At the college reunion, Carter’s ex-girlfriend ruined my new dress. She panicked and apologized: “I’m so sorry, I’ll pay for it.” “My wife’s dress is a vintage runway piece from last year’s auction. It went for $150,000.” Carter smiled, his reply light and breezy. 1 Vanessa slumped to the floor, her face deathly pale. “Holy shit, a hundred and fifty grand for a dress. Carter is ruthless. Someone’s probably regretting her life choices right about now.” “Didn’t she marry some trust fund baby? She can’t scrap together the cash?” “More like a bust fund baby. Even if she sold herself on the street, she couldn’t come up with that kind of money.” The crowd laughed excessively. With a complex gaze, I looked at the ex who had abandoned Carter all those years ago. She happened to look up, our eyes meeting. Her eyes were a tangle of deep humiliation and bitter resentment. Just moments ago in the restroom, she had cornered me, her tone arrogant and certain. “Believe it or not, if I wanted to, I could snap my fingers and he’d come crawling back to me like a dog.” And now, just to get close to Carter, she had purposely spilled red wine all over me, creating this exact spectacle. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by her behavior. After all, Carter was now a tech billionaire, a Silicon Valley darling constantly gracing the covers of business magazines. If Vanessa hadn’t married someone else back then, she would be the one wearing the ring right now. I just felt a little bad for Carter because of what she had said. Carter took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders. He looked down at Vanessa from his commanding height. “If it’s too difficult, maybe you can ask your imprisoned ex-husband for help.” She clenched her fists, her lips trembling stubbornly. “I will pay you back.” Carter just chuckled. “If you can’t do it, you shouldn’t make promises so easily.” “Vanessa, you haven’t changed a bit.” Even though his tone was ice-cold, hearing it made my head spin slightly. I had been by Carter’s side since he built his company from the ground up. I had seen him at his absolute lowest, and I had seen him at the height of his success. But I had never seen him treat a woman with such malicious intent in front of a crowd. Feeding off his energy, the others laughed even louder. Only I noticed that while he seemed to be humiliating her, his eyes never left her. 2 In our five years together, Carter rarely brought up his past. Until a month ago, when we went back to his hometown to grab some old belongings and accidentally knocked over an old, battered wallet from his closet. Inside was a picture of a girl. She was smiling brightly. She was beautiful. Carter was usually incredibly composed, but at that moment, he zoned out for a long time. A trace of loneliness and gloom surfaced deep in his eyes. Fighting back the sourness in my chest, I asked as casually as I could, “Your ex?” “Yeah.” I watched him expressionlessly tear the photo to pieces and toss it into the trash can. But the chill and frustration in my heart only grew. I walked out right then. It was the first cold war we’d had in five years. That night, after I showered, Carter hugged me from behind and sighed softly. “During the hardest days of my startup, she took my company’s core technology, defected to my rival, and became their boss’s wife.” “On the day of her wedding, my mother went to find her, got into a terrible car crash on the way, and barely survived the ER. The very next day, Vanessa flew overseas with her husband.” “Chloe, back then, I truly hated her.” … I silently stared at his calm expression in the mirror. What Carter didn’t know was that I had gone back later that day. I had watched him fish Vanessa’s torn photo out of the garbage, his eyes completely red, as he carefully and meticulously glued it back together, piece by piece. 3 The reunion was nearing its end. Someone suddenly started jeering: “Hey, we’re all alumni here! When someone’s in trouble, we should help. Why don’t we start a GoFundMe for Vanessa right now!” The moment those words hung in the air, Vanessa’s face drained of color. She looked up at Carter, utterly helpless. And Carter gripped my hand, his hold tightening in a split second, feeling like he was going to crush my knuckles. “Carter…” It wasn’t until I managed a strained whisper that he snapped out of it and let go. I looked at the red marks on my hand, feeling as if I had been plunged into an ice bath. A deep chill racked my body. The instigator giggled, secretly glancing at Carter’s reaction. Seeing that Carter wasn’t objecting, the crowd quickly started shouting out bids. “Five bucks!” “Come on, this is the former sorority IT girl! The dream girl of half the guys here. Be generous, I’ll pitch in twenty!” … One after another, people yelled out numbers. The atmosphere reached a fever pitch. It was as if they were treating Vanessa like a cheap item on an auction block, or a fish on a chopping board waiting to be gutted. Vanessa’s face was ashen, her eyes red and swollen, but she remained completely silent. Carter watched her dead, hollow expression without saying a word. Finally, like they were wrapping up a comedy show, someone shoved the crumpled hundred dollars they had “raised” into Vanessa’s hands. She just stared blankly and muttered, “Thank you.” The crowd was in disbelief. “She actually took it?” “Hahaha. The goddess who used to be so proud is living like a beggar now.” Vanessa acted like she didn’t hear them. Clutching the crumpled bills with both hands, she walked up to Carter, lowering herself into the dust. “Here is a hundred dollars, Mr. Wright. Could you please give me a little more time for the rest?” This humble, submissive woman was entirely different from the bright, arrogant girl I had seen in the photograph. The crowd went silent for a moment, looking at each other. “…Did we go a little too far?” “She is still a girl, after all…” Carter didn’t speak. He just kept staring at her. My chest suddenly ached with a dull, suffocating pain. It was so easy to see through the coldness in his eyes to the turmoil underneath. He wanted Vanessa to fall into the mud. He wanted to trample her dignity under his feet. But now that it was actually happening, he felt sick seeing her stripped of her pride, accepting pity so readily. Was he uncomfortable, or was his heart breaking for her? 4 In that dazed moment, someone suddenly screamed in terror at us. “Watch out! The chandelier is falling!” I instinctively looked up and saw the massive crystal chandelier above us swaying violently. It was coming down. I reached out to pull him back, but I saw Carter lunge violently toward Vanessa, shielding her as they crashed to the floor. My head roared. Then, someone grabbed my wrist and yanked me hard. I stumbled backward, falling to the other side. A second later, the chandelier crashed down with a deafening boom. Glass and debris exploded everywhere. A sharp, dull pain radiated from my calf. A long piece of glass had sliced into my leg near the ankle, blood welling up immediately. But I felt numb to the pain. I just sat on the floor, staring blankly at the two people holding each other right in front of me. Whispers erupted all around. The moonlight from the window and the subtle, pitying gazes of the crowd fell on me like a cold winter frost. It wasn’t until the man who pulled me away asked out of concern, “Mrs. Wright, are you okay?” I saw Carter’s body go completely rigid. He shoved Vanessa away, rushed over, and gripped my ankle to inspect the wound. His deep voice was thick with heavy remorse and apology. “I’m so sorry, I had no idea you were right behind me.” Vanessa walked over too, her voice soft, carrying a strange underlying emotion. “Thank you for saving me just now.” Carter ignored her. He just looked right at me. “Chloe, I swear I didn’t know you were under it too.” I silently yanked my leg out of his grip. Carter looked at me for a second, then scooped me up into his arms and walked toward the exit. I struggled slightly, but he clamped his arm around my waist like a vice. His voice was frighteningly low. “Don’t move.” “Carter…” Vanessa chased after us. Carter’s face was ice. He spoke as if he couldn’t stand talking to her for another second. “Three months. One hundred and fifty thousand must be wired to my wife’s account.” But Vanessa suddenly smiled. She gave me a provocative look. “Thank you for the extension. I’ll definitely pay you back in time.” 5 The moment we got home, Carter half-forced me onto the sofa to apply the bandages. Then he shut the bedroom door, cupped my jaw, and kissed me. The frustration that had been building inside me all night erupted in that instant. I fought desperately to push him away. “Next Saturday’s wedding is off. Let’s break up.” Carter easily caught my hands with one of his. “Why?” My mind was flooded with what his classmates had whispered right after the accident: “Man, when an emergency hits, your first reaction is always the most honest. Carter saved Vanessa first. Doesn’t that say it all?” They were right. Coldness and harsh words were his revenge. Care and protection were his subconscious love. It felt like a thousand needles were piercing my heart, the dense, bitter pain spreading through my veins. I asked him, “You still love her, don’t you?” “The first person you saved was her. Because you care about her more than you care about me.” “I saw it. I saw you tape her photo back together with glue.” “If you never forgot her, why did you even get together with me?” “I didn’t.” He stared at me, his brows furrowed, but his tone was absolute. “She betrayed me back then, and my mom lost her mind indirectly because of her. Over the years, there hasn’t been a single second I didn’t hate her.” “When the accident happened, even if it wasn’t her next to me—if it was any other classmate—my instinct would be to save them.” “Hating her is one thing, but a life-or-death situation is another.” “But I really didn’t know you were behind me. If I had known, I would never have let you get hurt.” “I gave her three months because I saw people pulling out their phones to record.” “As for the photo, the doctor called me that day and said past memories might stimulate my mom’s brain. I wanted to use the photo to test it.” Carter held my hand. “Chloe, you understand me, right?” Seeing my silence, he sighed, almost helplessly, and slowly kissed me again. “Chloe, the one I love right now is you.” His tone was completely open, hiding nothing. “Don’t ever say angry things about breaking up again. It hurts me too.” Under the dim lighting, Carter wore a custom black dress shirt. A few buttons were undone, revealing a devastatingly attractive collarbone. His dark eyes were entirely clear as he gently rubbed my burning earlobe, asking in a low whisper, “Is this okay?” The AC was blasting, but I was sweating all over. The atmosphere was perfect. Bang! The bedroom door was suddenly shoved open. “Carter…” a startled gasp rang out, yanking me out of my messy thoughts. I looked over instinctively. Vanessa was standing in the doorway, her face pale, staring at us in shock. I shot up immediately, shamefully pulling the blanket up to cover myself. It was ridiculous. I was Carter’s fiancée, yet under Vanessa’s accusatory stare, I felt like the mistress caught in the act. 6 By the time we were all dressed and standing in the living room, Carter was glaring at Vanessa. “Why are you here?” Vanessa stared back at him, biting her lip, her eyes brimming with disbelief and grievance. “I walked into the wrong room, I’m sorry.” “Get out.” He issued the eviction order coldly. Mia, Carter’s younger sister, pulled Vanessa behind her, shielding her. “Carter, I brought Vanessa here. There are debt collectors harassing her at her apartment. I was worried about her safety, so I brought her here to stay for a while.” Carter’s face went frigid. “Mia, do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Mia’s eyes darted away defensively. “This is my home too. Don’t I even have the right to take in my own friend?” “Vanessa, don’t be afraid. Starting today, you live here. No one can kick you out.” “In my heart, you’re my only real sister-in-law.” Saying that, she shot me a challenging glare. I just found it laughable. The irritation was clawing at my throat. I ignored Mia and looked straight at Vanessa. “You’re afraid of debt collectors coming to your house, but did you forget you owe me a hundred and fifty grand too?” “Or are you here today to pay it back voluntarily?” I opened my phone’s payment QR code. “Fine, pay up right now.” “That’s enough!” Mia slapped my hand. My phone crashed to the floor. Mia turned to Carter, her expression complex. “Carter, I know you hate Vanessa, but everything happened for a reason.” Vanessa acted like she had just snapped out of a trance. She yanked Mia’s arm, her red eyes pleading. “Don’t say it.” No one spoke for a second. Until Carter suddenly asked, “What reason?” 7 But before Mia could say anything, Vanessa suddenly fainted. “Carter, Vanessa’s low blood sugar is acting up. Let her stay here just for tonight.” I couldn’t read Carter’s mind. He just frowned. He didn’t agree, but he didn’t refuse either. Finally, I let out a self-deprecating laugh, turned around, and walked away. Half an hour later, Carter returned to our bedroom. He grabbed my hand as I was packing my suitcase. “What are you doing?” “Since there’s a new lady of the house, I’m clearing out.” I cut him off, “But you wavered just now, didn’t you?” “If she really had a tragic secret back then, can you guarantee you won’t be swayed?” Carter was adamant. “Even if she had her reasons, the fact remains she abandoned me for someone else, and my mom ended up like this because of her.” “The damage is done. She lost the right to ask for my forgiveness a long time ago.” “Vanessa woke up just now. I told her she has to be gone first thing tomorrow morning. Mia too.” “This is our home. If Mia won’t accept you as her sister-in-law, she can pack up and roll out with Vanessa.” “I’m sorry, honey.” Carter knelt down, his cool fingertips gently wiping away my tears. “Making you sad, making you feel insecure… that’s my fault.” … In the middle of the night, thunder jolted me awake. I rolled over groggily and found the space beside me empty. Carter was gone. I practically tore the house apart but couldn’t find him anywhere. I called him multiple times; he didn’t pick up. The rain was pouring down harder. I sat on the couch like an idiot, staring blankly. Suddenly, I realized there was one place I hadn’t checked. I ran to the guest room where Vanessa was sleeping. Faint, muffled groans of a woman were coming from inside. My brain exploded. Trembling, I pushed the handle, but it was locked from the outside. “My brother and Vanessa are in there.” “I spiked their drinks and locked the door.” Mia strolled over in her slippers. “They’ve missed out on too many years. For my brother’s happiness, I’m fixing this mistake.” My blood boiled instantly. “Mia, if anything actually happens in there, I am calling the cops.” I found the spare key. Click. The moment the door opened, my heart was in my throat.
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