The sound of running water in the bathroom stopped, and Ethan stepped out, towel in hand, drying his hair.

When he saw me still lying in bed in my pajamas, he reminded me, "It's already so late. Why aren't you asleep yet? The makeup artist will be here at 4 a.m. tomorrow."

I quietly stared at Ethan, not answering him. I must love him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the courage to marry him.

But does he love me?

I asked the question outright.

Ethan paused for a moment, then smiled. "Why would you suddenly think that? If I didn't love you, why would I marry you?"

"Or do you love Rose?"

I immediately followed up with another question.

"Between the two of us, who matters more to you? She's the one you couldn't have, and I’m just someone you met through an arranged marriage, a woman with no feelings who’s suitable for you to marry, right?"

As I asked myself the last question, the answer was already clear. I couldn't swallow this frustration. I wouldn't tolerate such humiliation.

Even though, in just a few hours, we would be married, and everyone would congratulate us as we walked into what I had always dreamed of as the perfect marriage…

But deep down, what woman could accept that her husband had been thinking about another woman every moment during their two years together?

I had been with him for two years, and yet he couldn’t fully erase Rose from his heart. What if that image stays with him forever?

I’m not afraid of hardship, but I only hope that my efforts will be met with the respect and return they deserve.

Ethan’s face changed instantly. He stared at me in disbelief. "You looked at my phone?"

His smile vanished, replaced with a look of accusation and blame.

My expression was bitter as I nodded. "If I hadn’t seen that message, I wouldn’t have known that all this time we’ve been together, you’ve been carrying another woman in your heart. You even confessed your love for her just now. If you love her so much, why don’t you marry her? I’ll give you the chance—go now, before dawn breaks! You can explain everything to our parents, and tomorrow’s ceremony can be called off."

With that, I got out of bed and began packing my suitcase.

We were living in the house that Ethan’s parents had bought for our wedding. I had only moved in a couple of weeks ago, and hadn’t brought over most of my things. All that was left here were a few clothes, so it was easy to pack.

If there was still a small part of me holding on to hope, then seeing Ethan’s face flip like a page in a book shattered it completely. A man like that wasn’t worth spending my life for.

We hadn’t even registered our marriage yet. Life is full of dramatic moments, and maybe heaven had made me see that message to help me stop before it was too late.

Ethan stormed over, grabbing my arm roughly.

"Can you stop causing a scene? Even if you want to throw a tantrum, there's a time and place for it. Both of our families have been notified, the hotel’s booked, everything’s set. In just a few hours, we’ll be getting married. And now you suddenly tell me you don’t want to marry me anymore? Are you messing with me?"

Ethan glared at me with fury in his eyes, his gaze so intense it felt like he might tear me apart in the next moment.

I jerked my arm out of his grip and shot him a look of pure defiance.

"Don’t pretend like this is just my fault. You’re the one who contacted your ex and sent her those love-soaked texts. I’ve said it before—if you can’t let go of her, then why don’t you just marry her? You’ve wasted two years of my life. What’s the point?"

I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

In that moment, it felt like I wasn’t even the one at the center of this mess—just a mere observer, watching this absurd drama unfold.

But even as a spectator, I couldn’t help but find it ridiculous.

"After all this, you still can’t see your own mistake? You really think I’m the one being unreasonable? Go ask any woman if she could accept what you’ve done. I know your ex is hard for you to forget, so go marry her. Please, just let me go."

I knew about the complicated history between Ethan and Rose. They had been together for three years, but they broke up because they had different life goals, and their families disapproved of the relationship. Eventually, after a year of being pushed into arranged dates by their families, he met me.

When we first met, he told me everything about Rose and promised he would let go of the past and be with me.

I believed him.

A year into our relationship, I asked him again, "Am I the only one in your heart now?" He smiled and said yes.

I believed him again.

Those two lies, spoken without a second thought, made me fall completely for him, willing to give him two years of my life.

"I don’t want to be the villain in this relationship, so let’s part on good terms. We haven’t even gotten our marriage certificate yet, so you’re still technically single. You can go chase your happiness now. As for your family’s dowry and everything, I’ll handle it and send it over to you. You just give me what’s mine, and we’ll clear everything up between us. Our relationship over the past two years has been appropriate, so let’s at least keep some dignity in this."

Maybe it was because I was older now. If this had happened a few years ago, I would’ve blown up and made a scene until there was no way out.

But now, I just wanted it to end quietly.

Maybe it was because the memories of those two years were too sweet, and I still wanted to hold on to that last bit of sweetness.