Chapter 1

The moment I tapped confirm, the email approving my overseas transfer arrived in my inbox. It clearly stated that I had to report to the headquarters in Feronia, Pellmere, within three days.

Three days from now was also the day Ethan Lawson and I were supposed to get married.

I deleted the acceptance email, then cleared the call to the police from my phone history.

Ethan stepped forward with a guilty expression and wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm glad you're okay. I promise I won't let you get hurt again."

His embrace was warm, but it only reminded me of all the empty promises he'd made over the years.

He had promised me the same thing many times before, yet whenever something happened again, he always found another excuse to leave me behind.

I had just started to speak. "Last night..."

The special ringtone Ethan had set for Rachel Lane suddenly went off.

He immediately released me and gestured for me to stay quiet before answering the call. "Rachel, what's wrong?"

Rachel's tearful voice came through the phone. "Ethan, where's the stomach medicine? I can't remember. If this isn't a good time, that's okay. I can just tough it out. Ow..."

Ethan didn't even look at me before turning toward the door. "It's in the second drawer of your nightstand. Take one for now. I'll come back and take you to the hospital."

A cold laugh escaped me.

We lived in the same city, and Ethan could remember exactly which drawer Rachel kept her stomach medicine in. Yet he couldn't remember the address of my new home after I'd told him three separate times.

I couldn't help asking, "Ethan, you're really just going to leave?"

"Rachel can't manage on her own. Be good, okay? I'll get you a caregiver. They're professionals. They'll take good care of you."

I watched him walk out of the room, then pulled out my phone and called the wedding planner.

"Cancel the wedding."

The planner sounded shocked. "Ms. Chandler, you've been planning this wedding for a year. If you cancel now, we can't refund any of the money. Are you sure?"

I glanced at my injured arm. "I'm sure."

Ethan's heart wasn't here anymore. There was no reason to go through with the wedding.

When the planner realized I had made up my mind, she agreed. "All right. When you have time, you and Mr. Lawson can come in and sign the cancellation paperwork."

My fingers tightened around the phone until my knuckles turned pale. "Can I sign it by myself?"

"Yes. You'll just need to sign a statement confirming that you're canceling the wedding voluntarily."

I scheduled the appointment for the morning after next.

About an hour later, I started feeling groggy. The caregiver noticed something was wrong and immediately called a nurse.

That was when I found out Ethan had told the medical staff that cephalosporin antibiotics worked well and insisted that they give me one. But I'd told him more than once that I was allergic to them.

My allergy was clearly listed in the hospital system, but between Ethan's insistence and the nurse failing to double-check, I was still given the medication.

I felt worse and worse as the night went on, and it wasn't until around five in the morning that I finally started to feel a little better.

Early the next morning, Rachel entered my room wearing a man's jacket, with Ethan carefully supporting her.

She looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mia. I didn't know you were hurt and in the hospital. If I'd known, I never would've called Ethan over."

Ethan frowned at her. "You weren't feeling well. Who else were you supposed to call? She's already at the hospital. She has people looking after her."

Then he looked up and finally noticed how pale I was. His brows furrowed, but a moment later, he pointed at the mangoes on the table.

"Rachel's allergic to mangoes. Get rid of those right now."

The caregiver couldn't hold back any longer. "Do you know your fiancée is allergic to cephalosporin antibiotics?"

Ethan's expression changed.

He turned to look at me.