Chapter 2

I still remembered an incident after a basketball game ended.

I was sitting in the audience when I saw Diana carrying a bag of drinks. She was rushing toward Adam, who had just stepped off the court.

“Adam, you’re seriously amazing at basketball. I got all these drinks just for you. They’re all your favorite!”

I watched them with a calm expression. I had always trusted Adam.

Adam pushed Diana away and walked toward me with an annoyed expression.

“Grace, you see another woman fawning over me like that, and you’re just sitting here? Do you even love me anymore?”

He held my hand and raised it up for Diana to see. “Diana, I know we’ve known each other our whole lives, but I love Grace. So, from now on, stop doing things that make my girlfriend uncomfortable.”

At our graduation prom, she came up with an even more meticulous plan.

When the spotlights focused on the center of the venue, Diana stood in the middle of the dance floor with a microphone in her hand.

“Adam, I’ve had a crush on you since we were kids. Break up with Grace and attend the after-party with me tonight.”

Adam looked at her with displeasure.

“I’ve told you before. I have a girlfriend. Quit being so annoying.”

With that, he held me in his arms and gave me a deep, passionate kiss in front of everyone.

He used the most direct way to tell the crowd that I was the one he loved.

Someone took a picture of us and posted it in the school forum. Many people wished us well.

We were known as the perfect couple on campus. I thought so too at the time.

However, I finally understood that those passionate promises from back then did not last forever.

People changed.

Diana posted another series of photos in her feed.

The two of them drank and sang by the seaside, watched the sunrise, and spent a wild night in an ocean-view room.

Adam closed his eyes and lay quietly on the pillow.

I looked at his face. It was so familiar yet so foreign. I remembered the way he had knelt on one knee amid swirling ribbons and slipped the ring onto my finger.

He had said, “Grace, you’re the girl I fell for in my youth, and you’re the one I want for the rest of my days. I’ll love you through every season of my life.”

I felt a dull ache in my chest. At this point, I had to accept the fact that he had betrayed me.

That young man who only had eyes for me had already forgotten my name. He was lost in the warmth of someone else’s smile.

I wiped away my tears and took screenshots of the evidence. Then, I drove to the wedding planning office.

“Ms. Atwood, this venue is very hard to book. Are you sure you want to cancel?” my wedding planner, Felicity, asked me with a puzzled look.

“All the preparations are done. If you cancel now, you’ll be charged a fifty-percent cancellation fee.

“And Mr. Wayman personally designed the whole reception setup. He confirmed every single detail in person. Are you sure about this?”

I recalled one evening after the proposal. Adam had proudly produced a roll of blueprints and waved it in front of me.

“Grace, guess what this is?”

I thought it was a photo of the two of us.

He raised his index finger and shook it before spreading the blueprints out on the table.

“I booked the ballroom at the Grand Plaza Hotel today and went to a wedding design studio. I worked with the lead designer to draw up this whole layout.

“It’s all based on your favorite color, purple. We’ll have deep purple velvet tablecloths with gold-rimmed flatware. At the entrance, there’s a flower arch made of violets and hydrangeas.

“There will be crystal candelabras lining both sides of the aisle, and strings of purple orchids will be hanging from chandeliers on the ceiling.”

He pointed at a small detail in the corner of the blueprint.

“I added a mirrored flower wall behind the head table. When the light hits it, the whole ballroom will glow purple.”

I threw myself into his arms and looked up at him with adoration.

“Adam, I love you so much.”

The Grand Plaza Hotel was one of the most popular wedding venues in the world.

During peak season, it had to be booked at least a year in advance, and its minimum spending requirement was absurdly high.

He had been busy with his project lately, yet he still managed to make time to arrange everything on his own.

He held me gently in his arms.

“You’re the one I chose to spend the rest of my life with. Of course I’m going to give you the very best I possibly can.”

However, not even half a year later, I was no longer the one he loved.

He had worked so hard on every little detail because he genuinely wanted to marry me.

Yet, somewhere along the way, Diana’s charm had won him over.

It was a shame he would never get to see the wedding he had orchestrated so thoughtfully.