Chapter 2

John’s hand was suspended in the air. He gulped and stared at me. “I owe you, Willow. As long as you listen to me, we can still have our wedding tomorrow. As for the silver crown, I’ll get as many as you want made after our wedding.”

Suddenly, I felt exhausted.

The last bit of hope I had for him was completely extinguished.

The most important part of the engagement ceremony was not the silver crown, but being chosen.

I did not want to wait anymore.

Luke teared up from rage. “John, how could you—”

I grabbed his arm and shook my head.

The chat went wild.

[The engagement ceremony in the village is so grand! I really want to see Miss Blaire go through with the entire engagement…]

Katherine stood on stage with teary eyes, and as if she had summoned her courage, she said, “Willow, since you don’t mind, will you let me go through with the rest of the engagement ceremony?

“This can also be used to promote the village and let the others learn more about the culture here.”

The moment she finished speaking, John laughed. “Sure.”

He did not even hesitate, nor did he look at me. It was as if this engagement ceremony was always for them.

Katherine ducked her head and chuckled, even though I could see the blatant smugness in her eyes when she looked at me earlier.

When the other villagers turned to me, I saw pity, compassion, and glee at my misfortune.

Suddenly, I found the entire thing meaningless.

I wanted to leave, but John suddenly called out to me.

“Willow,” he said.

I stopped.

He frowned and said, “Don’t read too much into this. This is for the village’s sake. Katherine has plenty of fans and tons of influence. If the promotion goes well, it’ll be helpful to the village’s development.”

Then, he softened his tone. “Head back first. I’ll bring your wedding dress over later. We’ll still have our wedding tomorrow.”

I stared at him. Suddenly, I wanted to laugh.

Eight years ago, he said that he would protect me forever. Eight years later, he asked me to go back and wait while he hosted my engagement ceremony with another woman.

When I returned to the house I was supposed to share with John in the future, the sun was starting to set.

The wedding decorations inside looked like they were mocking me.

My phone vibrated.

Katherine had sent a broadcast link to me. [Willow, thanks for fulfilling my wish. The promotion went well this time.]

I clicked on the link and saw John smoothing out the crown for Katherine.

The chat was full of comments like how they were a match made in heaven and how they should just get married.

John took a look at the chat and did not retort.

At that moment, I recalled the eight years we had spent together.

During every anniversary, he would hold my hand and say, “Once the silver crown is ready, I’ll make you the most radiant bride in the village.”

Hence, over the past eight years, he learned blacksmithing, carving, and polishing gemstones.

Bit by bit, he crafted the silver crown.

At last, it was ready, but it was on somebody else’s head.

I found it quite regrettable.

John finally came back when it was midnight.

He was wearing the wedding suit of the village.

I had begged him plenty of times before to try it on, but he would always frown and say, “It’s too flashy. It doesn’t suit me.”

Today, I learned that he determined whether it suited him based on who he was wearing it for.

Then, Katherine stepped out from behind him.

An awkward look appeared on John’s face. “Katherine will be staying here tonight.”

I could not even be bothered to look at her. I just stared at John’s empty hands. “Where’s the wedding dress?”

Silence descended in the house.

Gently, Katherine unzipped her jacket.

She was wearing the wedding dress my mother had sewn for me.

John’s expression changed, and he wanted to hug me. “Calm down. I can explain—”

I took a step back and avoided his arms.

He stiffened up, as if he was not expecting me to avoid him.

Even so, he continued explaining with a gentle voice, “The effects of the broadcast were really good today, and more than one million people watched it. Many of the people in the chat wanted to see tomorrow’s wedding as well.

“So, I spoke with Katherine, and she’ll also be experiencing the wedding tomorrow. The promotion results will be even better, and it’ll be good for the village’s development.”

That again.

For the village and for the sake of development.

Over the past three years, whenever he sided with Katherine, he would say that.

I stared at the man I had loved for eight years and suddenly found that when I had stopped loving a person, even the pain in my heart dulled.

I exhaled and suppressed the last bit of hurt in my heart. Then, I said calmly, “John, let’s break up.”