The doting smile on Zane's face cracked and slowly crumbled away.

He stared at me blankly, and it took him a few seconds to find his voice, which carried a trace of bewildered absurdity. "What are you talking about, Sadie? Where did you hear that name from?"

In just a split second, that familiar face I knew so well slipped back into a look of hurt and helplessness. He reached out to touch my face, and his voice sounded low and aggrieved.

"Sadie, Cassie is just a new intern in my team. There was a problem with a project today, so I just helped her out a little."

The hurt in his tone, like he had been wrongly accused, was perfectly measured. I would have thought I was being unreasonable too, if I hadn't seen the photos with my own eyes.

Zane tried to pull me into his arms, and his voice softened further, as if he were soothing a child throwing a tantrum.

"Are you just stressed because the wedding is near?

"Stop overthinking. We've been together for 15 years. Don't you trust me?"

I looked at his face so close to mine and instinctively pushed him away. The look of hurt in his eyes deepened at my movement, and his voice carried a faint, barely perceptible tremble.

"What's exactly going on with you, Sadie? Did someone tell you something?"

Just as I was about to grab the laptop and hurl the sordid evidence in his face, the handphone, which was flipped face down on the desk, vibrated again. This time, it wasn't from a call, but a message.

He instinctively reached out to grab it, but I was faster. I caught a glimpse of a calendar reminder popping up on the screen.

"Today, 5:00 pm. Pick up 'Adored'."

My heart violently clenched.

"Adored" was the name of the first painting I had ever sold.

Back in my freshman year of college, my work hung in the campus gallery and went completely unnoticed. In the end, it was purchased by a mysterious buyer.

It wasn't until much later that I discovered the buyer was Zane. He hung the painting in our future home, pointed to my messy signature on the painting, and told me, "In this lifetime, I'm marrying you and no one else."

That painting was the starting point of our love and his promise to me of a unique, loyal devotion.

When Zane saw that I had noticed the reminder, a flash of chagrin crossed his face before melting into a look of helpless tenderness. He tapped the note attached to the reminder on his phone.

It read, "Sadie's wedding ring, inspired by her paintings and named with love."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around me from behind, resting his chin in the crook of my neck.

"I wanted it to be a surprise for the day before our wedding, but you found out early.

"I found a Faelorian designer to incorporate elements from 'Adored' into the ring. Sadie, our rings are the only ones of their kind in the world."

His voice carried a hint of a smile, and his warm breath fanned across my ear.

"Don't be mad anymore, okay? I'll admit that Cassie followed me around and talked to me, but I turned her down. There's no room in my world for anyone but you."

He paused and kissed my forehead.

"I'll pick up the ring now. It's freezing outside, so stay home and wait for me. I'll be back to keep you company soon."

I pulled my hand back and replied in an unnervingly calm voice, "Go ahead."

The moment Zane left, I picked up the phone and checked the resale platform transaction history. The seller's name was Cassie Tate, and the address was a luxury apartment in Westfield.

Zane had once pointed at a billboard for that apartment and told me, "Sadie, I bought a small unit here for you. You now have a quiet place to paint!"

I had been overjoyed then and believed that it was another testament to our love. But now, it felt like the biggest joke.

I tapped on a ride-hailing app and entered the address. Half an hour later, the cab pulled up at the gates of the complex.

I immediately spotted Zane's familiar black Cayenne.

Instead of going inside, I stood in the shadows across the street.

Before long, the building doors opened. Zane stepped out with a petite figure beside him, and I immediately recognized her as the woman from the photos—Cassie.

She intimately clung to his arm, practically hanging off him. Then, she tiptoed and kissed his cheek.

As for Zane, he looked down at her and smiled dotingly, just like how he had smiled at me for the past 15 years.

My hands and feet went ice-cold, but I instinctively raised my phone and aimed the camera at them.

My stomach churned violently again, worse than when I had seen the photos.

Cassie tilted her face up to ask for a kiss, and Zane didn't push her away. He just smiled helplessly and tapped her forehead. "Stop playing around. Someone might see us."

Still, she continued swinging his arm and cloyingly whined, "So what if they do? Your fiancee loves you so much that even if she finds out, she'll just assume I'm the one seducing you."

Zane's expression turned cold, and his voice hardened into an icy warning.

"I made things clear before we even got together. I have my responsibilities and boundaries, and Sadie is the woman I'm going to marry. That will never change."

Cassie pouted and pulled out an exquisite velvet box from her bag before holding it out to him. "Fine… Don't be mad. I promise I won't go near her.

"Look at the gift I got you instead. Let's call our ring 'Adored' too, okay?"

For a split second, his expression stiffened. He looked at her, and in the end, he smiled. "You really are a little devil."

I watched Zane take the ring and slide it onto his ring finger. Its design was nearly identical to the ring he had just described to me, which was inspired by my painting.

The last flicker of warmth I held for our 15 years together completely vanished.

After recording this final scene, I tucked my phone away and turned around to flag down a cab.

When I got home, I didn't turn on the lights. Instead, I sat on the couch in the darkness and replayed the video over and over.

I noticed the fleeting hesitation on Zane's face when he put on the ring, and the way he gave in anyway.

None of this was an accident. The laptop and wallpaper were all traps meticulously laid by Cassie, waiting for me, the rightful fiancee, to uncover my husband's true nature with my own hands.

She had succeeded. My world, along with the 15 years of love, had been completely shattered.

After compressing the video and sending it to Renee, I went back to acting as usual and quietly waited for the day of the engagement party.

Perhaps out of guilt, Zane became even more attentive and caring toward me. But the gentler he was, the more disgusted I felt.

The night before the engagement party, he came home excitedly, carrying a delicate gift box. There was a gentle smile on his face as he said, "Come here, Sadie. Look at the gown I had custom-made for you. You'll be breathtaking in it for the engagement party tomorrow."

He opened the gift box as though presenting a treasure. Inside was a champagne-colored mermaid gown, its hem encrusted with tiny crystals that shimmered softly under the light.

Then, he dropped to one knee and opened a velvet box. Inside was a diamond ring with an intricate design, its delicate lines mirroring the composition of my painting, "Adored".

He looked up at me with overflowing love in his eyes. "This is our 'Adored', Sadie. It will be just like my love for you, eternal and unchanging.

"You'll be my wife starting tomorrow. I've waited so long for this day, Sadie."

There was a hint of barely perceptible nervousness in his voice, and his fingertips trembled slightly.

I looked at my reflection in his eyes and saw the woman who used to be so full of joy and hope for the future. Now, she was cold and indifferent.

Instead of reaching out, I simply looked at him and watched the hope in his eyes slowly stiffen into unease. He carefully asked, "Sadie, do you not like it?"

I slowly shook my head and replied in a flat voice, "I like it. It's very beautiful."

He visibly relaxed and reached for my hand to slip the ring onto my finger. But I gently pulled away and took the box from him.

Looking at the winding lines around the ring, I suddenly laughed.

"What will you do if I run away from the engagement party tomorrow?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Zane asked laughingly and reached out to ruffle my hair.

"If you run away, I'll find you, bring you back, and lock you by my side, even if it means turning the whole world upside down."

I looked down to hide the mockery in my eyes. "Zane… i-if I did something to hurt you, would you forgive me?"

The smile on his face faded. As he cupped my cheeks and forced me to meet his eyes, his expression was terrifyingly solemn.

"You're not allowed to say anything like that."

His thumb brushed against my cheek, and his voice was deep and low as he continued, "Sadie, there's no hurting each other between us, just as there's nothing to forgive. You would never do anything to hurt me, just as I would never betray you."

He said it with such conviction and sincerity that I nearly laughed out loud. Was this certainty born from his trust in me, or was he just confident in his acting skills?

I didn't say another word and let him pull me into his arms, feeling that fake, familiar warmth.

…

On the day of the engagement party, I took out my phone right before leaving and sent Renee a final message. "Proceed as planned."

The ballroom was filled with a warm, lively atmosphere. Both our parents were there, along with our closest relatives.

Zane's mom, Lydia Cross, held my hand and smiled from ear to ear. "You're getting more beautiful every day, Sadie. Zane is the luckiest man on earth to marry you."

I smiled and played the part of radiant, blissful bride-to-be. Zane sat beside me and attentively filled my plate, occasionally leaning in to murmur something in my ear. We were so affectionate that it made everyone else envious.

Halfway through the party, Zane's dad, Grant Lockhart, cleared his throat and rose to his feet, ready to announce the official wedding date.

Just as all eyes turned to him, Zane's phone buzzed again. He picked it up and glanced at the screen, frowning ever so slightly.

Then, he flashed me a reassuring smile and lowered his voice to say, "There's a quick emergency at the office. I'll take this call outside and be right back."

He stood and rushed out of the ballroom.

The moment the door clicked shut, I got to my feet and walked to the front of the room under everyone's stunned gazes. Then, I connected my phone to the giant projector screen, which was originally meant to play a video of our sweetest memories.

The video Renee had meticulously edited began to play.

A dead silence fell over the ballroom. I heard Lydia gasp and saw the color drain from my parents' faces in shock.

When I picked up the microphone and spoke, my voice rang clear and steady throughout the ballroom. "Apologies, everyone. The engagement is canceled."

With that, I set the microphone down.

Amidst the sea of shocked gazes, I turned around and walked out of the suffocating ballroom.

Zane leaned against a window at the end of the hallway, coaxing Cassie on the line in a soft voice. "There, there… It's just a stomachache. I'll come straight to you as soon as the party's over. Don't cry, my little devil."

Before he could hang up, a sharp, loud slap landed hard on his face, which left him utterly stunned.

Clutching his cheek, he looked up in disbelief and saw Grant pointing at him, shaking with rage.

"You brat! Get in there right now and look at what you've done!"