My girlfriend, Celia Winters, had her first love save her life before, so she promised to do three things for him.

The first time, he called her away to ride the Ferris wheel with him when I was supposed to propose to my girlfriend.

The second time, he asked her to accompany him to see the northern lights while I was ill and hospitalized.

I had a crush on my girlfriend for eight years, so I endured all of this. It was not until our wedding that my girlfriend publicly admitted that she had not married the one she loved the most.

She comforted me, "Zane, I'll have nothing to do with Shane anymore after this. Could you please forgive me again?"

However, I did not want to endure it any longer.

Since she had not married the right person, I would let her marry him!

When the emcee stood on stage and asked whether she would marry me, a faint sense of nervousness crept into my heart, and I could not stop myself from looking toward Celia Winters' first love, Shane Quinn, who was sitting in the audience.

The confident smile on his face added a hint of gloom to my heart.

It was not until Celia said "I do" that I finally let out a sigh of relief.

However, she soon said, "I have a song that I want to dedicate to my groom."

Although this song was for me, her gaze was affectionately fixed on Shane in the audience.

I felt bitter.

The emcee handed the stage over to Celia.

When the music started, it felt as if I had fallen into an endless pit of despair.

I recognized this song.

Shane had written the lyrics and composed the music himself. The song was called "Not Marrying the One I Love".

She sang the song for eight minutes, and it made me think of the eight years I had spent with her.

I had had a crush on Celia since college. It had been a full eight years from college to starting work. During that time, she was constantly entangled with her first love, and I tolerated it. She was forced to marry me for her family's company, and I tolerated that as well.

Now, looking at my furious parents in the distance and at Celia and Shane gazing at each other with deep affection, I suddenly wanted to put a stop to it all.

Perhaps sensing that something was off with me, Celia put down the microphone and slowly approached me. "Zane Lindell, forgive me. Shane said that it's the last time. I won't be in contact with him anymore."

She spoke as if they really would not be in contact anymore if I forgave her now.

I knew Shane knew he could not marry Celia, so he wanted to humiliate me this way. At the very least, this wedding would be a nightmare for me for years to come.

Looking at Celia feigning affection, I felt disgusted for the first time. I took a small step back to distance myself from her and casually tossed the ring on the ground. "Since you didn't marry the person you love, marry him now. He's right there in the audience." I held the microphone, my voice echoing throughout the place.

The people around us murmured among themselves, and Celia's face showed a fleeting moment of embarrassment. "Zane, stop it. It’s our wedding today."

"You’re realizing that now? I don't want to marry you anymore. You're free. Go marry whoever you want."

After saying that, I looked at Shane. "Shane, congratulations, you’ve won. I don't want this woman anymore. I wish you a happy marriage and many children."

Of course, I did it on purpose.

Shane was a somewhat well-known music producer in the industry; he used his status to squeeze into our circle. Now, I wanted to kick them both out.

I casually threw the microphone on the ground, took off my wedding coat, and turned around to leave. I also pulled my parents away before leaving.

My parents did not scold me on the drive home. My mother patted my back slightly, silently comforting me.

Having a crush on Celia for eight years was just too painful.

We belonged to the same circle and attended the same university. Celia would never have gone through with this arranged marriage were it not for the Winters family's financial crisis.

I admitted I was a bit despicable, but I genuinely thought I had won Celia's heart after two years of dating. Even if she was willing to ignore me every time for Shane, I was still willing to wait for her.

My family did not want to get involved with the Winters family. After all, they were not good enough to marry into our family. However, my parents indulged me because I was willing.

If I still chose to forgive her today, I would not be the only one humiliated.

Seeing me cry so sadly, my mother said, "Zane, we can put pressure on the Winters family if you still want to marry her. Celia will come and apologize to you."

However, I knew Celia would come and apologize to me even if my parents did not put pressure on the Winters family. I shook my head. "Mom, I'm sorry I've embarrassed you both. I won't be with Celia anymore. I’ve dumped her."

"It's good that you won't marry her. We don't want a woman like her," My mother said nothing more after that and just rubbed my hair.

My parents knew I was unhappy. Thus, we arranged a family trip that very night after getting home.

I chose Iceland out of selfish motives. We went to see the northern lights together.

It was the most beautiful scenery to me all these years because I had saved Celia right here. We used to snuggle up together to watch the northern lights, so I chose to end everything here now.

I let go of those eight years in just one week.

However, I did not expect public opinion to be directed against me upon my return.

Shane's fans maliciously edited and reposted my statement at the wedding. My original words were twisted into: "Since you like Shane, marry him. I'm not marrying you."

They knew nothing about the wedding; they just thought that I dragged Shane into it.

Furthermore, the Winters family did not clarify the situation, leading Shane's fans to manipulate the online narrative and insult me viciously.

My funeral portrait was widely circulating online within just one week.

However, both my parents and I knew that public opinion could never have escalated to this extent without manipulation. Even my family's public relations team could not suppress it.

My first thought was that it had something to do with Celia.

I heard Shane's voice when I called her.

I asked, "Celia, don't you have anything to say to me about the online rumors?"

Celia's voice on the other end of the line sounded utterly indifferent, seemingly unaffected by the wedding chaos. "Zane, if you apologize to Shane now, our wedding can be rescheduled. I'll still register our marriage."

I despised myself for having secretly hoped for a change in her attitude. I was so mad I almost laughed. "Celia, I also wanted to ask Shane if you both have any sense of shame. The online uproar is so huge, yet you expect me to apologize instead of explaining."

"Shane wouldn't have almost lost his job if it weren't for you. Those insults are well-deserved." She was as condescending as ever.

I hung up without further hesitation. Later, I turned to my parents and said with a chuckle, "Dad, cut off the Winters family's funding. A woman like her doesn't deserve it."

There was no other reason. I just wanted to know if Celia would still make me apologize to Shane without the support of my family's financial chain.

I did not directly try to clarify things online; instead, I spent money to remove it from the trending list. I did this to more intuitively see whether there was anyone guiding public opinion behind the scenes.

One night passed, and it was still trending. This time, I knew that someone was trying to mess with me. The remaining matters would be much smoother to solve once the goal was set.

Just then, Shane's messages started coming in. They were photos of him and Celia, taken during the seven days I was out travelling, as well as his text message.

Shane: [Zane, do you really think Celia loves you? I'm the only one she loves.]

Among dozens of photos, there was one that particularly stung. It was a photo of Celia and Shane embracing each other under the setting sun on the mountain top.

My heart ached in waves.

Celia once told me that she disliked outdoor sports, but she was willing to climb the highest mountain in the city together with Shane.

Although these photos did upset me for a moment, I still thought Shane was stupid.

Public opinion online was originally aimed at me, but not anymore.

I did not mind using Shane as a shield, regardless of whether he actually did it. I sent the photos and screenshots Shane sent me to several paid marketing accounts. They completely reversed public opinion in just two hours.

Even though Shane had spent a fortune to make this topic trend online, it could not withstand the solid evidence he helpfully provided himself.

After doing all this, I was bombarded with messages from Shane. My phone was filled with countless vulgarities.

Even Celia called me countless times. Perhaps more than she had in three years. It was ironic.

I ignored them all, spending a few days at home calming myself down before driving to work.

Just as I parked my car at my workstation, someone suddenly rushed toward me from a distance.

I instinctively sensed danger and tried to get back into the car, but it was too late; she was fast.

A woman charged straight at me, holding a gleaming dagger.

A sharp pain shot through my abdomen, momentarily blurring my consciousness.

I seized the opportunity to grab the woman tightly. Even if it meant death, I would not let her escape justice.

In a daze, I heard the woman make a phone call. "Shane, don't worry, I've dealt with that wretch. No one will ever be able to hurt you again!"