Sometime in the middle of the night, I looked at my neck in the mirror and couldn't help touching it.

It had been a full day, and my injury had been in plain sight, but Clayton never even noticed it. It was as if he were 100% sure that I wouldn't get hurt.

It had been quite chaotic that day. The only one who helped me up was Crystal, and she was also the one who brought me to the hospital after.

"It's been so long. I initially thought that my brother was also in love with you. After all, he's such a private person, but he was willing to invite so many guests to witness the wedding.

"But you were right next to him, and he still shoved you aside and ran toward Gladys, who was so far away—all to protect her!

"I can tell that he doesn't even love you in the slightest!"

I had been deathly pale that day, and droplets of blood had stained my wedding dress. However, Clayton never once turned to look at me or check on me. He just kept his arms tightly around Gladys, shielding her from the shattered glass and making sure that she was unharmed.

Gladys had remained in his arms for a long time before she suddenly snapped to her senses and forced herself to push him away.

"Your wife is hurt. You should make sure that she's okay," she said.

However, Clayton refused to listen. Instead, he kept inspecting Gladys all over, checking her for any injuries. He only heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed that she wasn't hurt.

"I'm glad that you're not hurt. Anyway, nothing will happen to her. I know that much at least."

Crystal helped me hobble out of the banquet hall. I was in so much pain that I couldn't stop the tears from falling.

I recalled the past and felt the pain washing over me once again. I couldn't help but shudder at the thought and quickly shoved the painful memories away.

However, the bitterness in my heart just wouldn't dissipate.

I guessed one would only be able to tell if someone actually loved them when their lives were in grave danger.

I knew that I would be able to heal as long as I could leave this place. Time would pass, and I would eventually forget all about Clayton.

I would then just pretend that I'd never transmigrated into this novel in the first place.

…

Early the next morning, the system began its countdown. There were exactly five hours left.

I looked at the ring on my finger and immediately took it off.

Clayton had given me this ring out of the blue three days after he was discharged from the hospital. His face had been red and heated when he gave it to me, telling me that he'd just bought it on a whim from a street vendor.

However, I read between the lines and understood what he really meant. Since then, I'd always treasured the ring with my life.

I rubbed my fingers around the band, feeling a little reluctant to part with it. Still, I knew that I had to say goodbye to it.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided to return it to its original owner.

I thus went over to Clayton's office and handed it back to him.

"This ring comes with a burden too heavy for me to bear. I can't keep it with me any longer."

Clayton stared at me in pure disbelief, and his breathing began to quicken.

"What do you mean by that? You don't want it anymore?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I don't want it anymore.

"Also, I'm here today to properly bid goodbye to you. Let's each go our separate ways after this."