My fiancé, Kolton Mendez, amidst the chaos of a car accident and subsequent fire, risked his life to save his beloved Zendaya Perry first. Due to this, he now carries scars, his once handsome face disfigured, but he still manages to find comforting words for Zendaya, reassuring her that he has me to rely on. My stomach churned, and I let out a quiet, sardonic laugh.

For the sake of the promise Kolton made all those years ago, kneeling with genuine sincerity, vowing never to betray me, I've decided to set him free. I want to honor true love — may they stay in love even when they have nothing left.

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While I was caring for my mother, who had just undergone surgery, I accidentally clicked on a trending topic. That’s when I discovered why Kolton's phone was unreachable: he had been at the scene of a car accident and fire, risking his life to save Zendaya first. Trapped in a car that could explode at any moment, he shielded her from the flames with his own body. Normally proud and reserved, there he was, eyes red, begging the firefighters to save his lover first. Videos from the scene were circulating, and the comments below praised this "pure love" with admiration.

I silently clenched my phone tighter.

Kolton and Zendaya are lovers? Then what am I, his girlfriend of six years, his official fiancée? I pushed down the chaotic thoughts swirling in my mind and hurried to Kolton’s hospital room. As soon as I entered, I saw Zendaya still holding his hand, on the verge of tears.

"It's all my fault, Kol. You're about to get engaged, and yet your face… I'm the one who dragged you into this."

Kolton's face was covered with jagged scars, the grotesque wounds having ravaged his previously refined appearance. He gently pulled Zendaya into an embrace.

"Don’t worry. I did this willingly. You don’t have to worry about Angie; she's always been understanding."

"If she can't accept my face, then she doesn’t deserve to stay by my side."

Once again — the tenderness in the eyes of someone usually so distant wasn't directed at me. Hearing those words, “doesn’t deserve,” pierced my heart sharply, and I forced a bitter smile — he must have thought he had me wrapped around his finger. Indeed, for years, I had been trailing behind him, trying to catch up.

"Angie!"

I snapped back to reality. Zendaya was now clinging to my arm.

"Angie, I'm so sorry. It’s my fault that Kol got hurt."

"You love Kol so much, surely you wouldn’t mind that he got hurt because of me, right…"

Facing away from Kolton, Zendaya gave me a challenging smirk.

Anger surged through me, and I shoved her away.

"If you know you're a troublemaker, why do you keep showing up? That's quite something."

Kolton immediately frowned, cutting me off with a cold voice:

"Enough!"

"Angie, Zendaya already feels really guilty. There's no need to say more."

I slowly clenched my fists, nails digging into the flesh of my palm.

Zendaya turned back to Kolton, tears streaming down her face before she even spoke.

"Kol, don’t blame Angie. She's just worried about you… Besides, it’s my fault to begin with."

"If your facial injuries cause any issues between you and Angie, I'll live with that guilt forever."

Kolton gently stroked her head.

"Silly, a few scars on a man are nothing. Don’t overthink it."

He then turned to me, his gaze deep, his voice taking on that all-too-familiar lecturing tone.

"Angie, do you even realize what you’re saying?"

"Impulsive, disrespectful… Apologize to Zendaya now!"

My heart ached, a sour feeling spreading like an overflowing pond, bit by bit.

Apologize? Why on earth should I apologize?

Since childhood, I've watched Kolton rush to Zendaya time and time again. Now, he's risking everything to protect her, even at the cost of his own well-being.

Even though Zendaya is about to marry someone else.

Even though I am his rightful fiancée.

I took a deep breath, forcing back the tears that threatened to escape, stubbornly locking eyes with Kolton.

"Kolton, don't forget that I'm your fiancée!"

I turned my head, casting a icy smile at Zendaya—

"For years, you've been causing trouble repeatedly; we don’t even need to talk about that."

"You're about to get married, yet you’re still involved with someone else's fiancé. What do you call that?"

"Playing the part of the other woman, shameless!"

Zendaya's eyes welled up, a mist of hurt in her gaze.

"Sister Angela, how could you think of me like that? I've always seen Kolton as a brother."

Although her words were directed at me, her eyes were fixed on Kolton.

Tears trailed down her face as she tried to hold back her sobs, saying:

"I understand now, I'm sorry for disrupting you both, I'll leave right away..."

With her hand covering her mouth to wipe away the tears, Zendaya darted out of the hospital room.

Noticing Kolton starting to follow her, I instinctively grabbed his arm.

The next second, a slap landed hard on my face.

Caught off guard, I was knocked to the ground, a ringing in my head as I looked up—only to meet Kolton's cold and frosty stare.

"Angela Martinez, who do you think you are to belittle Zendaya like this!"

Kolton, usually so composed, rarely got angry. Yet now, because of Zendaya's tears, he lashed out at me.

In an instant, my heart felt as if it had been torn open, the cold air rushing in.

Kolton spat out, "Do what you want," then hurriedly left the room.

I crumpled onto the floor.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed with a message—"So pathetic."

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Such an obvious charade, yet Kolton always played blind to it.

How ludicrous.

I braced against the wall, struggling to stand.

Just as I got halfway up, a sharp pain shot through my lower back, sending me crashing back down.

I had just remembered, during that slap, I had hit the corner of the nightstand.

... It really hurts.

I bit down hard on my lip.

As I steadied my emotions, a nurse informed me that my mother had woken up. By the time I entered her hospital room, I was composed.

"You're a wonderful daughter," my mother said, her face tired but attempting a smile as she saw me. I leaned in to adjust her blanket, keeping my demeanor light.

"Really, it's nothing. The most important thing is your health and safety."

A faint worry appeared in her eyes. "Where's that Kolton boy?"

My hand hesitated, but I quickly continued with a casual smile. "Oh, he was here earlier. He got called away for an urgent work project. He said he'll be back later to see you."

She studied me closely. "Be honest, how are things between you two…"

I cut in with a smile, "That's the truth, Mom. Kolton's tied up with work, but he feels guilty about not being here."

Feigning busyness, I tidied the room, turning so she wouldn't notice the sadness in my eyes. In reality, Kolton hadn't visited my mother, and certainly not me.

After my mother dozed off, I went back to my office. As CEO, there were always pressing issues needing my attention. While reviewing the financial reports, I discovered Kolton had unilaterally terminated a major project contract.

"Why wasn't I informed about something this significant?"

"Well, isn't your engagement to Mr. Mendez coming up? And didn't you authorize him to make decisions directly?"

My anger momentarily froze. It was true, I had passively allowed him that power. After my father unexpectedly passed, I hadn't yet completed my studies. Kolton had offered to help, citing my inexperience as a reason to get involved in company matters. I thought, since our families were to unite, it would be fine. But I hadn't realized his overreach.

I called him immediately. "What happened with that contract? We've been working on it for ages, nearly finished, and you just decide to call it off?"

Kolton's voice was dismissive on the other end. "Zendaya's getting married soon. We're friends, so consider it a wedding gift."

Barely containing my anger, I replied, "That project is enormous. We’ve invested so much and are nearly finished. You can’t just dismiss the losses with a simple explanation."

"What kind of gift is so special, Kolton, that you—"

"Enough!" Kolton cut me off impatiently. "Angela, when did you become so petty? You even made Zendaya cry today—shouldn’t you apologize and make things right? This conversation is over."

Before I could respond, he hung up.

Silently, I clenched my phone, recalling the text message. Fueled with anger, I drove straight to Kolton's company.