One month before the wedding, Silas Crowe's so-called niece, Grace Dorne, accused me of abusing dogs and slandered me online, pushing me to the top of the trending list.

Silas locked me in the house and taught me to ignore and not engage with it.

He promised me the wedding would go ahead as planned.

But then, he turned around and apologized to the public on my behalf, effectively taking the blame for me.

I was crushed, but he grew impatient.

"I know Grace was wrong, but if you clarify things, won’t you ruin her future?"

"You're about to be her aunt, can’t you just let it go?"

"If you keep causing trouble, forget about the wedding!"

I forced a bitter smile.

Fine. Then we won’t get married.

I pretended to compromise and booked a flight back to Jendris City for the wedding day.

But when he faced the empty wedding venue, he completely broke down.

He desperately called me over and over, but I simply replied,

"As you wished, I’ve let Grace have the wedding."

...

"Bella Barrow is nothing but a sadistic freak using her position as a pet doctor to abuse dogs. How dare she marry into the Crowe family? She should just die!"

"As long as Bella is alive, we will never let this wedding happen!"

"Dog-abusing vet, get out of Larnath City!"

I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the group of angry netizens outside the villa, unable to be stopped by the dozen or so security guards. I smiled, the bitterness in my expression a thin veil over the verge of breaking.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I couldn't help but ask Silas,

"Is this what you wanted to see?"

"Grace's future can’t have a single blemish, but my entire life can be ruined by you?"

Grace, seemingly frightened by me, clung to Silas, crying in a way that made my heart ache.

"But Bob died because of you," she sobbed.

"If you hate me, I can move out, but why did you hurt Bob? That dog was raised by Silas and me since we were kids!"

Bob was old, and after Grace fed him all sorts of unhealthy food, he had grown alarmingly fat, making him already frail.

The medication I prescribed was for treatment and recovery, in small doses, it could never have killed him.

Besides, after Bob passed, there were marks on his body showing signs of abuse.

I had explained this to them countless times, urging them to look into the people who had been close to Bob recently.

But Grace wouldn't listen, insisting with all her might that it was my fault.

Grace hadn’t even graduated from college yet, but she had gained a small online following with her flaunting of wealth.

Eventually, she pivoted to being a pet influencer, posting daily content of her playing with Bob.

After Bob’s death, she didn’t care about the facts and immediately exposed me online.

Grace’s fans gathered outside the pet clinic, shouting at me.

But no matter how many times I explained, no one would listen.

I took a deep breath and, word by word, repeated everything I knew to the two of them.

But Silas didn’t seem to hear me. He softly comforted Grace.

When he finally turned to me, the frustration on his face was evident.

"Why are you making noise? What have I ruined for you?"

"You’re about to be Mrs. Crowe—what could possibly be the impact on your career?"

"I know Bob's death isn’t entirely your fault, but if Grace takes back what she said now, she’ll be the one getting attacked online!"

"I can take care of you for the rest of your life, but Grace is my most important family, and I won’t allow anyone to hurt her! Do you understand?"

I scoffed.

Just family?

If she’s just family, would she really leave me, her real girlfriend, on Valentine’s Day under the guise of 'working late,' to go give Grace flowers and share a candlelit dinner?

Would she kiss me so recklessly in the corner of the garden on a drunken night?

All the pent-up grievances in my heart exploded in that moment.

Looking down, a few tears fell from my eyes.

Seeing me like this, Silas’s expression softened. He gently pushed Grace away.

He reached up to wipe away my tears, his voice softening.

"Bella, don’t listen to what they’re saying outside."

"Don’t worry, no matter what happens, our wedding will go ahead as planned."

"Just bear with it for my sake. It will all blow over soon."

Suddenly, the sky was split by a flash of lightning, followed by a deafening thunderclap.

Outside the window, the wind howled and the rain came pouring down.

Before I could say anything, the sound of thunder startled me, and I instinctively ducked into Silas's arms.

But then, Grace let out a piercing, blood-curdling scream.

Silas seemed to snap out of a trance, pushing me away without hesitation as he rushed over to pick her up.

He didn’t even look back, his voice desperate:

"Sorry, Bella. The night Grace’s parents had their accident—it was the same kind of stormy night. I have to stay with her tonight!"

"Otherwise, she’ll be scared."

The last words were careful, as though he was holding something fragile in his hands. I had never seen such tenderness before—gentle like holding a delicate pearl.

Boom!

Another deafening thunderclap echoed through the night, sending a jolt of fear through my chest.

Tears finally began to fall in a steady stream, uncontrollable now.

I stared at Silas's retreating figure, murmuring softly to myself:

"But I’m scared of the thunder too. Don’t you remember?"

…

My mother passed away from illness when I was a child.

The night she died, it was another stormy night like this one.

That's why I’ve always been terrified of thunder.

Silas and I grew up together as childhood sweethearts; he knew how scared I was.

Countless times, I was woken from my sleep by the thunder, and Silas would show up beside me, braving the pouring rain.

He’d cover my ears tightly, mouthing the words to me:

"Don’t be afraid. I’m always here."

We’d known each other for ten years and had been in love for six.

I thought he would always treat me this way.

Until Grace showed up.

Grace was the daughter of Oscar Crowe’s close friend.

That night, Grace’s parents were arguing in the car on the highway.

The rain made the roads slippery, and after a deafening thunderclap, the car crashed into a truck.

Grace was the only one who survived.

The Dorne family’s relatives blamed Grace for the misfortune, so she was sent to live with her parents’ friends, the Crowe family.

And Silas became her "uncle," though there was no blood relation.

Perhaps it was because of how pitiful she was, Silas became incredibly protective of her.

To the point where I, his girlfriend, couldn’t help but feel jealous.

At first, he’d nervously explain to me.

But then, when I reminded him once again to respect the boundaries between an uncle and niece, Silas rarely lost his temper at me:

"Grace is a rose I’ve raised with my own hands. How could I ever let her be tainted?"

"You’re not Mr. Crowe. You have no right to tell me who I can care for. You better watch your boundaries."

"And not everyone is as twisted in their thinking as you are!"

Silas always spoke with such righteous conviction.

So I could only deceive myself, convincing myself to trust him.

Trust that he had a scale in his heart, able to distinguish between family and love.

But now, the man who had once promised to be by my side through every stormy night was in the room next door, holding Grace tightly in a way that went far beyond familial affection.

He was even willing to sacrifice everything I had to protect Grace’s reputation without a second thought.

Today, I finally understood just how much Grace meant to him.

That scale in his heart had long been tipped.

The ringtone echoed through the room—it was my father, Roland Barrow, calling.

"Bella, I saw the weather forecast. Is there a thunderstorm over there?"

"How did you pick up the phone so quickly? Isn’t Silas with you?"

Roland has always remembered how thunderstorms frighten me.

Even though I’ve been away from Jendris City for years, he still checks the weather forecast on my behalf.

Every time there's a storm, he worries that I might be alone and calls to check on me.

After a night of cold winds, I finally felt a warm spark in my heart.

I sniffled softly and spoke in a tender voice,

"Dad, I miss you."

I couldn’t keep the sense of grievance from slipping into my tone, and Roland immediately exploded with concern.

"What's going on? Is that kid, the one with the last name Crowe, bullying you? I’ll head over to Larnath City right now and back you up!"

"You’re about to marry Silas, so you can’t just swallow your grievances! You have to stand your ground, or your marriage won’t be easy!"

The soundproofing in the room wasn’t great.

Amidst Roland's rambling, I suddenly heard noise from the next room.

I don’t know how hard Silas must’ve worked to calm Grace, but the crying finally stopped.

A moment later, I heard a familiar, reassuring voice.

"We’ve agreed, Silas will be with Grace forever!"

Then came Silas's deep, warm chuckle.

I couldn’t help but glance toward the wall.

That’s when I saw the photo on the nightstand.

Back in high school, Silas and I had secretly loved each other for a long time, and we both, in perfect harmony, confessed on the same day.

That photo was taken during that time.

In the sunlight, our eyes locked—full of youthful, intense affection.

Over the years, we’ve had our arguments.

In moments of anger, I’ve deleted pictures and even torn up photo albums.

But this one… this one I could never bring myself to destroy.

I listened to the laughter from next door, my face growing colder as I pulled the photo out of its frame.

I stared at it for a moment, then tore it to pieces. I opened the window and tossed the remnants outside.

I quietly watched as the fragments of memories swayed in the wind and rain, eventually disappearing into an unknown corner of the garden.

It felt as though the last bit of bitterness and reluctance in my heart had vanished with them.

I took a deep breath, cutting off Roland's unending chatter on the phone.

"It’s fine, Dad. You don’t need to come. I’ll handle things here, then I’ll come back to be with you."

"I’m not marrying him, and I don’t want anything more to do with him."

"I won’t tolerate it any longer."

Perhaps feeling guilty, the next morning, Silas, unusually, didn’t go to work and didn’t take Grace out to eat.

Instead, he brought some light breakfast and entered my room.

Silas watched me finish my meal, then gently took my hand, his eyes filled with apologetic tenderness.

"You didn’t sleep well last night, did you? Sorry. How about I take you for a walk in the garden?"

"We haven’t looked after those flowers together in a long time."

The flowers he mentioned were those we’d tended to in our little flower bed over the years.

I’ve always enjoyed taking care of plants, but I wasn’t fond of the fancy, delicate species.

So, I often gathered random, unknown flower seeds and grew them for fun.

He found it amusing, and occasionally, he’d bring back seeds too, and we’d plant them together.

That small flower bed had become a collection of our beautiful memories over the years.

But as time passed, more and more flowers bloomed, while his visits grew fewer.

I couldn’t remember the last time he had come to see them.

Maybe, he hadn’t even thought about the garden at all.

I stared at the flower bed outside, which had been completely destroyed by last night’s storm, but my expression remained indifferent.

Silas, however, seemed a bit upset.

"Sorry, Bella. The storm came so suddenly, I forgot to have someone protect the garden."

"But it’s okay. We’re getting married soon. We can always replant the flowers together."

"We still have plenty of time."

I gave a faint smile in response.

I tried to pull my hand back to return to my room, but he wouldn’t let go.

At that moment, Grace appeared out of nowhere.

Ignoring me, she ran into Silas’s arms, clutching a little dog to her chest.

Her face was beaming with joy.

"Silas! The new puppy loves it here. I want to turn this flower bed into its doghouse. Is that okay?"

I had warned them countless times that such displays of affection weren’t suitable for their relationship.

But Silas always told me I was overthinking, that I was too hostile toward Grace.

So, this time, I simply pretended not to see.