Chloe pinched the tiny scrap of black lace between her fingers, her expression filled with pure skepticism. "Are you serious? Is this even wearable?"

Wouldn't just pinning him down be faster and more efficient? she thought.

Bella rolled her eyes at Chloe's lack of romantic vision. "What do you know? Men love this 'peek-a-boo' style. It's called keeping the spark alive in a marriage."

Nora, another bridesmaid, added with a gentle smile, "Just trust us on this one, Chloe. You won't regret it."

"Really?" Chloe looked at the flimsy fabric again. A vivid, heated image flashed through her mind, and a soft blush crept up her neck, staining her porcelain cheeks. Tonight, she would finally be Liam Martin's wife.

Suddenly, a wave of commotion erupted from downstairs.

"I'll go check it out," Bella said, heading toward the balcony.

She returned moments later, her face drained of color and heavy with grim news. "Chloe... Liam is leaving."

In an instant, the blood vanished from Chloe's face. Even her expertly applied wedding makeup couldn't hide her deathly pallor. The nightmare... it's coming true?

"The wedding is off."

Those four words, dropped like a bomb by Liam, shattered the peace of the Bishop estate. It hit the guests with such force that it took several long seconds for anyone to process the reality.

The groom was jilting her! He was running away!

As the realization set in, Charles Bishop sprinted out the front door with desperate speed. He threw himself in front of the lead wedding car-a custom open-top supercar-forcing it to a halt. "Liam! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Because the car was open, every detail of Liam's icy demeanor was visible. He looked at Charles with a gaze of pure, sharp steel. "The wedding is canceled. Every promise I made is null and void."

"What are you saying?" Charles's face turned white as a sheet.

Liam's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile. "You should have expected this result the moment you decided to kidnap Sara Jay, shouldn't you?"

A flash of panic flickered in Charles's eyes. His greatest fear had come to pass.

Three months ago, a cornered Marcus Martin-driven to desperation by Liam-had brought Sara Jay to Charles, begging for help to flee the city. That was the first time Charles had even known Sara existed.

To be honest, Sara wasn't a breathtaking beauty; she couldn't even begin to compare to Chloe's radiant looks. However, she possessed an aura that made men instinctively want to protect her. She was fragile, pure, and looked like a broken doll.

Fearing that Sara's reappearance would ruin Chloe's relationship with Liam, Charles had hidden Sara away and immediately began pressuring the two to get married. He had planned to confess everything after the ceremony, but Sara had vanished last night. He had spent the morning praying the wedding would go smoothly without any "surprises."

He had failed.

"Liam, listen to me. I can explain everything," Charles pleaded, his voice cracking. "Today is the biggest day of Chloe's life. Don't do something impulsive that will break her heart."

"I said the wedding is over." Liam showed no mercy. He glared at Charles, his rage boiling over. "Move."

For three months! Charles had kept Sara prisoner for three months while Liam lived in a lie, believing she was dead. He had nearly walked into a marriage based on a deception. Did the Bishops really think I was that big of a fool?

Thinking of the scars on Sara's body, Liam's hatred for Charles burned white-hot. If his men hadn't found her last night, she would have been brutalized by thugs. How could he ever forgive this?

"Liam, be reasonable!" Charles shouted, half-angry and half-terrified. "All our friends and family are here. Chloe is waiting for you inside. Do you really want to make her the laughingstock of the whole city?"

"You brought this on yourselves," Liam retorted. "Let me make this clear, Charles. As of today, I have absolutely no connection to the Bishop family."

As of today, I have absolutely no connection to the Bishop family.

Chloe had just run out of the house when those words hit her. She froze in her tracks, staring at the man in the car. Liam saw her, too. They were only a few yards apart. He could see that her face had turned almost transparently pale.

She had always been a head-turner, but in her full bridal glory, she was breathtaking. The pure white gown accentuated her elegance and high-society grace. For a split second, she stunned him all over again.

Liam realized then that if Chloe had never met him, she would have been the most beautiful, happy bride in the world. But now, those bright, sparkling eyes were turning dim because of him. For a fleeting moment, he felt a pang of guilt. He was truly ruining her.

But compared to what Sara had suffered, Chloe was lucky.

Liam pulled his gaze away and looked back at Charles with cold indifference. He reversed the car a few yards, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "I'm saying it one last time. Move."

Charles thought of Chloe's happy face only moments ago, then looked at the heartless man before him. His heart bled for his daughter. He knew better than anyone how much Chloe loved Liam.

He stood his ground, shouting back, "Liam, if you're so determined to leave, you'll have to drive over my dead body!"

Liam's face darkened. He locked eyes with Charles for a tense, silent beat-then suddenly slammed on the gas, roaring the car straight toward him.

"NO!"

A scream ripped from Chloe's throat. Just as everyone expected Charles to be sent flying, the car swerved at the last millisecond, brushing past him with a screech of tires.

Charles stumbled, then immediately began chasing the car as it sped away. "Come back! You coward, get back here!"

Chloe wanted to scream for her father to stop. If Liam was cruel enough to leave her at the altar, his heart was already gone. What was the point of dragging back a man who didn't want to stay?

But Chloe couldn't make a sound. She could only watch as they moved further and further away.

At the nearby intersection, the wedding car took a sharp turn. A sedan speeding from the other direction had no time to brake. Charles, caught in the middle of the road while chasing Liam, was directly in its path.

CRASH.

"DAD! NO!"

"NO! CHARLES!"

"Mrs. Bishop! Mrs. Bishop, oh my god... she's bleeding! Someone call an ambulance! Hurry!"

Do you know what color the sky is? To Chloe at that moment, it was a suffocating, ashy gray.

Outside the Operating Room.

Chloe sat on a plastic chair, still wearing her million-dollar designer wedding dress. She was trembling, sitting as still as a lifeless mannequin. The dress, once pure and white, was now stained with dark, wet patches of blood. Against the crimson stains, her skin looked as white as paper.

The blood on the lace and her pale skin looked like blooming, aggressive roses, making her beauty seem fragile yet haunting.

Just moments ago, her father had been rushed into emergency surgery. Her mother, in the shock of the accident, had gone into premature labor and was in another room undergoing an emergency C-section.

The Bishop relatives who had followed them to the hospital were fuming with indignation. But looking at Chloe, sitting there devoid of any life, no one had the heart to speak. Liam Martin... what a curse he turned out to be.

Chloe stared blankly at her blood-stained hands. Her mind was a broken record, playing the crash over and over. Liam had seen it. He had paused for a second after the impact.

But then, he had driven away.

He saw the accident, and he chose to leave them there in the dirt.

Why? What happened? This was supposed to be our happiest day.

They had been so happy. They never fought. Why did everything flip in a single morning?

Chloe thought back to the nightmare. Is it because of Sara Jay? Is she back? What were my father and Liam hiding from me?

Hours passed. Mrs. Bishop suffered a major hemorrhage, but luckily, both mother and the new baby girl survived. Charles also made it through surgery, but due to severe head trauma, he had fallen into a deep coma. The doctors said his recovery depended on when-or if-he woke up.

Once things stabilized, Chloe calmly saw the relatives out and gave the household staff clear instructions. On the surface, she was eerily composed and efficient.

A maid brought her clean clothes to change into. When Chloe finally held the tiny, new life-her baby sister-her vision finally blurred with tears.

After a long time, she put the baby down. Her voice was hoarse. "Nanny, I'm going out for a while. Take care of them."

Her mother, drifting in and out of sleep, suddenly gripped the bedsheet. "After everything... are you still going to look for him?" she whispered with a mix of weakness and resentment.

Chloe forced a tiny, grim smile. "Don't worry, Mom. I just want an answer. I'll be back soon."

As she stepped out of the hospital, a tall, lean man approached her, his face etched with worry. "Chloe."

It was Justin, Liam's best friend.

Chloe looked at him with dull eyes. "Why haven't you gone home?"

"I was worried about you," Justin said softly. "Are you going to the Martin estate?"

Chloe nodded.

"I'll drive you." Chloe didn't refuse.

Inside the car, she pulled out her phone. Since the "incident," Liam hadn't called or texted once. She stared at the screen for a long time before finally dialing his number.

It rang several times. Then, he hung up.

He wouldn't even take her call. Why?

"Justin... do you know why he left today?" Chloe looked at him.

Justin knew exactly who she was talking about, but her eerie calmness made him uneasy. "I'm not sure, Chloe. That's something you need to ask him yourself."

Chloe saw her reflection in the window. She looked like a ghost-bloodless and hollow. She turned away and didn't say another word.

One hour later, at the Martin Estate.

Liam was having dinner with Brandon and Sara Jay. Sara had woken up at noon; she looked frail, her skin unnaturally pale from years of being kept away from the sun.

"Sir, Miss Bishop is here," a maid announced, stepping into the dining room.

Liam acted as if he hadn't heard a thing. He continued placing food onto Sara's plate-dishes she had loved when they were children.

Sara beamed at him like an innocent child, yet her smile carried a delicate, feminine charm that was deeply moving. Liam's eyes were full of doting affection. "Eat more if you like it."

After a moment, the maid spoke again. "Sir, Miss Bishop is still at the door."

Thinking of what Charles had done, Liam's voice turned like ice. "I'm not seeing her."

Before the words could even land, Chloe walked into the room with long, purposeful strides. Behind her, Justin followed, dragging two injured security guards.

At the sight of the strangers, Sara jumped up, her pretty face turning ghostly white like a startled deer.

Chloe froze. Sara Jay. It really is her.

Liam glanced at Chloe, then stood up and pulled the trembling Sara into his arms, whispering comfortingly, "Don't be scared. It's okay. They're just... friends of mine."

"Oh... friends of yours?" Sara looked at Chloe and gave her a friendly, innocent smile. Her eyes were clear and pure.

To Chloe, that smile was like a physical blow to the chest. After six years with Liam, this was the first time she felt a visceral, overwhelming threat from another woman. Sara's beauty was untouched by the world-she was the "white rose" that lived in every man's heart.

The irony was bitter. Chloe, the fiancée, had no idea when she had even returned. Had she been that blind?

"Sorry, Mr. Martin, we couldn't stop them," the two guards muttered, heads bowed in shame.

Liam looked at Justin, then shifted his gaze back to Chloe. After a few seconds of heavy silence, he spoke. "Come with me."

His voice was as calm and smooth as ever, as if the blood on her hands and the chaos at the wedding had never happened.

Chloe didn't move an inch. She pointed a finger at Sara. "You ditched our wedding because of her?"

Perhaps thinking Chloe's gesture was too aggressive toward Sara, Liam's tone grew colder. "We're going upstairs to talk."

"We're talking right here," Chloe insisted.

Liam stared at her for a long time without answering.

"Sara, let's go outside for a bit," Brandon said, leading his sister away. The staff and guards followed suit, leaving the room empty except for Chloe and Liam.

"Did you leave me at the altar for her?" Chloe repeated.

"You really don't know?" Liam's eyes were filled with mockery. "Your father kept her prisoner in the old Bishop house for three months. Those scars on her body? They're thanks to your family. And you're going to tell me you had no idea who she was?"

Dad kidnapped Sara? It was exactly like the nightmare, minus the part where Liam sent men to hurt her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never seen her before." Chloe met his gaze squarely. Even if her father had done something, she was truly in the dark. "But tell me... why would my father kidnap her in the first place?"

She wasn't stupid. If Liam and Sara didn't have a "history," why would her father go to such lengths?

Back then, Liam had told her he only saw Sara as a younger sister. Today, he had traded six years of their life together for that "sister."

Liam studied her face suspiciously. "You really didn't know?"

Chloe let out a dry, raspy laugh. "Liam... it seems that after all these years, we never actually knew each other at all."

Looking into Chloe's bloodshot eyes, Liam withdrew his probing gaze. He lowered his eyelids, remaining silent and detached, his long lashes veiling whatever emotions stirred beneath.

Chloe had always adored Liam's physical perfection. Even now, standing there in the dim light, he looked like a flawless masterpiece-composed, balanced, and untouchable.

But in this moment, she loathed every inch of him. She hated his eyes, his brow, and his pristine, wrinkle-free white shirt. Most of all, she hated that eternal, "gentlemanly" warmth that felt as thin and cold as a sheet of ice.

It took a long time for her to find her voice. "I came for one thing. Tell me why. Why did you leave me at the altar?"

Why did you do this to me?

"I'm sorry."

Liam was silent for a beat before uttering those three words.

Those three simple words felt like a handful of salt rubbed into Chloe's bleeding heart. The pain was so sharp it felt like her lungs had collapsed.

Fifteen minutes later, Chloe walked out of the Martin estate, looking like a hollow shell of herself. Liam watched her lonely, retreating figure. Despite the ice in his veins, he couldn't be entirely ruthless. He pulled out his phone and called Justin.

"Take care of her," Liam commanded.

Justin's response was biting and cold. "Remember today, Liam. Since you chose to throw her away, her life is no longer any of your business."

On the drive back, Chloe broke. she sobbed until her chest felt like it was tearing apart, a raw, gut-wrenching sound that filled the car. Justin said nothing and asked nothing; he simply stayed by her side, a silent witness to her devastation.

The Waterfront

Justin rolled down the windows. The salt-heavy sea breeze rushed in, mixing with the rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the jagged rocks. The night felt impossibly lonely.

Chloe didn't know how long she had been crying. Only when her tears finally ran dry did she hear Justin's voice break the silence.

"That girl... her name is Sara Jay," Justin began slowly. "She's Brandon Jay's younger sister. She and Liam grew up together. Seven years ago, during that car accident, Sara was the one who saved Liam's life."

Chloe knew that part.

"Later, Sara was kidnapped and held abroad by Marcus Martin," Justin continued. "She was the leverage used to keep Brandon and Liam in line. Liam spent years searching for her. He truly believed she was dead... he had no idea she was still alive until now."

Chloe hadn't known any of that.

Childhood sweethearts.

Sara... Sara Jay. Brandon's sister...

It hit her then. For all these years, Liam had lived a lie, and she had been his primary audience.

"He thought she was dead, so he settled for me. That's why he agreed to the wedding," Chloe said, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. Her tears fell like rain on white petals-a sight that would break anyone's heart. "I was the only one kept in the dark. I spent six years being played for a fool, thinking I was the happiest woman in the world."

When Liam apologized just now, she saw guilt in his eyes. She saw debt. She even saw pity. But she saw absolutely no love.

At that moment, the harsh truth finally settled in: For six years, she was the only one playing for keeps. He had been sober and detached the entire time.

Only this morning, she had stood before her parents, swearing her life on Liam's loyalty. She had told them he would make her happy forever. Liam's "slap" to her face today was deafening.

Chloe remembered his words from earlier: "Chloe, I'm sorry. I've failed you. But the truth is... the only person I've ever loved is Sara."

She had given him six years of her life. She had stayed by his side through the madness, the darkness, and the climb to the top. In the end, all it was worth was a meaningless "I'm sorry."

The moments she had cherished as her happiest memories were now revealed to be nothing more than scenes from a cold, calculated play.

"Justin, he said he always loved Sara. He said love is about who gets there first." Chloe's voice was a ghost of itself. "With one sentence, he turned me into the most pathetic woman in this city."

"All these years, he was just acting. He used the Bishop family to climb. I fell for his 'devotion' hook, line, and sinker. I loved him with everything I had. I even... I even tried so hard to get into his bed like a fool."

When she was eighteen, Chloe had been ready to give herself to Liam. She had even tried to seduce him, but Liam had played the part of the perfect, honorable gentleman. He insisted on waiting until their wedding night, claiming she was too precious to rush. Even when he was clearly tempted, he never crossed the line.

"I finally get it today," she whispered, her lips pale and trembling. "He didn't refuse to touch me because I was 'precious.' He didn't touch me because he didn't want me."

The pain reached a limit where tears were no longer enough. Chloe let out a hollow, tragic laugh.

"Chloe." Justin reached out, his eyes brimming with a suppressed emotion that was beginning to leak through. "You lost him, but you still have us. You have your friends. If you need it... my shoulder is always here for you to lean on."

Chloe leaned her head against Justin's shoulder and closed her eyes, exhausted to her very soul. "Thank you, Justin."

She was so tired. Truly, deeply tired.

Justin looked down at her. Only when her breathing turned slow and steady did he dare to lift a finger, gently tracing the lines of her face with a look of deep, aching longing.

A Memory of Sixteen

Chloe fell into a deep, heavy sleep. In her dreams, her past with Liam played back like a movie.

It started when she was sixteen. Her parents had thrown her a massive, glittering birthday gala. Half the eligible young men in the city were there.

Chloe was a master of the arts-piano, chess, calligraphy-but she had no head for business. Since the Bishops were a one-child family, her father, Charles, was worried she wouldn't be able to carry the weight of their empire alone. He wanted to find a partner for her early-someone he could groom to take over.

Charles and his wife stood on the second-floor balcony that night, scanning the crowd of boys aged sixteen to twenty, looking for the perfect "seed."

Mrs. Bishop pointed toward a particularly striking teenager. "What about him? Out of all these kids, he seems the most impressive."

Charles looked where she pointed and hummed thoughtfully. "That's a boy from the Grayson family. But the Graysons are... complicated. That family is too messy for Chloe."

The boy's name was Xavier Grayson. He stood coolly behind his aunt, watching the crowd with an expressionless face. Even at nineteen, he possessed a maturity far beyond his years. He was tall, handsome, and carried an innate nobility that made him stand out like a hawk among crows.

But the Grayson family politics were a nightmare. Xavier had grown up under cold glares and hushed whispers. He was too dark, too quiet. He wasn't the right choice.

Mrs. Bishop sighed and moved her gaze, soon finding another candidate. "What about him? They say he's a Martin. Brilliant student, looks very clean and gentle."

Charles frowned. "A Martin? Which one?"

"The one standing under the magnolia tree."

Charles finally spotted the boy.

He was eighteen, dressed in a crisp white shirt, looking as refined as a piece of jade. With the white magnolia blossoms above him, he looked like a painting brought to life-eyes like stars, skin like porcelain, radiating a calm, gentle energy.

"Him?" Charles's frown deepened.

"What's wrong?" Mrs. Bishop asked hopefully. "I heard he's top of his class. His character is supposedly flawless."

Charles shook his head. "No. The Martin family situation is even worse than the Graysons. Besides... he lost a leg in a car accident last year."