Chapter 3

"Wendy! Didn't I tell you not to touch Rory's things? You—"

Wendy panted heavily, her eyes rolling back as she suddenly fainted.

Panicking, Shawn scooped her up by the waist. He had the housekeeper change her clothes while he made several frantic phone calls to hurry the doctor over.

"Rory, stop triggering her."

Shawn still expected me to back down.

Mechanically, I picked up the ruined, tattered wedding dress from where it had been tossed into the corner.

A profound sense of helplessness completely washed over me.

When Shawn walked into the room and saw me packing my things, his expression shifted instantly.

"Rory, I'll hire someone to restore it.

"It's my fault for not making things clear, too. I'll make Wendy apologize to you right now."

He pulled me into Wendy's bedroom.

Wendy was tugging at the hem of his shirt, looking completely lost and bewildered. "Shawn, please don't be angry.

"You said it yourself, this place is my home. How can you be mad at me cause of an outsider?"

She looked over at me. Suddenly, she got out of bed and began slamming her forehead hard against the floor as if she had lost it.

"I beg you, please just leave! I'll give you all my toys. I only want Shawn!"

A flash of shock and internal conflict crossed Shawn's eyes, and he didn't pull her up right away.

But just as he moved to comfort me, Wendy let out a hysterical scream and pulled out a knife she had hidden away, threatening to cut herself.

"I only have Shawn left... Make her get out!"

The psychiatrist Dr. Leigh later explained that her aversion to me was a visceral, psychological reaction.

Seeing Wendy crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, Shawn held her close, shielding me from her line of sight.

"Her emotions are too unstable right now. Rory, you should leave for a bit."

I was shoved out the door by two nurses.

It was pouring rain outside. No matter how much I knocked, no one answered.

Everything blurred before my eyes as a deep, full-body chill set in.

I didn't have my phone, and I was still in my pajamas. My only choice was to walk all the way out of the gated community before anyone could pick me up.

The exposure left me with a fever, and I ended up going to the hospital.

When I caught sight of Shawn's hurried figure there, I instinctively followed him.

"It's already been six months. How is her condition exactly the same as before?"

It was Dr. Leigh's voice.

"Wendy's ultimate fixation is you, which is why you're the only one she remembers.

"Who told you to send her that engagement announcement anyway? That's what caused the accident."

Dr. Leigh let out a sigh.

"The fact that her condition hasn't improved is on you. You only visited her once a month before this, so of course she'd be terrified of you abandoning her.

"It's only natural that she feels hostile toward that woman at your house. If you don't want Wendy having another episode, you need to remove the source of her insecurity."

Shawn's tone carried a sharp warning.

"Enough! Stop speaking nonsense."

So they had already been in contact a whole year ago.

No wonder Shawn was so practiced at taking care of Wendy.

It felt utterly ironic. This was what he had always called his routine monthly business trips.

The absolute trust I once had in Shawn had become a complete joke.

Because of what happened today, he even went ahead and hired bodyguards for Wendy.

That evening, Shawn picked me up so I could pack some of my clothes.

Staring at my bloodshot eyes, he asked cautiously, "Rory, would it be okay if you moved out for just a little while?"

Placed right in front of me was the confirmed appointment for our marriage registration.

I nodded, locked my phone screen, and closed my aching eyes.

When we got back to the house, there was a puppy in the yard.

The engagement ring that belonged on Shawn's finger was now fastened around the puppy's neck.

His excuse was that Wendy was terrified the puppy would get lost. Since the ring was one of a kind, it could double as a dog tag.

I calmly slipped off the matching ring from my own finger and tossed it carelessly into my pocket.

Lowering my head, I finally accepted that pending friend request.

The person messaged back instantly: "Don't worry. Your dad's years of backing the Vances won't go to waste."

Right after, he sent over a wedding planning document that had been updated every single year to match my exact tastes.

Before, my dad had always been the one to reject it on my behalf. This time, I was the one who accepted it.

Two days later, Shawn sent me a text: "Didn't we agree to sign the papers and make it official today, Rory? Why aren't you here?"

Swamped with handing over my responsibilities at work, I left his calls unanswered.

A few hours later, he sent over the address of a remote, completely obscure hotel.

"Isn't this all just because of the wedding? Fine, I'll give you one.

"Stop throwing a tantrum over this. We have been together for nearly ten years."

Someone ended up leaking a photo of that cheap, half-hearted venue into a group chat.

Along with it came the news that Shawn had only invited a handful of close friends and had explicitly requested that the entire wedding be kept a secret.

The very people who used to talk about how much they envied our relationship were now mocking me openly and behind my back.

Our ten years together couldn't even compete with Wendy's ten-year-old mind.

As the messages in the chat continued to pile up, I paused for a second, typed out my reply, and hit send: "Wedding's off. We broke up."