Chapter 3

After dealing with my friends and relatives, I went home right away. The moment I opened the front door, I saw the wedding decorations as well as a wall plastered with photos.

Before the wedding, I had specifically hired a team to decorate my residence. That way, Jessica and I would be able to reminisce about our pasts when we were spending time together after the wedding.

As I stared at the first photo I had taken with Jessica five years ago, I began to feel a little dazed.

The truth was, I had gotten to know Jessica nine years ago. I lost my parents to a car accident when I was still a kid. Thanks to their protection, I was able to survive the tragedy.

The driver responsible for the accident paid me a huge sum of money that allowed me to live the rest of my life quite comfortably. However, I could never be with my parents anymore.

Since then, everyone called me a walking jinx—a magnet for disaster. They all claimed that I was the reason my parents died.

Due to that, I blamed myself heavily for my parents' deaths. I completely lost my confidence, and thus, I didn't like communicating with others.

When I was a high school sophomore, a bunch of seniors had me trapped in the alley. They had demanded all of my pocket money at that time.

Seeing as I was the type who wanted to get everything over with without causing trouble, I decided to do as they said. However, that was when someone in the group decided to run their mouth.

"I bet this punk must be super happy that his parents died. After all, he got his hands on so much money! Maybe he's even secretly complaining about the fact that his parents didn't die a more tragic death so that he could get more compensation! Haha!"

I froze in the middle of digging my wallet out of my backpack. My eyes became bloodshot instantly when I heard the senior's rude words. Without hesitation, I punched him right away.

But I was still one lone boy at the end of the day. When the seniors finally reacted, they began beating me up ruthlessly.

Just when I thought I was about to die, we all heard a loud feminine voice.

"Stop that! I've already called the cops on you!"

When the students heard that the police were about to be involved, they were so frightened that they quickly scrambled away from the scene.

I did my best to crack my eyes open. All I could see was a girl with a ponytail crouching before me. To me, she was emitting a bright halo that made her look like my savior.

I heard her say, "I believe your parents wouldn't want to see you like this. Since they already gave you the opportunity to live, you must continue living for them as well."

Her words were deeply imprinted in my mind.

I no longer maintained a silent personality. Instead, I threw myself into my studies and did my best to participate in all sorts of after-school activities. At the same time, I lived my life with a positive mindset.

Also, I had found out from the others that the girl who had rescued me that day was Jessica Fletcher, a student who happened to be in my year. But that was when I also found out about her childhood sweetheart, Benedict Olson, who happened to be her first love too.

In light of that, I kept my feelings for Jessica a secret.

After the SATs, I kept asking around to find out the college Jessica would be enrolling in. I promptly followed her there by enrolling in the same college too.

Once we started college, all I did was give her and Benedict my blessings from afar.

That was, until Jessica's family company was met with a huge crisis when we hit our third year in college. Benedict flew abroad at that time, leaving Jessica behind. She spent her days drowning in tears and sorrow.

I had used my money to tide the Fletchers' company over the financial crisis. Only then did I spend the next five years dating Jessica.

Honestly speaking, I knew very well that Jessica still loved Benedict at that time. Maybe she chose to stay with me because she was either grateful toward me or wanted to use me for my money.

Either way, I didn't care at all. Like a naive fool, I thought that I could eventually win Jessica's heart over if I poured enough love into this relationship.

But the moment Benedict returned to the country, Jessica kept flaking on me during dates and promises. On top of that, she kept lying to me as well. Her actions made me realize that a relationship couldn't necessarily bear any fruit if I was the only one working hard to maintain it.

If I kept burning myself for the sake of this relationship, I'd just end up getting covered in nothing but injuries.