hall is still open. Let's get that license."

I looked at the person in the passenger seat. Lily Chaucer was sitting there quietly, the corners of her eyes red, looking as pitiful as an abandoned puppy.

The moment Anthony talked about the license, she shivered.

Anthony got out of the car and stepped in front of me, blocking my view of her. He wanted to say something, and when he did, it was stiff.

"I have feelings for Lily, but I won't neglect my duties. You won't have to worry about the marriage contract."

Duties. That was how he saw this whole thing. I nearly suffocated, but I hung my head low and said quietly, "We can do it another day. It's been three years. What's a few more days?"

Surprise flickered in Anthony's eyes. After all, I had always been the one desperate to get the license. Every time I recovered from an accident, the first thing I did was drag him back to the city hall.