When Harvey and Carrie came down the stairs, they froze momentarily when they saw me sitting in the living room.

Harvey instantly stepped away from her and gently approached me, grabbing my hand. "Darling, why didn't you tell me you're home?"

I acted as if nothing had happened and spoke in my usual playful tone, "I'm tired, that's all."

He smiled and kissed my forehead, as though no one else was in the room.

I smiled sweetly at him, then glanced at Carrie and greeted her with a nod. That was when I noticed the book in her hands.

It was a posthumous work by a late literary author, a book I had long liked. I had even mentioned to Harvey several times that I wanted it, but he had never paid me any attention.

With Carrie's status, there was no way she could've gotten it on her own. There was no doubt that he had given it to her.

When she noticed my gaze, she quickly covered the book cover with her hand and said, "I should leave now. It's getting late."

As soon as Carrie stepped forward, her foot slipped and she crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Her forehead bled immediately, and Harvey rushed to her side. He lifted her and pressed the tie I gifted him against her wound.

"How could you be so careless?" he asked.

He sounded like he was chastising her, but the panic in his voice was evident.

That tie had been my gift to him on his coming of age. It was a piece I designed and stitched with my own hands. He had always treasured it, keeping it spotless. But now, it was drenched in another woman's blood.

When Harvey caught my gaze shifting between him and the tie, a flash of helplessness and guilt flickered across his face. Yet, when he saw Carrie's critical condition, he swept her into his arms.

"Darling, she's hurt. I'll take her to the hospital. Go to bed and don't wait for me."

Before I could respond, he ran out of the house with her. My expression darkened as I stared at his disappearing figure.

I couldn't sleep that night, and Harvey didn't come home as he only returned the next day around noon.

…

When he saw me sitting on the couch in a daze, he hurried over and pulled me into his arms. "I'm sorry, Darling. Carrie had a concussion and a fever, so I had to stay with her and couldn't come back."

I disregarded his apology as my eyes were fixed on the collar of his white shirt, where a faint lipstick stain bloomed red.

Judging by his wrinkled clothes, I wonder if they slept together last night.

When Harvey realized where my gaze was, he tugged at his collar in a panic and tried to cover it up.

"A nurse bumped into me and accidentally spilled some medicine all over me. It was so awful!" He lied without missing a beat.

I arched a brow at his lies but didn't bother exposing him. Since he wanted to play dumb, I was willing to play along. "Go take a shower," I muttered calmly.

He nodded and smiled. "Alright. Once I'm done, I'll take you out to pick out the jewelry for our wedding."

With that, he disappeared into the restroom.

…

A hollow chuckle broke free from my lips, and soon tears streamed down my face, draining me until nothing was left but emptiness.

I believed in love, but I had no desire to salvage it once it was tainted by distrust.

After Harvey had finished showering and was dressed in a new pair of clothes, he took me to the jewelry store.

As we entered the store, my eyes landed on a familiar figure. A group of women surrounded Carrie, their voices sharp and cruel as they berated her.

Wasn't she supposed to have a concussion? How was she already out of the hospital?

Harvey sensed my skepticism and jumped in to clarify, "She insisted on being discharged as she thought it was just a minor injury."

I continued to watch the scene in silence.

Carrie was in tears, looking pitiful under the women's attacks, and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Harvey clenching his fists tightly as he stared at her.

Nonetheless, Harvey didn't step forward to help. Instead, his gaze landed on me with eagerness.

I knew he wanted me to help Carrie. After all, it wasn't the first time he had given me that look and silently begged me to smooth things over.

He'd known Carrie for a long time, and he'd ask me to help her on his behalf to prevent any unwanted rumors.

Though Carrie had risen from the slums and navigated upper society with ease, she lacked the refinement to truly fit in, which made her an easy target for the wealthy heiresses.

Even now, with her new status as Shawn's fiancée, they didn't pass up the opportunity to humiliate her.

"Hey, what trick did you use to seduce Shawn into marrying you?"

"Why don't you show us how alluring you are?"

"Exactly! Let's see some of those seductive skills of yours."

Carrie shook her head frantically and was too frightened to speak.

"Come on, stop acting innocent. If you didn't seduce him, how would he know how seductive you are?"

"Exactly! If you can show him, show it to us too."

"I think he must've been attracted to your nice physique. Go ahead and take off your clothes!" One of them reached out and tugged at Carrie's clothes.

In a panic, Harvey shoved me forward. "Darling, hurry and help her!"

I almost slammed into the glass door to my right. Luckily, I caught myself in time. Otherwise, the glass would've shattered.

However, Harvey didn't notice this as his gaze was stuck on Carrie.

A bitter smile tugged on my lips as I walked toward the group of women. The moment Carrie saw me, she instinctively darted behind me like a shield. "Angelina, take me away."

I glared sharply at the heiresses and warned, "That's enough. Don't go too far."

We had grown up in the same circle, so everyone knew one another.

They only backed off when I spoke.

"Angelina, it's not that serious. We only wanted a look."

"Exactly! She's not that innocent."

"I've seen her looking cozy with Harvey many times. You have to be careful."

Upon hearing this, Carrie panicked and hurried to explain, "Angelina, don't listen to them. Harvey and I are just friends!"

The heiresses scoffed at her words.

"Please! You two are way too close for just friends."

"That's right. I saw you hugging him the other day. That's too much for just a friendship."

"She's clearly pretending to be innocent!"

One of them grew heated and raised her hand to hit Carrie.

I was about to stop her, but Carrie grabbed my arm in fear and tugged hard, dragging me backward. Her grip hurt, and I snapped, "Let go of me!"

But she didn't. Instead, she pulled even harder.

Without another word, I furiously yanked my arm free. The force sent her stumbling back, and she toppled into the pool.

The water was deep, and she flailed helplessly, crying out, "Help me!"

Harvey immediately dived in and pulled her out of the water. He patted her face frantically when he saw that she was unresponsive.

"Carrie, wake up! Come on, wake up!"

After a few moments, her eyelids fluttered open. As her gaze shifted to me, she began to cry, "Angelina, why did you push me? Are you going to hurt me too?"

I was taken aback for a moment before realizing she was trying to play victim.

"I asked you to help her, not hurt her!" Harvey roared.

"She fell in on her own. Angelina didn't push her," someone spoke up on my behalf.

Upon hearing this, Carrie's cries grew louder, as if she had suffered the greatest injustice in the world.

Harvey didn't believe a word, and he snapped, "I saw it clearly with my own eyes that you pushed her, so don't bother denying it. You've really disappointed me, Angelina!"

When I saw the disdain in Harvey's eyes, I instantly lost the will to explain.

Carrie had planned to drive a wedge between us. Hence, no matter what I said, she would distort it so he wouldn't believe me.

Sure enough, anger filled his face as he snapped, "If anything happens to her, I'll make sure you pay for it!"

With that, he scooped her into his arms and strode away without caring about the people around.

As they walked away, Carrie glanced back over his shoulder and shot me a triumphant smile.

The heiresses saw it as well, and they gaped in disbelief. Their faces were filled with outrage, but they couldn't do anything about it.

However, I remained calm. There was nothing I could do when he no longer loved me.

…

Once I returned home, Harvey dragged me to the hospital and demanded that I apologize to Carrie in front of her.

I thought I had misheard him, so I asked, "You want me to bow and apologize to her?"

He nodded, and his gaze was cold. "You pushed her into the pool and caused her a serious concussion. So, you have to apologize."

I let out a chuckle of disbelief. After taking a deep breath, I explained, "I didn't push her."

Yet, Harvey didn't seem convinced. His expression hardened as he chastised, "Angelina, I saw it with my eyes. Stop denying it!"

I frowned and fell silent.

Then, he pulled out a transfer agreement for the shares in my family's company and threatened me, "If you don't apologize, I'll sell off the shares."

At his words, my entire body trembled. For the first time, he seemed like a complete stranger to me, and my heart turned cold.

I hadn't imagined that he'd bought my family's share to get revenge for Carrie.

Harvey was fully aware that selling them would be a devastating blow to my father's company. Tears burned my eyes as I screamed, "How dare you threaten me!"

He avoided my gaze and stated, "As long as you apologize, I won't sell the shares. I'll even give them back to you as a wedding gift."

Upon hearing his words, a bitter sneer escaped my lips, followed by loud, hollow laughter.

My tears fell, but I immediately brushed them away as crying in front of him would only show weakness.

I took deep breaths and dug my nails deep into my palms, using pain to push down the fury inside me.

"Fine. I'll apologize." Then, I ground my teeth and bowed before Carrie, who had remained silent the entire time, and yelled, "I'm sorry!"

However, she suddenly trembled and turned to Harvey with pitiful eyes, whining, "I got scared at her loud voice."

Harvey scowled and ordered coldly, "Beg and apologize again."

His words left me stunned. I was truly disappointed at how much he had changed.

We had grown up together, and I thought that even if love faded, there would still be some family-like affection between us.

However, I was wrong.

My mother died when I was five, and after that, my father buried himself in work, leaving me completely neglected. I grew up lonely, but Harvey's parents adored me. Since our houses were nearby, they always welcomed me to their home.

At that time, I didn't like Harvey, but he liked me. He followed me around and treated me with care. If I wanted candy, he bought it. If I got into trouble, he would take the blame. And if someone bullied me, he never hesitated to fight for me.

He had been the light in my life.

We grew up, studied, and worked together. We were basically inseparable, but all those years of bonds had crumbled into nothing.

At this moment, I was completely done with him. But even so, I wouldn't give in to his extreme demands.

With a scoff, I lifted my chin and glared at him. "Who is she, and why should I apologize to her? If you want to sell the shares because of this, then do it!"

Without another word, I turned to go. I refused to let him trample me as he liked.

Angry screams echoed from the hospital ward, but I didn't turn back.

Since he was cold-hearted, I would be too.

From that day on, we didn't see each other.

…

On the wedding day, the veil covering my face kept me from seeing the guests in the church, so my bridesmaids had to lead me through the ceremony.

However, halfway through, dizziness overtook me, and my eyesight clouded.

I knew right away it was the water I'd drunk that morning.

Harvey had actually drugged me.

…

When I regained consciousness, I was inside a bedroom.

Shawn was intoxicated. He stumbled in the room and lifted my veil.

When he saw my face, a faint smile touched his lips. "So this is the surprise hiding beneath the veil all day."

I frowned at him and asked with confusion, "Why are you not surprised to see me?"

Shawn Hansen was a well-known entrepreneur in Wigston. He was wealthy, powerful, and known for his endless entanglements with women.

I've met him a few times, and he has always been with a companion. He never smiled at me but only looked at me with a complicated gaze that I couldn't figure out.

He arched his brow and asked, "Should I be surprised?"

I shook my head and stayed silent.

"You don't seem surprised either, so you must know about this," he figured.

His words struck me.

"So, you knew the bride was switched today but didn't expose it?" I asked.

His smile deepened, and his eyes burned with desire that I didn't quite understand. A second later, Shawn leaned in, trapped me beneath him, and captured my lips in a forceful kiss.

…

The next morning, Harvey showed up at Shawn's house, insisting the bride had been switched by mistake and demanding to take me back.

Shawn and I were still in bed when I heard a bodyguard's roar from outside the door. "They've already slept together! What's done is done!"

Then, a commotion broke out. I couldn't make out what they were saying outside before the bedroom door burst open, and Harvey stood there with fury blazing in his eyes.