Elara and I were college schoolmates. While she was the belle of the Literature department, I was just one of the countless ordinary faces in the crowd.

No. I was the one everyone avoided.

We met at a campus party. I was being surrounded and bullied when Elara stepped in and pulled me out of it.

While the other students tried to persuade her not to get involved, they told her I was a jinx. They said my father had fallen from a construction site when I was little and died.

Two years later, my mother, who had depended on me, passed away from exhaustion and illness. I was sent to live with my elderly grandmother. There, I spent what little carefree childhood I had.

When I was ten, my grandmother also died. From that day on, I was sent to an orphanage.

Everyone there called me Jinx. They said all my relatives had died because I brought them misfortune. Everyone hated me and picked on me together.

The only person who treated me kindly, the director, passed away from illness not long after I arrived. Her death only solidified my title as Jinx.

From then on, I endured eight long years of bullying.

Until I met Elara. She was like a little angel, adding a trace of warmth to my dark life.

Even though she was clearly afraid herself, she still comforted me, "Don’t take their words to heart. None of that was your fault. You deserve all the beauty this world has to offer."

In that instant, I fell for her beyond saving.

Unfortunately, she had a boyfriend. His name was Drew. From that moment on, I began a long, silent crush.

In our sophomore year, Drew went abroad to study. The two of them had a fierce argument and parted on bad terms.

I seized the opportunity and pursued her desperately.

Everyone around me laughed at my wishful thinking. They said Elara was the moon above the clouds, and I was nothing more than filthy mud.

"A jinx like you? How could you ever be worthy of Elara?"

I considered giving up, but I refused. Who were they to strip me of my right to pursue happiness? So I chased after Elara for five years.

The day she accepted my confession, I was over the moon. I thought I could finally stand openly by her side.

Then Drew returned to the country, and my beautiful dream was shattered.

Elara’s gaze was gradually drawn back to him. She began moving closer and closer to Drew.

That night, Elara lay on the bed, drunk beyond recognition, murmuring Drew’s name over and over.

In that moment, it felt as if someone had grabbed my heart and squeezed. Were the years I spent with her still no match for the one year she had with him?

I started to feel insecure and restless. I kept telling myself it was only natural.

Drew had been her first love. Of course, he would be hard to forget. It didn’t matter. I was the one by her side now. As long as Elara was still with me, nothing else mattered.

Until she slept with Drew, I could no longer lie to myself. I never believed a girl’s purity was defined by something so small.

But Elara had said she was frigid. Even when I accidentally brushed against her, she would recoil in disgust.

Now she could lie in the same bed as Drew and sleep with him?

When news of the canceled wedding reached Elara’s parents, Gregory and Helena Wynn, they stormed over to demand an explanation.

The moment they walked in, they began accusing me without a single question.

"Our Elara has been with you for so many years. The venue's already booked. And now you’re saying the wedding’s off just like that? Are you trying to make us lose face in front of all our relatives and friends?"

"Cassian, let me tell you something. Our daughter marrying you is a blessing for you. Don’t be so ungrateful."

I slammed the photos of Elara and Drew down in front of them.

"Take a good look. This is the wonderful thing your precious daughter did. The day before her wedding, she goes and books a hotel room with another man. I’m not so desperate that I’d marry just any worn-out bitch."

Their expressions changed, as if they had swallowed something filthy.

Mrs. Wynn lifted her chin stubbornly. "So what? It’s just sleeping together. It’s not some huge deal. Are you really going to nitpick over something like that?"

Mr. Wynn quickly chimed in, "Exactly. How are you still this backward? If anything, this can’t be entirely Elara’s fault. Maybe you just weren’t good enough to keep her."

I laughed in anger. I wanted to see just how shameless this entire family could be.

I deliberately sighed, letting guilt and reluctance show on my face. "Mr. and Mrs. Wynn, it’s not that I insist on holding onto this. I just… I can’t accept it so suddenly…"

Mrs. Wynn snorted. "What’s so hard to accept? I think you’re just fragile. Society is open now…"

I nodded repeatedly in agreement while quietly recording the conversation on my phone.

Mr. Wynn looked me up and down with clear dissatisfaction. "Spreading this around wouldn’t sound good either. Don’t say we didn’t give you a chance. As long as you keep your mouth shut about this, our Elara can still marry you."

I forced back the urge to curse. "Well, shouldn’t we ask her what she wants? Marriage is between two people."

Their faces darkened instantly.

"What do you mean by that? Elara marrying you is already your good fortune. Don’t push your luck."

I let out a heavy sigh, pretending to be deeply in love. "I do want to be with her. It’s just… the Mercer family is so powerful… I… I’m afraid."

When they heard that, their contempt for me deepened. However, the moment they registered the Mercer family’s influence, their eyes lit up.

"You mean the Mercers? The one whose son slept with our Elara?"

I nodded, then feigned surprise. "Yes. Didn’t she tell you?"

Mr. Wynn shot Mrs. Wynn a look. After a light cough, he spoke, "Of course, we know about it. Since she and the Mercer boy are mutually in love, and they’ve already been together… I think your marriage should just be forgotten."

Mrs. Wynn agreed immediately, "Yes. This has nothing to do with you anymore."

Inside, I was overjoyed. On the surface, I looked full of reluctance. "But… I truly love her. You…"

Before I could finish, they cut me off.

"That’s enough. She has nothing to do with you anymore."

They left in a hurry, barely able to hide their eagerness.

Watching their backs disappear, I curved my lips in quiet satisfaction. The real show was only just beginning.

When Elara found out about it, she charged straight to my apartment in a fury.

The moment she stepped through the door, she started screaming at me, "Cassian! Have you lost your mind? You actually dared to cancel the wedding?

"You’ve really grown bold. Have you forgotten how you used to grovel just to pursue me? It was something this small, and you’re calling off the wedding? Haven’t you made mistakes all these years?"

As she spoke, she began smashing things wildly.

"I told you, I just didn’t want to leave regrets in my life. Can you stop being so old-fashioned? And you even told my parents about it. Aren’t you something?"

I stood in the living room and watched her unravel in silence. The woman in front of me was nothing like the girl who once saved me from humiliation. For a fleeting second, I even wondered if she was truly that gentle girl at all. Or had someone else taken over her body?

The thought made me laugh at myself. I must be losing it.

I crossed the room in a few strides and snatched the pillow from her hands without mercy.

"Are you done?"

Maybe she had never seen me speak to her like that before. She actually froze.

I drew in a deep breath.

"Elara, I truly liked you. I thought you liked me too. You said you didn’t like other people touching you. That’s why, all these years we were together, I never even held your hand.

"And now? You turn around and sleep with another man. Do you think I’m an idiot?"

She looked at me, her face full of impatience. "I already said it! I just didn’t want to leave regrets in my life. Can you stop harping on this?"

I let out a tired sigh. "You know better than I do whether that’s really the reason.

"There are things I don’t want to dig into. I just hope you know when to stop, before this turns into something none of us can walk away from cleanly."

"You’re so backward."

With that single sentence, I had no rebuttal. In her eyes, going to a hotel with another man the day before her wedding was nothing. My humiliation and pain counted for even less.

Suddenly, I remembered the day she accepted my proposal. Fireworks had filled the sky as we promised each other a lifetime. She said she would love me forever from then on.

That night, she had looked at me, her eyes curved in a bright smile.

"Mr. Rowe, from now on, I’ll love you in place of your parents."

In that moment, there had only been the two of us in each other’s eyes.

Now, I was no longer the person she loved. Ever since Drew returned, all her thoughts had been on him. I was no longer the man she had sworn to cherish.

My thoughts snapped back to the present. I looked at the woman before me and felt a fatigue I had never known before.

I should have understood long ago. How could someone like me ever deserve something so beautiful?

"Elara, let’s break up. It’s better for both of us. Whatever happened between us ends here. I’m tired."

She let out a cold laugh. "Fine! Very impressive, Cassian! If you want to break up, then we’ll break up!"

Our wedding was finally canceled. During that time, I buried myself in work and knew little about what she was doing.

Until the day she officially confirmed her relationship with Drew.

She asked me to meet her at a cafe and showed up glowing, eager to flaunt her new life.

I wasn’t interested in her life. There were just some things I needed to make clear.

So we arranged to meet at a cafe.