Before my wedding to Sophie Bennett, the impoverished student I've been sponsoring for ten years posts a photo on social media.

"Successfully moved into the new apartment. Soph prepared such a big, soft bed for me!"

In the photo, Zachary Wells lies sprawled on the wedding bed I bought for Sophie and my new home, taking a smug selfie with his hand waving at the camera. He's even wearing my wedding ring on his ring finger.

Zachary also comments on his own post, "Just thinking about how I'm the first man to lie on this bed fills me with overwhelming happiness!"

I reply with a question mark under his comment. The next second, Sophie's call comes through.

"I'm just letting Zach experience the warmth of home. Why are you being so passive-aggressive?"

In the background, I hear Zachary softly trying to calm her down. "Soph, he's not worth getting angry over."

Hearing that, Sophie laughs and banters with him, then abruptly hangs up on me.

The two of us have been together for ten years, from ages 18 to 28, and we've finally made it to our wedding day. But now, I no longer intend to go through with it.

When Sophie Bennett came back from seeing Zachary Wells, I was eating dinner at the table, taking my time.

She looked a bit surprised and said mockingly, "Oh, have you finally learned your lesson? You're not waiting around for me like an idiot until midnight this time, huh?"

In the past, hearing her trample on my sincerity like this, I would have argued with her, insisting that waiting for dinner together was a promise we made to each other.

But this time, I just calmly cleared the dishes. "Yeah, I won't be doing that anymore."

She carelessly tossed her bag and shoes aside, flopped onto the couch, and started scrolling through her phone. Whatever message she received made a faint smile appear on her face.

When she noticed I wasn't cleaning up after her mess, Sophie got up and walked over to me. She cleared her throat and spoke first.

"You're a grown man. Can't you be more mature? Zachary was so scared when he saw your passive-aggressive reply."

I found it amusing. "He must not have much of a backbone, then."

Sophie moved closer and linked her arm through mine. This was her go-to move whenever she wanted to sweet-talk her way out of trouble after angering me.

"You've been supporting Zachary for so many years, and he's always been grateful for your kindness. You should act like a proper older brother. After you finish cleaning up, call him and apologize."

I had supported Zachary for ten years, helping him go from a poor kid in the remote mountains to someone who wore designer brands and never had to worry about his next meal. I'd always treated him like my own little brother.

But ever since Zachary met Sophie through me, he stopped showing me the respect he used to. Instead, Sophie's name was always on his lips.

I could see he wasn't grateful for my kindness at all. He just wanted to steal my girlfriend. However, at this point, I no longer cared about either of them.

"Ethan Lewis, are you even listening to me?" Sophie slammed the cabinet door hard.

The plate in my hand shattered on impact. Before I could pull my hand back, the door caught it, breaking the skin. Blood started seeping out.

Sophie jerked her hand back in panic, frowning. "Why didn't you move your hand? Wait here—I'll get you some gauze."

She rummaged through drawers and cabinets, then suddenly stopped, as if remembering something.

I recalled a photo Zachary had posted on social media a month ago. Sophie was wearing a tight skirt, crouching in front of him, carefully dabbing at his knee with a cotton swab. Next to her was our home's first aid kit.

Zachary's caption read, "My scraped knee doesn't hurt anymore because I have Soph to care for me."

Sophie and I had a huge fight over it, but she just scornfully mocked me for being heartless.

"Zachary's been alone since he was little, so of course I'll help him when I can. Are you really that petty?"

Now, Sophie looked up awkwardly. "It's fine. Let me take you to the clinic to get it bandaged."

My wound was still bleeding, and it indeed needed to be bandaged, so I followed Sophie out the door.

Halfway there, Sophie received a message and suddenly turned the car around. She glanced at me several times before speaking with a hint of guilt in her voice.

"The clinic's probably closed by now. It'll be faster to get the first aid kit from Zachary's place."

I could see right through her little scheme. But the blood loss was making my head throb, and I didn't have the energy to argue. I just urged her, "Let's hurry, then."

I didn't expect Sophie to drive us to the apartment for our married life. She had actually let Zachary move in and stay there long-term.

She quickly got out of the car and told me, "Wait here. I'll be right back."

I leaned back against the seat as my consciousness gradually began to fade. When the cold woke me up, it was already the middle of the night. The wound had scabbed over by now, but I'd lost so much blood that half my arm was practically numb.

I stumbled out of the car, and a kind passerby noticed my condition and safely got me home.

After I got home, I saw a video my friend had sent two hours ago.

In the video, Zachary was sitting close to Sophie, drinking with a group of her girl friends. When one of the girls accidentally touched Zachary's hand, Sophie immediately shot her a glare before pulling Zachary even closer to herself.

Her protectiveness was clear. In this eerily familiar scene, I felt my heart get violently wrenched.

I could still remember that night. I'd been at a work dinner until midnight and had just gotten home, getting ready for bed, when Sophie dragged me out to join her gathering with friends.

I'd been happy at the time, thinking Sophie wanted to introduce me to her friends. Even though I didn't feel well, I forced my exhausted, alcohol-heavy body to go along with her.

But once we got there, Sophie only treated me like a servant, ordering me to pour tea and water for her friends and clean up their trash.

When Sophie got up to use the bathroom, one of her friends placed her hand on my chest and said with a laugh, "Sophie treats you pretty badly, doesn't she? Why don't you be with me instead?"

Because of Sophie's attitude toward me, they actually thought I was some kept man Sophie had on the side. I quickly pushed her away, only to have a bottle of red wine poured over my head.

"Do you think you're too good for us? Stop putting on airs!"

Sophie came back just in time to see this scene. Her friend immediately switched tactics, claiming I had tried to harass her. I frantically tried to explain, but all I got was an icy glare.

"Enough! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough?"

Not only did Sophie refuse to believe me, but she had personally called the police and had me taken to the station. I spent a day and a night at the police station before she finally bailed me out.

Later, I found out that during that entire day and night, Sophie had been by Zachary's side, helping him beat a newly released multiplayer competitive game. Afterward, she brushed it off with a casual "I made a mistake".

Whenever I tried to bring it up again, she would snap irritably, "Ethan, do you always have to win every argument? I have so many things to deal with every day. I don't have time to hash out these trivial matters with you!"

Now, watching the video and seeing the evident protectiveness in Sophie's eyes toward Zachary, my heart gradually grew cold. Even though I was exhausted, I still forced myself up and started packing Sophie's things that she'd left at the house.

The next day, I received a text from Sophie when I woke up. "I ordered breakfast for you. Don't forget to eat it."

She casually glossed over the fact that she'd left me alone in the car last night, trying to sweep it under the rug with a single breakfast order. If I brought it up again, it would look like I was deliberately starting a fight.

Two minutes later, Zachary posted another update on social media. In the photo, Sophie sat across from him, cooling down his soup for him. The table was covered with a lavish breakfast spread.

I liked the post, and not long after, her angry voice message came through. "Zachary has a sensitive stomach. I'm like his older sister, so I'm just making sure he eats breakfast properly. What's the problem?

"He never had anything good to eat growing up. I'm just making up for the care he missed out on. Don't tell me you're going to make an issue out of this!"

Just a single "like" was enough to set Sophie off like this. I couldn't tell if she was angry or just feeling guilty.

My phone buzzed with a reminder just then. Today was the day Sophie and I were supposed to try on our wedding attire. I calmly dismissed the notification and deleted all the wedding-related reminders along with it.

When I stepped out of my room, I found the breakfast Sophie claimed to have ordered for me sitting alone in the corner outside my door. It was a serving of extra spicy chili con carne that had already gone cold.

Sophie must have completely forgotten that I had a severe stomach ulcer. Even mildly spicy food would leave me doubled over in pain and drenched in sweat, let alone something extra spicy.

At noon, Sophie came home for once. The moment she walked in, she couldn't help but demand, "Today was supposed to be our wedding fitting. Why didn't you remind me? Don't you know how hard it is to book an appointment at that bridal shop?"

She needed me to remind her about our wedding fitting, yet she'd never once missed any of Zachary's basketball games.

Sophie slammed her bag down on the table, as if trying to intimidate me. Then, she noticed the untouched chili con carne still sitting on the table. Sophie let out a cold laugh, her expression suggesting she'd figured everything out.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? Just because I didn't eat breakfast with you, you're throwing a tantrum. Ethan, you're a grown man. Can you stop being so dramatic?"

I said flatly, "I can't eat spicy food. Did you forget?"

A flicker of confusion crossed Sophie's face before it went pale. She hadn't completely forgotten, after all.

Sophie's family company was in the construction industry. Three years ago, when raw material prices skyrocketed, she begged me to help her connect with a supplier who offered fair prices.

But on the day of the business dinner, Sophie suddenly stood the supplier up just to rush off and watch Zachary's basketball game. The supplier, Joseph Stone, was furious. And afterward, Sophie called me in tears, begging for my help.

I swallowed my pride and arranged another dinner meeting for her. Joseph gave Sophie a cold smile and asked, "So, am I important enough now that Ms. Bennett actually shows up?"

Sophie quickly grabbed my arm with an apologetic smile. "If it wasn't out of respect for you, do you think I'd bring my boyfriend along?"

She kept giving me looks to drink on her behalf and apologize, clutching at my sleeve pitifully. That night, Joseph saw our sincerity and left satisfied.

But I spent the night hugging the toilet, vomiting until my stomach went into spasms. I ended up in the emergency room with permanent damage to my stomach.

To avoid making Sophie feel guilty, I always forced myself to hide the pain whenever my condition flared up. I never expected that would make her think I was truly invincible.