Nathan's POV

Three days before our wedding, my fiancée sold the house we had been preparing for three years.

Because of that, her circle of girlfriends went into an uproar.

“You’ve lost your mind, haven’t you? Just because Daniel wanted that new Ferrari, you sold the house? Does Nathan even know? Where are you two going to live after the wedding then?”

“Exactly! That place was all Nathan’s work inside and out. He poured his heart into it!”

Yet, Cassandra Grant simply downed a drink, her face calm and careless. “He loves me that much. Remember, he nearly lost half his life once when he stepped in front of a knife for me. You think he cares about one house?”

Smirking, she even added, “Besides, isn’t he always saying, ‘Wherever you are is home’? Well, this is the perfect time to see if he really means it.”

Little did they know, I was standing right outside the private room, holding a thermos of soup I had made for her. Without a word, I turned and walked away.

On the wedding morning, her calls came like a curse that wouldn’t stop ringing.

“Nathan! Where the hell are you? My whole family is waiting for you!” she berated as soon as I picked up her call.

But I only stared out the window at the familiar streets passing by and answered, “I already signed the papers. I’m home now.”

——

That house, which was supposedly our wedding home, had been my life’s work for three years, from the very first interior sketch to the last touch of paint.

But for Daniel Lawson’s one casual sigh of ‘I really want that car,’ Cassandra quickly and mindlessly turned my years of effort into cash and bought him a Ferrari.

I had stood outside the bar that night, my hands shaking, my chest aching so bad I could hardly breathe.

Her friend, Rachel Walsh, couldn’t hold back anymore. “Cassandra, seriously, you’ve got to at least tell Nathan. Selling a house ain’t like selling peanuts. When he comes back and finds it gone, won’t he go crazy?”

But Cassandra just waved her hand dismissively, annoyed. “Enough already. Nathan, Nathan, is that all you people know how to say? What, can't I make use of his hard work? Worst case, we could just rent another place.”

“But it’s not the same!” Rachel pressed. “This was your wedding home. It means something. Doing this, honestly, cuts deep.”

Persistent, Cassandra rolled her eyes. “If he finds out, it’ll just turn into another fight, questions, nagging, headaches. I don’t have the time for that. And really, what’s the big deal? That scar on his body? He got it for me. Do you think a guy who loves me that much would ever walk away over one stupid house? Please.”

A few of her friends began teasing.

“I get it, I get it. Cassandra’s just doing it all for Daniel. Honestly, who wouldn’t fall head over heels for a male model like him?”

“Ha! Didn’t we all bet back in the day that Cassandra would end up with Daniel? Beauty and talent. Perfect match!”

For a moment, Cassandra’s smile faltered. “Cut it out, will you? If Nathan ever hears this, it’ll just blow up in my face. I’m begging you. Drop it.”

That only made them laugh harder.

“Alright, alright, we’ll stop. Still, Cassandra, you’ve really got Nathan wrapped around your little finger.”

Just then, her phone lit up on the table. The screen showed: Daniel.

The room fell into silence, her friends exchanging sly glances.

“Well, speak of the devil,” someone muttered.

Cassandra didn’t deny it. Instead, a slow smile curled her lips as she answered.

On the other end, Daniel’s voice was warm, tender. “Cassandra, did you really buy me that ‘800-horsepower beast’? I heard that model of Ferrari is going for around half a million!”

Proudly, she replied, “Mhm. I already paid it. They’ll deliver it to you next week.”

“That’s… that’s way too much. You shouldn’t have spent so much on me,” he replied in a low voice.

But she laughed lightly and said, “It’s just half a million. As long as you’re happy, nothing’s too expensive.”

He sighed in pure satisfaction. “Only you, Cassandra, treat me better than anyone else. When I get that car, the very first ride is yours.”

Her eyes crinkled with delight as she excitedly replied, “I’ll be waiting.”

The moment the call ended, her friends swarmed her again.

“Half a million for a car? Cassandra, are you seriously letting Daniel drive off in that and announce it to the world? What about Nathan? Does he know?”

Nathan's POV

Cassandra casually picked up a bottle of wine before answering, “Nathan and I are basically an old married couple already. He doesn’t care about this kind of stuff. But Daniel is different. He’s alone in another city, with no one around him. He needs a little extra warmth.”

As I listened to them, I stood outside the door, my chest turning cold.

Most of my paycheck went straight into Cassandra’s hands every month, and the furniture in our wedding home had been collected piece by piece after I scoured every discount store in the city.

I still remembered one time, I had my eyes on a sofa worth over two thousand yuan, but she immediately pulled a face.

“Two thousand? For a sofa? Can’t you just sit on the floor?”

In the end, she picked another one. But when she paid, she looked annoyed, although the receipt only read over two hundred.

Turned out, she could be this generous, just never with me.

On the drive home, I rolled the windows down all the way, and the wind whipped across my face, stinging like knives.

Three years.

I couldn't believe I’d been a fool for three whole years.

When I first told her I wanted to design our home myself, she wrapped her arms around my neck and said yes.

At that moment, I really believed she had me in her heart.

She remembered, she had to remember.

That day when the street punk came at her with a knife, I didn’t hesitate and stepped in front of her. While the blade missed my heart by just one centimeter, I was in a coma for three days and nights. She cried at my bedside back then, swearing she’d love me forever.

But she hadn’t kept that in her heart.

Or maybe, to her, that scar was just a reason to live recklessly, knowing I’d never stop protecting her.

The doctor once warned me that too much stress could tug at the nerves around that old wound. So I tilted my head back, trying to swallow down the bitterness, but my chest still felt unbearably heavy.

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was Cassandra with loud rock music blasting in the background.

“Nathan, the girls are throwing me a ‘single-life farewell’ party tonight. Go to bed early, don’t wait up.”

I paused for two seconds before noting, “Alright.”

By three in the morning, I still couldn’t sleep, so I scrolled through social media.

There, I saw Rachel had posted a photo set with the caption: [Cheers to my bestie’s last night of freedom!]

The center photo in the collage showed Daniel, grinning smugly, holding his car keys just high enough to show off the Ferrari logo like a lighter’s spark.

Meanwhile, Cassandra was practically hanging off him, her body pressed to his side. His other hand rested firmly on her waist.

The comments section was blown up.

[Damn, isn’t that the Ferrari SF90? That’s insane!]

]These two look perfect together. What a shame.]

[@Cassandra girl, better be careful. Don’t let Nathan see this!]

Cassandra herself chimed in.

[Nathan isn’t that petty. If he’s going to throw a fit over this, then maybe we shouldn’t get married at all.]

After reading her reply, I shut off my phone, expressionless.

She knew exactly how far she could push me. She knew I’d swallow the pain when she sold our house. She knew I’d keep quiet when she bought Daniel a car worth half a million. She knew I’d accept every excuse of ‘we’re just friends.’

But this time, the scar in my chest didn’t ache anymore.

Because I was done.

I didn’t want to endure it any longer.

The next day, I went to the hospital for a check-up alone.

“How many times have I told you? On rainy days, the wound aches. You need someone with you to hold the bandage, to make sure you apply the medicine properly.”

The doctor scolded me helplessly, but I could only force a smile. “I’m a grown man. I’ll manage.”

Not long after I left the hospital, the skies split open with a downpour.

Quickly, I ducked into a small corner bistro to get out of the rain. But when I looked up, I froze.

There was Daniel, leaning forward, smiling ear to ear, holding out a spoon.

And right then, Cassandra leaned across the table and took a bite of the cheesy corn he fed her.

Nathan's POV

The distinctive car key was also on the table, glinting.

And the watch on Daniel’s wrist was the same one Cassandra told me last week she had “bought for an important client.”

Seeing that scene, I let out a bitter laugh, turned up my collar, and walked home in the pounding rain.

By the time she came back, I had just stepped out of the shower, water still dripping from my hair.

She froze for a second when she saw me. “Why do you look like a drowned rat?”

“I went to the hospital,” I said flatly.

Her expression stiffened at once. “Why’d you go to the hospital today?”

I chuckled softly. “I’ve told you more than once.”

Irritated, Cassandra ran a hand through her hair and snapped, “I’ve been busy, alright? I forgot. Anyway, your wound’s healed by now. Missing one check-up won’t kill you.”

I held her gaze and relayed what the doctor had said. “The doctor said if I don’t take care of it, it could relapse.”

That shut her up for a moment. But when she looked back up, there was a flicker of annoyance in her eyes. “You’re not trying to use that scar to guilt-trip me again, are you?”

So that was what it was to her. My reminder wasn’t about my health. It was me playing for credit.

Seeing me just staring at her, her anger flared up. “Why are you giving me that dead look again? I was just unable to go with you! Is that worth sulking over?”

But my eyes flicked to her collar, and I emotionlessly said, “You didn’t wipe the cheese off your shirt.”

She instinctively reached for her neckline, but then froze mid-motion.

“You…”

I added slowly, “Also, Daniel’s watch looks good on him.”

Her face flushed dark red. She jabbed her finger at me, shaking with rage. “You were following me? Nathan, what’s wrong with you! So what if I had dinner with him? What’s the big deal? He’s out there alone, struggling, no family, no support. Don’t you think that’s pitiful? You really have to be this petty? What’s the point?”

I laughed, but it came out harshly. “Funny thing, I was at the hospital alone today, too. But I didn’t see you feeling sorry for me.”

Caught in a corner, she tried to reason, “How can you compare yourself to him? And don’t you dare say I never cared about you, 'cause I have! Just not the way you demand, okay?”

But before she could finish, her phone rang, and it was Daniel again.

Swiftly, she snatched it up and answered it.

“Cassandra, I think I caught a fever in the rain. My head’s spinning,” the man said in a weak voice.

Panicked, she immediately replied, “Stay home. I’ll be right there!”

Afterward, she quickly hung up and grabbed her bag without so much as a glance at me.

Only when she was at the door did she turn back and say, “Stay here and think about what you’ve done. Tomorrow you’re coming with me to pick out the flowers for the wedding party. And stop with these cheap tricks, like spying on me. It’s pathetic.”

Then she was gone.

Her words buzzed in my ears long after the door shut.

Pathetic.

She was right.

But why had it taken me so long to see?

It seemed my heart had been blind for years.

The next day, we drove to the florist, and the air inside the car felt suffocating.

So at a red light, I put on my headphones and turned my face toward the window.

Meanwhile, Cassandra pulled out a big powder puff, reapplying her makeup nonstop.

“Those apartments on the south side are pretty nice. It's a good location and the transportation is convenient,” she suddenly started and sneaked a glance at me, waiting for a response.

But I said nothing.

Thinking I might not have heard her, she cleared her throat and raised her voice. “They say it’s a new development, better environment. Lots of young couples love renting there. Why don’t we check it out?”

Still, I didn’t even open my eyes, just let out a low grunt through my nose.

This time, her brows furrowed tight, and her tone sharpened. “Nathan, I’m talking to you!”