During the SAT period, Eileen said that she would like her wedding to be a grand one, so I held the wedding on a yacht, but she didn't show up.

Her family blamed me for failing to restrain her and labeling me as a good-for-nothing so as not to embarrass themselves.

My mother defended me. The Solomon family scolded her, saying that a lowly person like her was not worthy of talking to them.

My mother, who suffered from heart disease, fainted from anger. It was too late when she was taken to the hospital.

The reason why Eileen didn't come to the wedding was that her male best friend, Asher Dunlap, broke his leg.

Eileen posted on Facebook, showing her injured leg. The caption read [I'm with him through the pain he suffered.]

I liked the post and commented, [It's just a scrape, I hope you love each other forever.]

I didn't propose marrying Eileen.

Because my career was on the rise. Eileen's family was wealthy, so I wanted to achieve more before proposing to her.

But Eileen said that her grandfather, who was old, wanted to see her get married, so she forced me to hold a wedding first.

I discussed it with my mother. She said that the Solomon family was way out of my league, so I should consider it carefully.

But I had confidence in myself, thinking that I could achieve results quickly and could be considered a good match for Eileen.

Moreover, I loved Eileen so much, so I said yes to her.

She said that she would like her wedding to be a grand one, so I booked a yacht. We would hold a grand wedding on the yacht.

But she didn't show up or inform me.

The Solomon family was embarrassed. Instead of blaming Eileen, they scolded me heavily, saying that I couldn't restrain Eileen and that I was a good-for-nothing. Some people even said that Eileen couldn't have agreed to marry me at all. I was forcing her into it using tricks.

My mother defended me with a few words. The Solomon family said to her, "A lowly person is not worthy of talking to us!"

My mother, who suffered from heart disease, fainted. She had passed away by the time she was taken to the hospital.

While I was handling the funeral, I saw Eileen's Facebook post. Only then did I learn that she didn't come to the wedding because Asher had injured his leg?

She posted a picture of her left knee with broken skin. The caption said, [I will accompany him through the pain he suffered.]

I liked the post and commented, [Your love moves me. I hope you love each other forever.]

To be honest, I found myself ridiculous. My girlfriend, who was about to marry me, didn't come to the wedding because her male best friend had a leg injury.

I took time off and went back to my hometown to handle my mother's funeral. By the time I came back, it had been a week later.

And during this week, Eileen didn't call me once.

Upon arriving at the door of my house, I saw Eileen and Asher standing at the door.

Seeing them, I looked indifferent. Without saying anything, I walked over to open the door.

Eileen grabbed my hand unhappily and said, "Didn't you see me?"

I shook off her hand, opened the door, and walked in. Then I was about to close the door.

But Asher suddenly stretched his hand and put it into the crack of the door. Then his wrist got caught, and he screamed in pain.

"Eileen, look at him, he always hurts me!”

Asher complained to Eileen.

But he sneered at me and felt proud of slandering me again.

"Joe Lawrence, what are you up to again?"

Eileen frowned and forcefully pulled open the door.

Then she pointed at Asher's wrist and said, “Apologize to Asher immediately!"

"This is my home. He reached his hand in when I closed the door. Why should I apologize?"

I looked at her indifferently and flatly as if I were treating a stranger.

"You belong to me. How did it become your home?"

"Now that you have broken Asher's wrist, you must apologize to him!"

She was as domineering as ever.

"I'm sorry, I've decided to break up with you."

"And I bought this house. It has nothing to do with you, so please leave."

I closed the door, looking indifferent.

"Bang!"

Eileen pushed the door hard, and Asher was squeezing in.

I pushed the door back with my backhand. As the door hit Asher's head, he screamed and fell to the ground.

"Eileen, look, he hurts me again!"

Asher was about to cry.

"Is this something a man should do?"

Of course, Eileen had always said that Asher was her best friend and a sissy. She told me not to be jealous.

And I, who had been busy with work, didn't take it seriously.

But Asher always tried to provoke the relationship between me and Eileen. It was only then that I realized he was not a weakling and he was just pretending.

I had told Eileen my thoughts, but she didn't believe me.

Per her, she and Asher grew up in the same courtyard, so she knew Asher the best. She said I was overly suspicious.

Then she started blaming me for not trusting her. Per her, she could accept my clingy mom, and I should put up with her having a male best friend.

At that time, I asked her in confusion, "Do you think my mother is the same as your male best friend?"

She nodded earnestly at that time.

I had been pursuing her since my sophomore year. She only agreed to be with me after I started working.

So I loved her very much and believed that loving her meant being tolerant of her. Even if her words made me unhappy, I planned to slowly reason with her.

But...

"What did I get in the end?"

She forced me to hold a wedding, saying that if I didn't, she would break up with me. I agreed, but she didn't show up, which made me furious.

And even before that, she often hung out with Asher as a pair.

She never introduced me to her friends, let alone invited me to her family banquets. Even the employees in her company didn't know me.

But Asher and she had common friends and often appeared at her family banquets. The employees in her company would treat Asher respectfully when they see him.

I wondered how I got through these years. "Is it because of love?"

"If it is, then love is gone now."

"Joe, what did you just say? Breaking up with me?"

Eileen stared at me fiercely as I didn't speak for a while.

I nodded calmly and said, "Yes, let's break up."

Then I pointed outside the door and said, "Please leave my house. Otherwise, I will call the police immediately."

"I didn't attend the wedding. It is nothing, okay?"

"We can hold a wedding whenever we can. Is a wedding so important? Even if it is, is it more important than Asher's injury?"

"Joe, you are too petty. Your behavior today makes me feel disgusted!"

Eileen looked stern as she spoke.

I couldn't reason with this kind of person.

In her heart, her male best friend's leg being injured was more important than our wedding.

Even if she didn't take my dignity seriously, she had to consider the feelings between us. The Solomon family members were all on the yacht, and she didn't even bother with them at all.

I found her so ridiculous too.

"Fine, I disgust you. Since then, please let me go. Let's break up."

I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.

"Are you that persistent?"

"Okay, Joe, have you got so much guts?"

Eileen took out her cell phone and dialed a number, saying, "Lily, cancel the appointment with the experts you contacted on my behalf. I am talking about the ones who will give my fiancé's mother a consultation."

Then she deliberately turned on the speakerphone and looked up at me.

Asher stood up, smiling viciously.

A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone, "Oh, it has been canceled. The staff from the hospital notified me that the patient had passed away."

"What?"

"Lily, don't make a fuss. This is impossible. She was fine just a week ago!"

Eileen's tone was full of disbelief. She looked at me with guilt in her eyes.

That one on the phone said over the phone, "I'm not making a fuss. This is a fact. Eileen, don't bother me either. The design director of my company took leave. Now it's a mess. Damn it."

Then, she hung up the phone.

"Joe, I didn't know that Auntie passed away. How did she pass away? After all, she is healthy."

Eileen walked towards me in panic, intending to grab my hand, but I shook her off.

Asher suddenly sneered, saying, "She was so old, and she had been sick for so many years. Normally, she died.

His words infuriated me.

I didn't hold myself back this time. If I could bear such a thing, then I would be unworthy of being a human.

"Bang!"

I punched Asher in the mouth, grabbed his hair, and pressed him against the door panel. Then I said, "Say those words again. See if I dare to kill you!"

"Eileen, save me! He's going to kill me!"

Asher screamed in agony.

Eileen ran over and pushed me away, shouting at me, "Joe, I know you're upset about Auntie's passing, but you can't take it out on Asher!"

"I'm telling you, Eileen, we're breaking up!"

"How did my mother die?"

"Okay, I'll tell you!"

"You didn't attend the wedding, which shamed the Solomon family. They publicly humiliated me, saying that I couldn't restrain you. They even said that I held a wedding without your knowledge!"

"My mother defended me with a few words. The Solomon family said that my mother was a lowly person and she was not worthy of talking to them!"

"My mother had been suffering from heart disease. Then she just..."

I was panting, my eyes were red. I couldn't continue with the rest of the words.

I asked a lawyer whether I could sue the Solomon family. The lawyer said that I could only get money and nothing else.

I didn't want people to say that I was taking advantage of my mother's death, so I didn't sue them.

"Your mother was so fragile. She died just from a few words."

Asher started to be sarcastic again.

I slapped him and pressed him to the door.

"You dare to hit me?"

"You're finished, Joe. Wait for me. I'm calling the police now. I'll make sure you never get out!"

Asher roared.

Eileen stopped him and said to me, "Joe, it's my fault that Auntie died, but it's your fault to hit Asher."

"Get out of here!"

"If you don't leave, I'll hit you too!"

I looked at her indifferently without any emotion in my tone.

"Joe, you'd better calm down."

"I'm sorry about Auntie's death, but we have to continue our wedding. After all, my grandpa wants to see me get married."

"Now that you've beaten Asher, I'll take him to the hospital first."

Eileen sighed and pulled Asher away.

"How ridiculous it is."

"Your grandfather wants to see you get married, so I must marry you. Is that so?"

I had been so blind back then as to fall in love with her!

After adjusting my mood, I changed into a new set of clothes and went to the company.

When I arrived at the company, my colleagues looked at me weirdly.

After my inquiry, the receptionist whispered that a new CEO had been appointed during my leave. I, as the design director, took leave, leading to a project's failure. The new CEO was currently flying into a rage in the meeting room.

I quickly went to the meeting room and knocked on the door before entering.

At the head of the conference table, there was a tall and slender woman in suit pants. She looked so professional.

She pushed her glasses and looked at me, saying, "Are you Joe, the design director?"

"It's me."

I nodded and said, "My mother passed away, so I took leave. I didn't know it would have such a big impact on the company..."

"I didn't mean to blame you. I will send you the gift money later. After all, we are colleagues."

She nodded at me and said, "Mr. Lawrence, since you are here, let's start the meeting.'

It seemed that the CEO scolded someone not because of my leave.

After listening to their conversation for a while, I figured out the reason why she scolded people. Even though I, as the design director, took a leave, I had arranged the follow-up progress of the project. However, many employees in the company were here because of their connections. They had no professional qualities. So when I took a leave, they couldn't work properly.

This was the reason why she got angry. She was scolding those people with connections.

Moreover, she had dealt with those people with connections before the meeting ended.

Finally, I learned that her name was Lily Hawk. Most of the people she dealt with were her relatives.

This company was a family business, so it was particularly low-efficient, redundant, and decadent. She was here to rectify it.

I immersed myself in work and got busy for three days.

At noon on the third day, I received a call from the town head in my hometown. He said, "Joe, come back quickly. Someone wants to dig up your mother's grave!"