Our Final Goodbye

My fingers slid lightly across the screen as I zoomed in, and I saw the diamond-studded wedding dress on Zoe Bennett.

The familiar design and cut pulled me back to countless late nights, to the sight of Adrian Cole hunched over his desk in the study, absorbed in his designs.

Eighteen-year-old Adrian had once sworn with complete certainty, "I will make sure the woman I love wears a wedding dress I design with my own hands."

I had grown up with Adrian; we had been childhood friends for twenty years. When we played pretend weddings as kids, he always liked to grab my hand and say, "Iris, you'll be my only wife in the future. I'll give you the best food, the most fun, and the prettiest things in the world. If anyone bullies you, I'll beat them up and chase them away."

Now, I was his bride.

However, it was someone else wearing the wedding dress he designed himself, while standing deep in the snow-covered mountains, and posing for intimate wedding photos with him.

Exhausted to the bone, I returned home, only to see Zoe curled up in Adrian's arms, crying.

"I know you're marrying her for the sake of your family. Once you two are married, I'll leave on my own."

Adrian gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. "No one can drive you away. She went to great lengths to marry into the family, and even then, she'll only ever be a Mrs. Cole in name."

Zoe wrapped her arms around his waist in a coquettish embrace. "Not long ago, you lied to her and said you were going to kill yourself. Right after that, ten billion in investment came in. I heard she even went up to the snow mountains to look for you for seven whole days. She's really easy to fool."

For a brief moment, Adrian's expression stiffened. He pulled out his phone and turned it on. As expected, the screen was filled with over a thousand missed calls.

Zoe let out a scornful laugh. "Next time, you should switch it up. Terminal illness? Jumping into the sea? Maybe she'll transfer all of the Warren family's assets straight to the Coles."

He smiled casually. "Maybe she would."

Taking advantage of the moment before anyone noticed me, I left the house, dazed and hollow.

When we were eighteen, Adrian had worn a faded, repeatedly washed white shirt and knelt at the entrance of my home, appearing awkward and earnest, as he confessed his feelings.

After graduation, there had never been another woman by his side. He even hired only male secretaries, claiming male assistants were more efficient.

Then one day, out of nowhere, fragile and innocent Zoe Bennett barged into his life and became his secretary.

I knew it. He made exceptions at every turn because Zoe looked exactly like I had at eighteen.

When a lightbulb had broken in Zoe's home, she had cried and told him she was scared. He had rushed over without hesitation, leaving me to undergo surgery alone while seriously ill.

I was the one who set the wedding date. I dove into every detail of the wedding. Meanwhile, he used working late at the company as an excuse to secretly meet Zoe.

Whenever I asked for his opinion, he would impatiently hang up the phone. "We're not even married yet, and you're already checking up on me like this? The position of Mrs. Cole is already yours. What more do you want?"