Cyrus avoided my eyes.

I felt a cold ache in my chest, like a chill was sinking into my bones.

“Cyrus, what about me?” I asked with teary eyes.

“She gets to have her wish at my wedding, but what about everything I planned? Does it mean nothing now?”

I spent more than two weeks planning everything for the wedding. I even wrote the invitations by hand and barely slept.

Just last night, I stayed up with Cyrus talking about how perfect today would be.

I thought I would be the happiest bride. I thought our seven years together meant something.

But none of it seemed to matter anymore.

I waited for his answer.

Cyrus sounded annoyed. “You’re being unreasonable. We still have a future together. She’s dying. What’s wrong with letting her have this?”

I knew Cyrus. He was always calm and polite.

This was the first time he had raised his voice at me in seven years, and it was for another woman.

“I’m sorry.” Cyrus grabbed his hair in frustration.

“The wedding’s about to start. I’ll make it up to you.”

“Cyrus!” I chased after him.

But the only response I got was the door closing in my face.

He was gone.

On the other side of the door, the wedding music began to play.

I stood there in the inner garments of my wedding dress and felt like an idiot.

Just because his crush was dying, I had to lose everything?

The wedding had already started.

A staff member suddenly walked into the dressing room and turned on the big screen.

“Ms. Jagger, Ms. Clarkson asked us to do this.”

After that, he left.

My phone lit up. It was a call from my mom, but I did not get to answer it.

Then, the wedding ceremony played on the screen.

Yara was walking toward Cyrus with a big smile. She was wearing the wedding dress I had designed and walking on the bridge I had stayed up many nights to build.

The vows I had written were being read aloud, but they were meant for her.

The custom wedding rings had her initials.

The video of our memories had been edited to show her with Cyrus.

AI had been used to replace my face with hers in the wedding photos I worked so hard to take.

Sadness, pain, and frustration spread through my chest like tiny bugs crawling under my skin.

It hurt a lot.

But I had no way to let it out.

My whole body shook.

Every place on my body that was bruised and sore from the wedding preparations felt like it was burning.

I spent hours under the hot sun to make sure the photos were perfect, only for Yara to steal them.

I saw Cyrus smiling at her with so much love.

He smiled at me too, but he never looked at me that way.

I realized today that he had never really loved me.

I wrapped my arms around myself. I could not stop my tears.

Then, the screen changed again.

I saw my parents in the corner. They were being held down, with their mouths gagged.

“Dad! Mom!”

I jumped up in shock.

How could Cyrus do this? How could he be so cruel?

I ran to the door and pounded on it. “Let me out! Let me out!”

But the only thing I could hear was the sound of the wedding march playing outside.

I went from being angry to feeling helpless. Then I finally understood.

I looked in the mirror, wiped off my makeup, and changed into my own clothes.

This wedding was never really mine.

My bad decision had already made my parents lose face.

Cyrus was trash. I did not want him anymore.

The wedding felt like it would never end.

I planned a big wedding to celebrate our love, but it only brought me pain.

When it was finally over, someone opened the door to the dressing room.

Cyrus was standing there. He looked tired and worn out.

“Ruby, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll explain everything to your parents, and I—”

I did not let him finish. I slapped him across the face.

“Mr. Lloyd, I quit!”

I had always been calm and sensible. I had never acted this way before.

Cyrus froze.

I walked past him without looking back.

“Ruby!” he called after me.

I did not say a word to Cyrus. I just walked straight over to my parents.

They still had red marks on their faces from earlier.

Our relatives crowded around them and gossiped.

“I told you. Chasing money isn’t a good thing.”

“Ruby got fooled, didn’t she? Thought she’d bag a rich guy, but turns out, he never even liked her. This is so humiliating! You really should’ve taught your daughter better.”

I stood in front of my parents. When I saw how upset and ashamed they looked, my heart sank. I did not care who was talking. I snapped back.

“Aunt Jenny, when did you ever see me chase after money? Cyrus had nothing when I supported him!

“Aunt Anna, you’re blaming my parents now? When Cyrus gave you that bracelet, you didn’t say anything!

“He’s the one who cheated and changed the bride at the last minute! He’s the one with no morals! If I’d known what kind of person he really was, I never would’ve dated him!”

I was too angry to notice Cyrus standing behind me. I did not see the look of pain in his eyes.

On the way home, my parents did not ask any questions.

They softly told me to take care of myself and not to cry over someone who was not worth it.

Parents loved their children no matter what.

After dropping them home, I went back to the place Cyrus and I had shared for seven years.

The moment I opened the door, a familiar smell hit me.

My mind felt sharp and clear, but my chest felt heavy as though a boulder weighed down on it.

My eyes welled up with tears, but I tried hard not to cry.

All the pain I had swallowed had nowhere to go.

The breakfast Cyrus had made was still on the table.

I had not had the time to eat it. I was in a rush for the wedding.

Next to it was the pot he had bought just for me when I had bad period cramps.

He used to spend hours making soup in it to help me feel better.

All the nice things he had done for me over the years came flooding back to my mind.

When his family’s business failed and Yara broke off their engagement to go overseas,

I was the one who stayed.

I started liking him because he had loved her so deeply.

I chased after him for three years. Just before graduation, he finally agreed to be with me.

I was so happy that I treated the whole class to dinner. I thought he had let go of Yara.

Everyone congratulated me and even told me that this was proof that love paid off in the end.

After we got together, he did treat me well.

He remembered everything I liked and accepted all my flaws.

Once, during a busy time at work, I casually said I wanted to eat crab in the fall.

He drove for hours to buy some, cooked it for me, ate with me, and then drove back to work.

I cried into my pillow.

Those sweet memories had been real.

After everything that happened today, I finally got it.

Cyrus had not changed.

The person he truly loved had never been me.

I stayed in our house for a long time. But in the end, I did not take anything with me.

Cyrus never loved me.

All those memories and things were never really mine.

It had been seven years. It was time I faced the truth.

I made only one phone call while I was in the house.

I called the CEO of Cyrus’s rival company.

“Hello, I’m Ruby Jagger from C&R Corp. I’d like to apply for a job at your company.”

Cyrus had been so thoughtful. He even used our initials to name the company.

Back then, it had made me feel special. But at that moment, I felt nothing.

I finally realized he was not acting out of love. He was just being a “good boyfriend” and doing what he thought he should.

The CEO of Galaxy Corp was interested in me and asked to meet me.

We met in his office.

Standing outside, I frowned.

He wore a different cologne every time.

“Ms. Jagger, welcome.”

He wore a deep red suit. He was very good-looking, and the red made him look even more striking.

But with that big smile and bright suit, he looked a little too cheerful.

“Mr. Sullivan, has something good happened?” I asked.

Jason Sullivan smiled wider. “My rival’s failure is a good enough reason to celebrate.

“Ms. Jagger, if you join my company, I’ll be thrilled. I only have one request. Help me bring down C&R Corp.”

He leaned forward on the desk and smiled with those sharp, playful eyes.

I nodded and said yes.