I came home a day early from my business trip and hid in the closet to surprise Eric Carter.

At seven, he told the housekeeper to cook several dishes.

At nine, he told me hoarsely that he had taken a bath and changed the bedsheets in my room. He was sure that I would love it.

I did not believe him because I had heard him moaning in bed with Willow Summers for three hours from the closet.

Willow Summers was his childhood sweetheart and my sister.

I clicked on a webpage from my cell without hesitation.

"Miss Summers, your appointment for creating a fake death has been confirmed.

Time of Death: One week later

Location of Death: The wedding hall on the top floor of the Century Building

Cause of Death: Suicide from jumping off a building!"

Everyone said that I was lucky to marry Eric Carter.

We had known each other since we were seventeen.

Eric was a proud man who had confessed his love for me in front of the entire school when he was eighteen.

At twenty-one, an earthquake threatened the city, and Eric ran against the escaping crowd just to reach me at my sixth-floor classroom. His eyes were red when he said he wanted to take me home.

I stood by Eric when he was building his company, and he did not let me down. He eventually rose to become a business tycoon.

That year, he bought the most expensive pink diamond in the world and used it to make me a tiara. He proposed to me in front of the world.

He told me that I would forever be his princess and that he would never allow anyone to hurt me.

Everyone knew how much he loved and doted on me.

They were all envious of how in love Eric and I were, and everyone talked about how crazy Eric was in love.

That was why no one expected this.

Eric had loved me for seven years.

Yet, no one knew how he had cheated on me with Willow Summers for the same seven years.

For the past seven years, it had always worried me how Eric had to attend numerous drinking sessions with clients at night. I would wait all night on the sofa for him to come home.

All those times, he had been having a passionate affair with Willow and was spending that time entangled in bed with her.

On the day I found out the truth, I finally understood why the pain from heartache could surpass any physical pain.

As I stared at the pictures of them sleeping together strewn all over the floor, the blood dripping from my wrist fell onto Willow's smiling face in the picture as Eric held her in his arms while touching her neck.

It suddenly reminded me of high school when I was locked in the bathroom after being drenched by a bucket of cold water. Eric had broken the door open and held me in his arms as I shivered from the cold. He had promised to avenge me and make sure no one would ever hurt me again.

I fell desperately in love with him that day and gave him all my heart.

When Eric proposed to me, he cried and hugged me tight. "Please love me. Don't ever leave me."

He told me he would always protect me and never allow anyone to hurt me.

Eric was the one who made that promise, but he was also the one who hurt me the most.

He had made the choice. I decided to fake my death and leave. I would vanish from his world and never let him hurt me again. He would lose me forever.

The sun had barely risen when I snuck out of the closet. I stood speechless in the kitchen with a glass of water in my hand.

Eric suddenly gave me a big hug from behind. His nose nuzzled my ear as he mumbled.

"When did you come home, Honey? Why didn't you tell me? I would have gone to pick you up. I missed you so much.”

"Your body feels cold. I'm going to worry to death if you get sick. You're my one and only sweetheart.”

"We're about to get married in a week. You should get some sleep. We're having dinner with your parents tonight."

I stayed silent as I stood in a daze. What a pitiful situation.

How could a man who had just slept with another woman turn to another woman immediately to hold her in his arms and tell her he loved her?

Eric carried me in his arms and lowered his head to bury it in my shoulder as he spoke sweet nothings to me.

"I'll carry you like this even when you're old. You're the only one for me."

He looked at me with love in his eyes. He smiled adoringly at me.

I closed my eyes and told him in my heart that we would not be getting old together.

As he hugged me in his arms, I fell deeply asleep.

Before we left the house, I was putting on my outfit for the day to meet my parents. Our housekeeper looked at me with pleasant surprise.

"Ms. Summers, Mr. Carter picked out hundreds of outfits and all of them look great on you. They're so beautiful. It's difficult to pick one out."

I forced a smile and turned to look at Eric.

Eric was fiddling with his phone with great interest. He could not hide the lust in his eyes.

That look could only be found on his face when he was moving on top of Willow's body.

Eric's expression changed right away when he looked up at me. He looked apologetic as he quickly hugged me to talk to me in a rushed tone.

"Whitney, I need to attend an emergency board meeting at the office. I'm sorry I can't accompany you for dinner with your parents.”

"We're going to be a family soon, anyway. We'll have lots of time for dinner later. Be good."

He turned to leave before I agreed. He let me alone as I stared at my reflection in the window to face everything alone.

Our housekeeper had no idea what to say.

"Ms. Summers, Mr. Carter… He…"

I smiled relaxed and said, "It's fine."

There would not be another chance for him to do this.

I entered the private room and was about to explain to my parents about Eric's absence.

That was when I received a video clip from Willow.

She was leaning on the bed in a black, transparent, lacey outfit while staring at the camera with a glazed look in her eyes. Willow kept twisting about seductively in the video.

"Where are you, Hubby? I can't wait any longer…"

The video was quickly deleted after it was marked as being read.

"That was for my boyfriend, Whitney! I sent it to you by accident. Please don't be mad. I love you, Sis!"

I gripped my cell hard and turned the screen off. It felt like a million needles were piercing into my heart.

The pain came in waves, and it hurt me to the bones.

My eyes turned red as I explained the situation to my parents. They were very understanding of Eric.

"Well, it's good that he's kept busy. You should be forgiving about this, Whitney."

"Willow can't make it tonight too. Let's schedule this for another time."

I nodded without showing any emotion and left the private room without eating.

It was late at night when I heard Eric open the door. He came home at the same time Willow sent me a message.

"Hey, Honey. Our meeting ended early today and I came home right away!"

Before Eric could finish, he stopped in surprise when he did not see me waiting in the living room.

I always waited for Eric in the living room when he came home late.

However, I did not feel like talking to him today.

I put away my cell and crawled under the covers as my tears fell silently.

"Hubby, I had to kick you out because you just wouldn't stop taking me in bed. I'm so exhausted by all those positions you had me in. I'll be mad if you do that again next time!"

Eric held me in his arms after he was done washing up. He started humming my favorite song. I could feel how carefree he felt.

When he touched my cold, teary cheek, he suddenly stiffened and turned on the lights.

"What's wrong, Honey? Why are you crying?"

I touched my face. I had no idea it was covered in tears.

All I could do was look up at him with a gentle smile.

"I'm fine. I just had a bad dream. I dreamt that I died in the arms of the person I loved most."

Eric felt his chest tighten. He hugged me even closer and patted my back gently.

"Please don't say that, Honey. You'll always be by my side. You'll live longer than any of us."

I said nothing and let him continue hugging me.

"Since I didn't manage to have dinner with your parents last night, I booked the best restaurant in town to make up for it. I'll drive you there personally to eat with your parents."

I agreed with a bitter smile and stayed in Eric's arms with my eyes open until morning came.

There was a knock on the door, and the housekeeper's voice was heard.

"Mr. Carter, Ms. Summers, the car is ready to take you over to the Summers' residence. You can leave any time."

Eric woke up when he heard the housekeeper. He had always been physically strong and would be filled with energy even if he only had a few hours' sleep.

He turned to get out of bed and carried me out of the room.

Eric noticed something was wrong with me.

"How about if I take you shopping today to make up for yesterday, Honey? Let's go shopping for your favorite luxury brands."

He picked out my clothes, shoes, cosmetics, and makeup style. After that, he patiently fed me breakfast and carried me into the car.

Eric felt guilty about the day before, and he bought every luxury item in the building.

The staff working there looked at me enviously.

"Mr. Carter treats you so well, Ms. Summers. The last time he was here, he bought enough gifts for you to fill up five cars! It hasn't been long and he's here with you to shop again."

"All it takes is for Ms. Summers to say the word and Mr. Carter will go as far as to pluck the stars down from the sky for you."

"That's right! Whoever who is half as lucky as Ms. Summers should count their lucky stars."

I smiled while looking at them but said nothing.

The person who received five cars worth of gifts was not me.

Besides, it was Willow who loved luxury items, not me.

Eric called out to me while standing outside the changing room. His back was facing the light, and it made him look God-like.

When I turned to look at Eric, I realized how different he was from the seventeen-year-old in my memory.

"Let's go, Honey. We've got everything packed.”

It was lively at the Summers' residence. Willow opened the door for us.

Our wedding date was approaching, and all our relatives and friends were gathering to discuss it.

Once everyone got to their seats, Eric announced publicly.

"Mom, Dad, I've prepared one billion in cash and ninety-nine of the best villas as her dowry. I'll make sure that Whitney gets married in style!"

Everyone gushed and exclaimed in surprise at the announcement.

I lowered my eyes to avoid anyone noticing the cynical look in them while I raised my glass at the crowd.

There was once upon a time when I looked forward to this.

However, all that hope had now turned to complete disgust.

Toasts were given as the party went out amidst the guests' laughter. Everyone approached my parents to congratulate them on getting a wonderful son-in-law.

Eric had been reminding me not to drink too much, but the next second, he claimed there was an emergency at work and that he could return soon.

Willow threw a glance at me the moment Eric left. She smiled and walked away seductively with lust in her eyes.

I stared at my cell. There was one simple word in the message, "Rooftop."

It felt like I had lost control of myself as I walked out of the rowdy crowd robotically toward the fourth floor.

Even though I knew what I was about to witness, it still hurt me tremendously.

Willow's moans and Eric's grunts rang in my ear.

"You're so impatient, Eric. This is the storeroom…"

Eric heaved Willow up in the air. I could see her hanging onto Eric from the door's creak.

"Who do you like better? Me or Whitney…?"

The dark hid Eric's face from me.

"She's not as slutty as you are."

Disgust filled my stomach, and I wanted to throw up. I covered my mouth and tried to run away.

As I turned, I knocked into something heavy, and Eric called out in a strained voice.

"Who's there?"

I ignored him and quickly ran out of there.

Downstairs was filled with happy voices as everyone clinked their glasses.

Upstairs was the man I had loved for seven years, sticking it into a woman he had grown up with.

Everything seemed to have something to do with me, yet at the same time, it felt like they had nothing to do with me.

There was nowhere I could turn to. I hid in the washroom and clenched my chest hard. My heart hurt, and my tears fell freely.

I cried until I threw up and fell sitting to the ground.

After seeing so many pictures of them, I thought I would be numb by now.

However, when I saw it happening right in front of me, the pain got a thousand times worse.

All that was left after the pain was disgust, and it filled every part of my body.

I hated them as much as I loved them.

Gradually, I managed to get up by leaning against the wall. I wiped away my tears and walked out with my head held high.

I told no one about this. I left the Summers' residence and arrived at the office of the fake death service. I quietly completed all the procedures I needed.

When I saw the female corpse that would be used to replace me, I was not scared. All I did was sigh with relief. I was finally able to leave.