At the beginning of the eighth year of our relationship, Sean was busier than ever.

Yet in the few messages we exchanged each day, a woman constantly appeared in our conversation.

I asked Sean if he had eaten, and he said his colleague had picked up his meal—it was spicy. I asked if he wanted to watch a movie, and he said everyone was celebrating his colleague's paper, so there was a dinner gathering.

Later, when I got sick and asked if he could come home for a bit, he said his colleague had messed up an experiment and got scolded, so he had to stay and deal with it.

Something about these messages felt off. Soon enough, my intuition was confirmed.

On our monthly date, I got tickets for a concert Sean liked. But during that rare time together, he kept checking his phone. I felt a little annoyed but told myself he was busy, and it wasn't easy for him either.

"Who's interrupting you even on your day off?" I whispered.

"Lavender's modeling after my experiment. She messed up the data, so she's asking me," he replied casually.

Lavender Quinn was Sean's junior colleague. I didn't know what to feel, except pity that after all the effort we'd put into buying the tickets, neither of us had really paid attention.

On the way back, Sean pulled out his phone again. I couldn't take it and slammed it shut.

He frowned at me.

Looking him in the eye, I said teasingly, "You've missed two monthly dates already. I finally got you here, yet you're constantly on your phone. And you keep talking about your colleague. I'm going to get jealous now."

I thought he'd take it lightly and mention her less. Little did I expect him to get angry.

Sean's expression hardened. "Janelle, when did you become so petty? I'm just helping her because I want her to improve faster. That's all."

After that night, he started giving me the cold shoulder. Messages I sent him went unanswered.

On the third day, I got a message from him.

"I don't have any appetite. Make me something light, and bring it to the lab."

Taking it as a signal that we were making up, I took the day off and went to the market to buy ingredients. I cooked as quickly as possible and headed for the lab.

But as soon as I opened the door, I found Sean kneeling in front of a woman, gently rubbing her stomach. His voice, which was always cold and indifferent, was now filled with warmth and tenderness.

"How are you feeling? Better?"

"Much better, Sean."

My mind went blank in an instant. Thoughts raced through my mind, making my chest ache.

The woman suddenly looked up, blushing and pushing Sean away.

"Sean, stop! Someone's here."

Only then did Sean finally notice me at the door. He got up and frowned.

"Jan, this is the lab. Why didn't you knock?"

I gave him a deadpan look and sneered. "If I'd knocked, I wouldn't have seen what just happened, would I?"

Standing beside Sean, the woman stuck out her tongue and whispered, "Miss, you've misunderstood. I've been having period cramps, and it was getting so bad that I couldn't carry on with the experiments. Sean helped me because he had no choice."

Sean walked up to me and reached for the lunchbox. "The lab is short-staffed right now. Lavender hasn't eaten because she's been unwell. Give me the lunchbox."

He sounded nonchalant, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

I wanted to laugh out loud—I had been nothing but a joke all along. Pain gripped me and lashed out relentlessly.

"You rubbed her stomach because she was in pain. You let me cook for her because she had no appetite. When did you start being so attentive to someone else?"

I thought I was screaming my heart out, but my voice was hoarse and broken.

Sean, however, didn't think there was something wrong.

"Lavender's an essential member of the team," he responded evenly. "If she's well, our research can progress quickly. Can you stop projecting your twisted ideas about relationships onto us?"

I gave him a long look, then spun around and left with the lunchbox. I'd rather feed it to a dog than to Lavender.

In the next instant, Sean yanked the box from my hands so hard that I lost my balance and tumbled to the floor with it. The meal I had spent two hours preparing turned into a complete mess.

Sean's expression darkened. "You're making such a scene during lunch hour. Happy now?"

I knelt on the floor in silence, my hands bleeding from the cut caused by the broken lunchbox.

He froze, instinctively reaching out to help me up. But I pushed him away.

Enduring the pain, I hauled myself back on my feet and walked away.

After that, Sean texted me a few times. I didn't respond to his messages, and he stopped sending them.

A week before my birthday, I thought I'd have to spend it alone. But just before midnight, Sean appeared in front of me despite the pouring rain, holding a cake. He put a necklace on me and apologized.

"That day was my fault," he said. "I didn't make you feel secure enough, and that's on me. Don't worry. Once this project is over, I'll talk to my family about our wedding."

After eight years together, this was the first time he had ever given me a promise like that. I counted the days, eagerly anticipating our wedding. But I would later realize that day was still far away.

After we reconciled, Sean came home every day after work, and we enjoyed our time together. For about two weeks, life felt peaceful. Then he became busy with work again.

One day, I went to dinner with my boss. As the meal ended, I noticed Sean sitting in the corner of the restaurant with Lavender.

Before I could approach, I heard him say, "This is to thank you for your suggestion. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to coax her. She used to be obedient and sensible—she's nothing like that now. Honestly, I'm sorry for dragging you into our mess that day."

Lavender suddenly looked in my direction. She flashed a smile at Sean, and said, "I heard you've been with Janelle for eight years. Why aren't you married yet?

"Do you really still like her? I don't want to see you spend your life with someone you don't love, and I don't want you to waste her time either. Promise me you'll be honest. I won't tell anyone."

I froze.

Silence stretched on for a few seconds before Sean finally said, "No matter how good a dish is, you'll get tired of it after eating it for years. But if it suddenly disappears from the menu, I can't bear it. So I'll leave it as it is."

My chest tightened, and I felt like I was on the verge of suffocating.

I strode toward him and grabbed a glass.

The moment he saw me, he immediately shielded Lavender behind him.

"Janelle, what are you doing here? Are you following me?"

His accusations and the way he was so protective of Lavender sent a dull ache throbbing in my chest. I could no longer hold back and threw the drink in his face.

The commotion drew the attention of other patrons.

Meanwhile, Lavender panicked and tried to wipe his face.

"Janelle, you can't treat Sean like that, no matter what."

I ignored her and stared right at Sean. He gently nudged Lavender aside and wiped his face.

"Janelle, no wonder you have no friends!" he spat. "No one wants to be close to you. Who could possibly tolerate your temper?"

The glass slipped from my grasp and shattered.

I never thought Sean would be so harsh toward me for another woman's sake, nor did I ever imagine he was capable of turning my trauma against me.

When I was young, Dad cheated and died with his lover at sea. Mom struggled to raise me alone. Yet, my poor family and ordinary life made me a target for bullying. I was even locked in the restroom after school as a prank.

Back then, Sean had appeared like a savior and rescued me. As he passed by, he told me not to blame myself for others' mistakes.

But now, he had completely contradicted that.

I looked at him, tears streaming uncontrollably down my face.

Yet he didn't even glance at me. He left with Lavender, leaving me in the restaurant.

On my way back, I got a call from the hospital.

Mom's condition had turned critical, and she was rushed into the ICU.

I couldn't bother to continue wallowing in grief. I had the driver change direction and sped toward the hospital.

Mom was safe for now, but the doctor told me that her condition might worsen intermittently. She had at most a month to live.

I collapsed beside her bed and bawled my eyes out. She stroked my hair, her touch as gentle as it always had been.

"Sweetheart, don't cry. It's a good thing that I'm dying. I won't drag you down anymore," she said weakly. "It's just a pity that I can't see you get married."

Wiping my tears, I held Mom's hands tightly and said firmly, "Sean proposed to me a few days ago. I had wanted to tell you this in a few days. Don't worry, Mom. I'll make sure you see me get married."

Right after I left the hospital, I called Sean. Regardless of the things that had happened between us, I hoped he'd cooperate this once.

But I didn't know this was a decision I would regret for the rest of my life.

As soon as the call connected, I quickly said, "Sean, let's get married as soon as possible. Mom's condition has worsened, and I want her to fulfill her last wish."

Sean, however, said nothing.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Sean, are you unwilling to?" I asked, my voice trembling.

He didn't reply to me and asked another question instead. "Did you know Lavender attempted suicide yesterday?

"Someone reported her to the school, saying she had been involved with someone else's relationship. Things escalated, and she attempted to jump off a building to prove her innocence. She was later rescued, but she's emotionally unstable now.

"Janelle, I'll only ask this once. Were you the snitch?"

I was baffled. Realization dawned on me, and I couldn't believe my ears.

"Sean, are you suspecting me? We've been together for eight years! Don't you know what I'm like?" I yelled, feeling wronged.

Rage boiled in me, but Sean sounded particularly calm.

"Since it wasn't you, why are you getting so worked up?" he asked. "I'm fine with bringing forward the wedding. You deal with the preparations."

With that, he hung up.

I texted him to press him about the matter, but he refused to fill me in.

Time flew, and Lavender's suicide attempt soon slipped my mind.

My schedule was packed. I tried my best to make the wedding work in just two weeks.

In those two weeks, Sean and I never met. We tried on the gowns and suits separately, and he only replied to my messages once every three days.

Whenever I asked about it, he'd say he was swamped with work, busy wrapping up his projects. So I stopped asking. I took charge of everything for the wedding, so he didn't have to worry about anything.

Then came our big day.

Dressed in my wedding gown, I waited for Sean from morning till night. Hope turned to despair, but the groom didn't show up.

I called him a hundred times, but he never answered. The only response was a voice message from him.

"Janelle, I already gave you a chance. If you had admitted on the phone that you reported Lavender to the school and apologized to her, I would have shown up at the wedding. I would still marry you.

"But now, it's too late. I won't come, and I won't marry you. This is what you get for bullying Lavender."