After my grandpa receives a critical notice regarding his illness, he takes my boyfriend, Layne Harper, by the hand and pleads with him.

"Layne, please marry Aleah while I'm still alive this month. I want to see her live happily ever after."

Everyone sheds tears in the hospital room, thinking that Layne will heed Grandpa's words right away by getting down on one knee and proposing to me.

After all, I have been waiting for him for the past ten years.

With tears brimming in my eyes, I wait for Layne's response eagerly.

But he covers the speaker of his phone out of worry that he might awaken his childhood friend, Ruby Martin, whom he has spent the last five hours coaxing to sleep.

Finally, Layne replies gently, "Don't worry, Grandpa. I will give Aleah the happiness she deserves. Even if we don't get married in the end, I'll stick with my promise."

My relatives stop cheering Layne on immediately. Then, they turn to look at me sympathetically.

But I just smile and go with the flow. "I'll still be happy even if I don't marry Layne, Grandpa."

After all, in two hours, I will accept another man's marriage proposal.

Everyone in the hospital room understood exactly what I meant when I said I wasn't marrying Layne Harper.

My parents glanced at Layne, then at me, and simply sighed. "Maybe that's for the best. A clean break is better."

It had been ten years. It was time to end it.

I exchanged a silent look with Layne, signaling for us to step out into the hall.

He followed behind me. For the first time that night, he took off his earbud, smiling as he ruffled my hair.

"Aleah, thanks for being so understanding. Things are different now. A marriage certificate doesn't mean much. We should stand our ground, not give in just because your grandpa wants us to get married. Besides, aren't we happy like this?"

Layne's voice was gentle, but it cut through me like a blade.

Two years ago, Ruby's parents were abducted and killed after saving the Harper family. Since then, she'd developed severe separation anxiety.

That was when she quietly started becoming a constant presence in our lives.

Layne spent 18 hours a day on the phone with her.

On my birthday, he stayed on a call, coaxing Ruby to eat.

On our anniversary, one call from her was enough to drag him away to fix her plumbing.

The day before Grandpa was declared critical, he went to her school to drive off a suitor who had been harassing her.

I had screamed at him more times than I could count. At my breaking point, I once broke down in tears and asked, "Layne, will you only truly belong to me if we get married? Then let's get married…"

His eyes had turned red. He held me, thinking it over, but he couldn't give me the answer I wanted. "Aren't we already happy like this?"

Now, hearing those same words again, I didn't even have the strength to argue.

I looked at him. "Layne, let's end—"

A sudden wave of nausea hit me. My stomach twisted violently, and my whole body shook.

Layne rushed forward to steady me. "What's wrong? Your stomach acting up again?"

With practiced ease, he took out my stomach medicine from his pocket and brought over a cup of warm water, gently helping me take the pills.

As his hand rested on my forehead, his eyes were filled with concern. "Every time you get upset, your stomach flares up. I used to bring you medicine back in high school. It's been years, and I'm still carrying it for you. What would you do without me?"

Tears slipped down before I could stop them.

Yeah.

For ten years, every time my stomach acted up, Layne was the one who showed up with medicine. No matter how busy he was, he always came right away.

I'd grown used to having him around and relying on him. What would I do without him?

A flicker of hope rose in my chest. I hung up Ruby's call and said hoarsely, "Layne, cut ties with her. Let's get married."

Layne frowned, irritation flashing in his eyes as if I were being unreasonable. "What are you doing? I just got Ruby to sleep. She can't be left alone for a second. What if something happens?"

He reached for his phone to call her back.

Unwilling to let ten years go to waste, I snatched it from his hand. My eyes burned as I forced out the strongest words I'd ever said, "Layne, if you contact her one more time, we're done."

Layne froze, a flicker of complex emotions crossing his eyes as he started to speak.

Then, Ruby's call came through again. Her soft, tearful sobs filled the line.

He turned his back to me and gently comforted her.

Only after her crying finally stopped did he rub his temples in exhaustion.

Layne turned to me and said, "I told you, Ruby can't be left alone. She had another episode. I get that your grandpa's condition has you on edge, but my family owes Ruby. I have to repay that debt.

"Anyway, you stay with Mr. Dawson Senior, and don't go home too late. I'm staying over with Ruby tonight. I won't be coming back."

He let out a sigh and lowered his head, about to kiss my forehead, but I turned away.

Watching his back as he left without hesitation, my tears finally broke loose. "Layne, let's end this."

He paused for a second but didn't turn around.

…

Julian Sandoval showed up at the hospital earlier than we'd agreed.

He raised a brow at my red eyes. "So, you've decided to marry me? This is the engagement gift. Take a look."

He slid a stack of documents across the table. It stated that he was transferring 20% of Sandoval Corp's shares to me, along with several properties and land deeds.

Without hesitation, I signed the prenup right away.

Julian glanced at the signed papers and let out a soft laugh before slipping a diamond ring onto my finger. "Alright. Remember, you've got a fiancé now. We'll register the marriage in two days."

I looked at the massive diamond on my finger and let out a quiet laugh. The very thing I had spent two years begging Layne for had fallen into my lap with such effortless ease.

It turned out I could go on with my life without him.

The breakup was sudden, and most of my things were still at Layne's place. I didn't want to see him, so I hired someone to go over and pack everything for me.

20 minutes later, Layne stormed into the hospital.

"Aleah Dawson! Ruby just had a broken water heater and wanted to stay at our place for one night. Why did you send people to threaten her to move out and even say you'd call the police for trespassing? The neighbors all came out and started pointing fingers at her. Do you have any idea how scared she was?"

Ruby was all he cared about.

A sharp ache hit my chest, but I kept my voice calm. "I thought you were home. I just sent someone to pack my things."

He looked away impatiently, like he couldn't be bothered to argue further. "Thanks to the scare your people gave her, Ruby is going to have to stay at our place for a while.

"Go back and clear out your room. It gets the best light, and she likes that. And tear down those photos on the wall. She's sensitive. Seeing them will only make her cry."

"My room?" I couldn't help repeating.

Wasn't that our room?

Every detail in that space, from the walls to the hangers, had been set up by the two of us.

The wall on the west was covered with photos from our college graduation to our early careers. It had memories of how we built a life in this city together.

Layne used to run his fingers over my smile in those yellowing photographs. "These are the most precious memories I have. Aleah, I'll make sure you always smile like this."

And now, just because Ruby didn't like them, the photos and memories had to go.

A faint, bitter smile tugged at my lips. "They're yours. Do whatever you want."

Layne looked at me, confusion flashing in his eyes. "What do you mean they're mine? Aleah, why are you suddenly so cold—"

He stopped mid-sentence. His gaze dropped to the ring on my left hand, and his expression instantly darkened.

"Didn't we already say in front of your grandpa yesterday that we weren't getting married? What's with the ring? Are you trying to make everyone think I proposed, so you can force me into marriage? Aleah, this is just pathetic. Don't throw yourself at me like this."

My nails dug into my palm.

I steadied my trembling hand, keeping my voice even. "You're overthinking it. This ring was from my fiancé. I already accepted someone else's pro—"

Layne's phone rang. That was Ruby's custom ringtone.

He rushed to answer it, turning his back to me. His voice was soft as he replied.

Apparently, Ruby had baked a cake. She was waiting for him to go back and celebrate their anniversary together.

He agreed without hesitation.

After hanging up, he frowned and said, "Take the ring off. If you want to fool your grandpa, fine, but don't let Ruby see it and get the wrong idea. Come back later tonight. I… have an online meeting."

Maybe even he realized how ridiculous it sounded for two people without any formal status to celebrate an anniversary, so he didn't say it out loud.

I just smiled. "Just go. You don't need to come here anymore."

As Layne looked back at my calm expression, hesitation flickered across his face.

But at the insistent ringing of Ruby's call, he turned once more and walked away.

…

Julian and I had agreed to meet at City Hall at 9:00 am.

After getting the marriage certificate, Julian had to deal with a sudden issue at his company and went to a cafe next door.

He checked his watch. "Give me ten minutes. After I'm done, we'll head to the Sandoval residence."

I nodded. "Okay."

I didn't want to interfere with his work, so I stayed outside City Hall to wait for him. I never expected to run into Layne there, with Ruby by his side.

The moment he saw me, he instinctively let go of her hand. "Aleah, what are you doing here?"

His friends, standing with him, glanced at me and immediately started mocking me.

"Well, look at that. Dressed up all formal. Don't tell me you came here to stop Layne after finding out he's marrying Ruby today."

"Ruby's parents saved his whole family. Meanwhile, all you do is cause trouble for him."

"Know your place and leave him alone. Ruby's the one who should be with Layne!"

His friends had never liked me. Every encounter came with sarcasm and insults.

Layne shot them a warning look, then tried to explain. "Aleah, it's not what you think—"

I cut him off without caring. "I'm here to get married. It has nothing to do with you."

His words caught in his throat. His gaze darkened as he stared at me.

Ruby's eyes flashed with barely concealed jealousy. "Layne just feels bad that I don't have a family, so he wants us to be family on paper. Your grandpa's dying soon. You should understand what it feels like to have no one to rely on."

Grandpa had raised me, and we were extremely close.

My expression cooled instantly. "Since you're an orphan, you should learn how to speak properly. Don't drag your parents' reputation through the dirt. People will point fingers at them, saying they raised a daughter who became a mistress."

Ruby's face went red and pale in turns, and tears welled up immediately. "You can insult me, but how can you insult Layne? Layne, just stop helping me. Leave me in the hospital. Don't care if I live or die!"

She turned to leave, wiping her tears dramatically.

But Layne pulled her back before she could go, and she crashed into his chest.

His expression turned icy. "You went too far. Ruby's parents died because of my family. If you blame her, you're blaming me. Apologize to her."

Seeing the victorious glint in Ruby's eyes, I stayed calm. "No way."

Her expression twisted with hatred.

Then suddenly, she pushed Layne away and dropped to her knees, banging her head against the ground in front of me. "Please! Just let us go! I don't want to die…"

Layne's pupils constricted. He rushed to pull her up, frantically searching his bag for medication and forcing it into her hands.

Seeing her refuse the medication and her body trembling in distress, he lost all semblance of reason. He lunged forward and wrapped his hand around my throat.

"Ruby has PTSD. She can't hear anything about her parents! Aleah, are you trying to kill her?"

My feet left the ground. My face turned red as I struggled to breathe.

My eyes locked onto the medication in his hand. So he had already stopped carrying medicine just for me.

A tear slipped down my cheek. I didn't know if it came from desperation or disappointment.

Seeing the teardrop on the back of his hand, Layne suddenly snapped back to his senses, and he hurriedly released his grip on me.

"Sorry… I overreacted. Seeing Ruby like that made me lose control. If you still want to marry me, then get on your knees and apologize. We can never get married until I repay what I owe Ruby."

I stumbled back down the steps, my knee scraping hard against the ground. Pain shot through my bones.

I stopped hoping to ever see that old tenderness in his eyes again. I just smiled faintly and shook my head. "Layne, we're never getting married."

Layne frowned, irritation creeping in. "What, you think you can marry someone else? Aleah, do you think you can live without me?"

Slowly, I pulled out a wedding certificate from my canvas bag. "I'm already married."