Carl Anderson doesn't show up for our engagement party. I finally find him in a bar's private room after night has fallen.

"I only think of her as a sister. Who would've expected her to want to latch onto me like that? There's no way I'll marry her in this lifetime!" He downs his drink.

Later, when he and Angela Moran get married, he tells his friends to stop me at the entrance. He's afraid I'll crash his wedding and ruin it.

"Keep an eye on Iris, guys. Don't let her crash the wedding!" he says.

As soon as the words are out of his mouth, I show up with Henry Moran.

"Don't even dream of stepping in there, Iris!" Carl looks at me warily.

"You're so rude! You have to call her Aunt Iris now!" Angela greets me warmly and leads me inside.

As soon as I got home, I announced, "Carl and I have broken up."

When I saw Mom and Dad still in their formal attire, I slumped onto the couch with a look of sorrow.

"But both families have already come to an agreement about the engagement!" Mom exclaimed.

Mom and Dad stared at me in shock. They even dropped the mugs of tea they were holding.

"That's right. Carl's parents have given us their blessings, but Carl doesn't want to marry me," I replied before closing my eyes, feeling rather dejected.

Today, I was supposed to get engaged to Carl Anderson. Many prominent figures from the business industry had been invited to our engagement party.

Everyone watched as I stood there like a complete fool, waiting all day for Carl to come. I was subjected to all their comments and ridicule, and Carl didn't even show up.

Slamming his hand on the table in fury, Dad declared, "Tomorrow, I'll head over to see the Andersons and demand an explanation. They've gone too far!"

Dad wanted to stand up for me, but I replied, "Forget it. There's no point trying to force Carl to marry me. Can you think of anyone who would be a good match for me in our circle? If you can, introduce them to me."

I picked up my phone and started scrolling through my contacts list.

"You can't be so hasty," Mom said. "Perhaps there's some kind of misunderstanding between you two. Let me ask around tomorrow."

Mom looked at me with concern. She seemed worried that I would impulsively do something that I would regret.

"You don't need to, Mom. I'll think of something myself," I replied as my eyes fell on a name.

Henry Moran.

He was three years older than me. Once he reached adulthood, he took over the reins of the Moran family's company and had been in charge ever since.

When we were little, he kept teasing me, refusing to stop until I cried.

Out of the blue, I recalled that he once said I was too ugly when I cried. No one would want to marry me. I had cried even more pitifully when I heard that, so he hurriedly wiped my tears away and said he would marry me if no one else wanted to.

With that memory in mind, I grabbed my car keys and walked toward the door.

"Iris, where are you going at this hour of the night?" Mom asked as she trailed behind me worriedly.

"So what if Carl doesn't want me? I don't want him, either! Mom, Dad, wait for me. I'll get you a new son-in-law!"

I waved at Mom to usher her back into the house.

…

After parking the car outside the Moran residence, I took a deep breath to steel myself before heading in.

Someone was sitting in the living room—Carl.

"What are you doing here?" Carl demanded as he stood up and eyed me with hostility. He thought I had tailed him to the Moran residence.

"Relax. I'm not here to see you," I retorted before taking a seat on the other couch to wait for Henry.

After getting out of the car, I messaged Henry to inform him that I had come to talk to him about something.

"Are you doing okay?" Carl asked. "I know I've hurt you, but I really can't marry you."

He sat beside me and reached out to stroke my head the way he used to, but I shot him a look. He knew full well what would've happened to me if he didn't show up today, but he chose to abandon me anyway.

"Don't touch me! I'm fine." I turned my head away from him before scooting over to the side.

If Carl truly felt bad for what he did to me, he should've told me sooner that he wanted to cancel the engagement. He shouldn't have made me the fool by letting me wait the entire day for him.

He certainly shouldn't have mocked me and disparaged me in front of others.

This proved that my feelings for him throughout the last two decades meant nothing to him. Those words that came out of his mouth felt colder than the biting winds of winter. They left me feeling suffocated and gasping for air.

Even now, as I stared at the face that once mesmerized me, I felt a ball of anger and frustration welling up inside of me.

Eyeing Carl curiously, I asked, "Why are you here?"

"I gave Angela a ride home. She went up to take something for me," Carl replied. Seeing that I was still talking to him, he patiently tried to placate me, saying, "Don't be mad. Everything's my fault."

When I heard the ease and familiarity in his voice as he mentioned another woman's name, I felt even more hurt. My eyes reddened slightly. I couldn't resist feeling the urge to cry.

So, Angela Moran was the reason Carl refused to get engaged to me.

"Once I have some free time, I'll take you out for some fun. Angela's a great person. She's been to the place I want to take you to, so she can show you around. I'm sure you two will be great friends."

Carl didn't notice my reaction. Instead, he chattered happily about the arrangements he wanted to make.

My fists clenched as I stared at him. Did he have any idea just how hurt I was?

Just then, Henry called out to me, "Come with me!"

He was standing at the bottom of the stairway. Having seen that Carl and I were sitting side by side, he spoke in a rather stiff tone.

I watched as Angela approached Carl and murmured something to him. Immediately, the manner in which Carl carried himself changed entirely. He looked unusually gentle.

I sifted through all the memories I had of Carl throughout the last two decades or so. He had never smiled at me the way he was smiling at Angela now.

Carl and I were childhood friends. We had played with each other since we were children. Being a rather carefree person myself, I often went around climbing trees and scampering outside with Carl.

When others bullied me, he would defend me and beat them up to chase them off. When I cried, he would patiently soothe me.

Even when we had grown up, Carl never bothered to put on any sort of pretense around me. I thought that meant he treated me like his soulmate, but as it was, he was merely treating me as if I were his pet.

When I saw the intimacy he shared with Angela, I finally realized just how worthless my love was to him. I didn't even know when he got so close to Angela, who had only just returned to the country.

Well, when it came to love, it didn't matter who came first. It was a matter of the right person at the right time.

Henry took me to his study before explaining on behalf of Angela, his niece, "Angela doesn't know about your relationship with Carl."

I nodded in response. I knew Angela grew up abroad. Henry only brought her back recently after her parents died in a car accident. Even after returning, she hadn't really mingled with the rest of us in the same social circle.

"Why did you come here to see me?" Henry asked with a puzzled look.

I glanced at him. Then, as I tried my best to stop my heart from pounding, I said, "I heard that Mr. Moran Senior has been urging you to get married. How do you feel about marrying me? I'm single, and so are you. We can easily make a good match."

Once I finished, I closed my eyes and waited for his decision.

When I heard a chuckle ring out beside my ear, I lifted my head and opened my eyes. Henry had walked up to me.

"Sure," Henry replied. "I'm a bit busy right now, but once everything is settled, I'll marry you!"

He gave me a hug before pulling an emerald bracelet out of his desk drawer. "This once belonged to my grandmother. I have one, and Angela was given the other one."

After putting the emerald bracelet on me, he escorted me home.

When I went back downstairs, Carl had already left the Moran residence.

Yet, even when I was lying on my bed that night, I was still a little perplexed. Why had Henry so readily agreed to marry me?

When I got out of bed and went downstairs the next morning, I saw Carl sitting in the living room.

"Things were a bit hectic yesterday, Iris, so I wanted to have a proper talk with you today," he said.

He didn't look too good. With how heavy his dark undereye circles were, it seemed like he hadn't slept a wink last night.

I nodded before taking a seat across from him.

Previously, whenever Carl and I were together, I was always the one who had an endless stream of things to say. Whenever he got annoyed, he would use his hand to cover my mouth.

My heart would pound whenever my lips made contact with his hand. I would turn bright red and sit beside him in silence.

But now, I no longer wanted to revolve my life around him.

My love for Carl was over.

"I'll give you a sum of money. Consider it a token of my apology. Let's call off the engagement. Even if you refuse, yesterday's situation will just keep happening. Nothing can make me show up to get engaged to you," Carl declared before transferring a million dollars to me.

He even took my phone out and tapped in the password with great familiarity to confirm that the transaction had been completed.

Then, he exhaled deeply before flashing me a relieved smile.

"Fine," I said.

Carl was just about to continue speaking when his phone started ringing. The ringtone was unique—it was his cover of a love song.

He was a great singer. I once wanted to make his cover of this song as my dedicated ringtone on his phone, but he adamantly refused to oblige.

Now, when I saw Angela's name flashing on his screen, my heart filled with bitterness that couldn't be put into words.

His refusal hadn't been because he didn't want to do it. He simply didn't think I deserved it.

Carl took the call and answered in an exceptionally gentle voice.

"I accidentally burned myself while I was making breakfast, Carl. Can you take me to the hospital to get it checked?" Angela asked. Her voice was sweet, and she sounded a little teary.

"I'll be right there! Wait for me. Don't let your wound come into contact with anything!" Carl cried out.

He shot up anxiously and ran for the door. Just as he approached the door, he remembered me.

"We're even now, Iris," he said in an extremely curt tone. Without even waiting for my response, he walked out.

It was just as well. It was time for me to give up on him anyway.