Chapter 4

I had no interest in engaging with Eunice. I meant to block her, but I accidentally tapped open one of the photos she'd sent instead.

To my surprise, the theme of the shoot was a wedding.

My eyes darkened. So, the person Eric was going to marry was Eunice?

It suddenly hit me that with the wedding fast approaching, Eric and I still hadn't taken our own wedding photos.

I'd brought it up with him before, but he always brushed me off, saying he was swamped with work and didn't have time to do a shoot with me.

But as it turned out, his idea of being "swamped with work" was busy taking Eunice out to lift her spirits.

Just then, my mother, Marsha Cooke, called to ask how the wedding preparations were going.

"Claudia, make sure you go over everything carefully. Don't let any mistakes turn us into a laughingstock in front of the Powell family. And if there's anything you need my help with, just let me know.

"Don't carry it all by yourself. Our family may have fallen on hard times, but that doesn't mean just anyone can walk all over us."

At her words, my mind flashed to the photo of Eric in a bespoke suit, grinning from ear to ear.

"Mom, I'm calling off the wedding," I announced flatly.

Mom assumed I was just throwing another tantrum with Eric and tried to reason with me.

"Claudia, Eric is a good man. What's the harm in giving in a little? The wedding is just around the corner—are you really planning to walk down the aisle with a scowl on your face?"

She wanted me to give in to him?

How many times over the years had I already given in? And yet, time and again, he'd handed my projects over to Eunice just to cheer her up. He'd even taken her on multiple vacations, just the two of them.

I used to think that if I just gave in a little more, things would gradually get better. But what came of it? He only pushed further, brazen enough to take Eunice for wedding photos.

This time, I truly didn't want to give in anymore.

Seeing that I wasn't responding, Mom offered a few perfunctory words of advice and then hung up.

Not long after, Oscar came upstairs to tell me that the custom wedding dress and suit had arrived, and that Eric had already headed over to the shop, so I should hurry over too.

I was a little surprised. I'd assumed Eric wouldn't be back until the actual wedding day. After all, his so-called business trips never lasted less than two weeks.

Could it be that he actually took this wedding seriously?

But if that were really the case, why had he been completely uninvolved, dumping the whole process on me?

I let out a self-deprecating laugh and dismissed the thought. Then, I made my way to the underground garage and drove over to the bridal shop.

The moment I arrived at the entrance, I could already hear Eunice and Eric arguing inside.

Eunice questioned Eric, "Why are you so set on marrying Claudia? You've been shackled by that engagement for years—are you really going to let it ruin your whole life?

"You're clearly in love with me. When you're with me, you come alive! I just can't stand to see you so unhappy. If you go through with marrying Claudia, I'll kill myself right here in front of you."

Eric froze for a moment, stunned.

Seeing him still hesitating, Eunice completely broke down. She grabbed a knife and slashed at her own wrist.

Eric went pale with shock. He snatched the knife away and quickly pressed a piece of clothing against her wrist.

Eunice shoved him away, shrieking hysterically, "Don't stop me! Just let me die! That way, I won't have to watch you suffer every single day!"

Terrified she might do something even more reckless, Eric frantically relented.

At this, Eunice immediately burst into tears of joy.

Eric wanted to take her to the hospital to get bandaged up, but Eunice refused.

Instead, she seized the moment to say, "I want you to announce it in front of everyone on your wedding day that I'm your real bride, and Claudia is nothing but some delusional psycho obsessed with you. Think of it as teaching her a lesson."

Eric saw more and more blood spilling from her wrist and quickly nodded yes.

Seeing this, I turned and left the bridal shop without a word. At the same time, I slipped the ring off my finger and casually tossed it into a trash bin on the curb.

Eric had given me the ring back when we first made things official.

As soon as I walked through the door, I heard the sound of recipe instructions playing from the kitchen.

The living room was a complete disaster, with ingredients strewn everywhere.

It was only upon seeing Eric in a flurry of panic in the kitchen that I found out he had spent the whole night poring over recipes, all so he could make a single bowl of soup for Eunice.