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.

Sophie frowned and said stiffly, "I've had so much going on lately. I was so busy I forgot about your stomach condition. Never mind—I'll throw it out."

With that, she stood up to grab the container. Yet, she didn't hold it steady, and the sauce splattered all over her clothes.

Sophie frantically dug through her bag looking for wipes. With a crisp metallic clatter, a man's belt fell out of her purse.

The belt had subtle scratches on the surface. It had clearly been used before, so it definitely wasn't something Sophie was planning to give me.

In the past, I would have demanded answers if I had found something so personal in Sophie's bag. I would have made her explain everything in detail. But now, I simply picked up the belt calmly and handed it to Sophie.

Sophie snatched the belt away quickly, her expression somewhat unnatural as she explained, "Zachary left it in my car last time he rode with me. I haven't had a chance to return it to him yet."

Her eyes darted around as she continued, "You know how it is. They need to change into their jerseys for basketball, so sometimes, they change clothes in the car. That's how it accidentally got left behind."

"Okay," I said indifferently. "Well, make sure you take good care of it. Don't let it get damaged."

Although Sophie quickly tucked the belt back into her bag, I'd already recognized it the moment I picked it up. She'd bought it late last year when she went abroad on business, at a mall overseas.

She'd even sent me a photo at the time, asking if I liked it and saying she wanted to buy it for my birthday. But on my actual birthday, Sophie barely ate two bites before Zachary called her away, and I never saw the gift.

Apparently, Sophie had simply given it to the person she'd really wanted to gift it to.

She stayed to have lunch with me, though she was distracted the entire time, constantly glancing at her phone to check for new messages.

"By the way," Sophie said, "our families were supposed to meet next week to discuss the wedding arrangements, but my mom has a class reunion that conflicts with the date. She wants to move the meeting up to tomorrow. That works for you, right?"

Sophie's disrespect toward me had rubbed off on her parents. They'd always treated my family with a condescending attitude, even though the Lewis family had been helping Bennett Corporation all along.

Telling me about tomorrow's plans today wasn't asking for my input—she was just informing me.

Still, some things were better said face-to-face. Our parents did need to meet, and the sooner the better.

I nodded. "That's fine."

At that moment, Sophie finally received the message she'd been waiting for. Her expression softened, and a faint smile played at the corners of her mouth as she typed her response.

The next day, I sat with both sets of parents, waiting until the food had gone cold, but Sophie still hadn't arrived.

Just as the Bennetts were starting to look embarrassed and were about to call her again, Sophie rushed in, holding Zachary's hand.

"Sorry about that. Zach here hadn't eaten, either, so I brought him along."

Zachary waved cheerfully to greet Sophie's parents. That was when Sophie's father, James Bennett, suddenly grabbed his hand.

"Why are you wearing Ethan's wedding ring?"