Chapter 2

When I woke up, it was already dark outside.

The doctor asked how long it had been since I ingested the herbicide, but I couldn't move at all other than to blink.

Seeing that, he turned to urge the nurse, "Keep trying to contact her family."

The nurse checked my phone, but the only emergency contact I had was Andrew.

The first time she called, nobody picked up.

The second time, the call was rejected.

On the third try, someone finally answered.

"Who is this?" Andrew snapped, clearly angry.

Next to him, Katherine asked which pair of heels would look nicer with the wedding dress.

The nurse glanced at me. "This is Wellerham Hospital. Ms. Natalia Sanders is suffering from poisoning and is currently receiving emergency treatment. Please come over immediately."

The other end of the line was silent for two seconds before Andrew scoffed and spoke again.

"She put you up to this, didn't she? We don't have time to play around with you. It's only been two hours since she talked about calling off the wedding, yet she's already managed to find a hospital to go along with her act within that short time."

The nurse had to fight to swallow her anger. "Ms. Sanders really needs her family with her now."

"She wants to throw a tantrum, does she? Then she can deal with the consequences herself."

Katherine leaned closer to the phone to say, "Miss, please don't blame Andrew for this. Nat was just telling us earlier at the river that she was going to die, only to now end up in the hospital with poisoning. Anyone would think that this was just a prank."

When the nurse seemed like she was about to say something more, I raised a hand. She quickly put the phone to my ear.

"Natalia Sanders," Andrew uttered icily, "Did you really think that this would work?"

The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth, and it was all I could taste.

"I'm not trying to deceive you. I poisoned myself."

Andrew laughed. "Really? Then how can you still speak so clearly? Are you sure it wasn't a health supplement?"

Derisive laughter erupted from several people on the other end of the line.

All their friends were there, waiting to see how long I could keep up the act.

"Send the address over."

My heart skipped a beat at his words, but in the next second, he added, "I'll have my assistant send a bouquet over. Think of it as me going along with your test. Once you've had enough of this acting, come back home yourself."

I stared up at the glaring white lights above me. "The day my mom passed away, you also told me to wait for you."

The night my mother was cremated, Katherine had broken up with her boyfriend. At the time, Andrew had promised to keep me company for the rest of the night, yet a phone call from her had immediately drawn him away.

He had told me that he would only be gone for half an hour.

I spent the entire night alone, and by morning, he still hadn't shown up.

After a brief moment of silence, Andrew replied impatiently, "It's been so long since that happened. Why are you still holding a grudge over it?"

Just then, Katherine called out, "Andrew, help me zip up the wedding dress."

Following that, the rustling of fabric reached my ears, along with Andrew's low reminder for her to stop squirming.

His careful demeanor was something I hadn't gotten even after begging for it for the past seven years.

"I have no time to play around with you." Andrew had picked up his phone again. "Don't forget to attend the wedding in three days. If you dare be absent, then you can forget about me ever marrying you again in this lifetime."

With that, he ended the call without waiting for a response.

The doctor pushed open the door and entered. When the nurse read the report he was holding, her eyes instantly reddened.

By this point, I couldn't even keep my hand up anymore, so the nurse had to help me hold the phone.

My screen lit up as Andrew sent me a message. "Did you hear me?"

Using the last bit of strength I had left, I typed out one word. "Okay."

Since he had tricked me once, I would do the same to him. I agreed to attend the wedding, but I never said that I would attend it alive.

Seconds later, the medical equipment beeped shrilly.

My phone slipped from my slack fingers, the screen flashing with Andrew's response. "That's a good girl."