Adrian swung the door open the next day to find Janice surrounded by boxes, packing up her life.

They had shared that room, and everything in it, for four years since their college days. From the bulky couch to the tiny vase on the shelf, they had picked out each piece together. Even while he was away for two years, she had not been able to part with any of it.

At this moment, sorting through the memories and the mess was a bigger job than she had expected.

Janice did not run up to greet him like she used to, and Adrian's smile quickly turned into a scowl. He dropped his suitcase with a thud.

"Too much trouble to pick me up from the airport, and now you can't even help me with my bags?"

Janice nearly rolled her eyes. She used to camp out at the airport three hours early, treating his return like a royal visit. This time, after what happened? Things were different.

Her nails dug into her palms as she shoved another photo frame into a box.

This time, he had told her not to bother with the airport, because he was too busy proposing to another woman.

The sight of the red scratch behind Adrian's ear was like a needle to Janice's heart. "I'm busy," she said, her voice as cool as the air between them.

Adrian's gaze swept over the half-empty room, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Wow, did you clean the place up just for me?"

He had clearly forgotten the girl who once could not twist open a water bottle, then scrubbed his dirty socks clean without a second thought.

He reached out to pull her close, but the sickly-sweet smell of his perfume made Janice's face scrunch up in disgust.

"Why do you reek of women's perfume?" She turned away, her voice icy.

A flicker of discomfort crossed Adrian's face.

"On the flight back, I was stuck next to this lady who went overboard with her perfume. I was beside her for over ten hours, and the scent nearly knocked me out. Must've clung to me."

His explanation was riddled with holes.

He always flew solo in first-class, and that perfume? It was the latest craze last month, with every girl on Facebook flaunting their samples. No way an older lady would wear that.

"You're just being petty and jealous!"

Adrian wrapped his arms around her, his smile loaded with unspoken words: "Why don't I let you do a full-body check right now?"

"Don't you dare touch me!" Janice shoved him away without a second thought.

Before, she might have playfully punched him for being a tease, but after he had been with another woman, his touch repulsed her.

Adrian's eyes bulged, his patience snapping.

"All this over a whiff of perfume? You're making a scene? I've been on a plane for hours, I'm exhausted!"

Janice did not have the energy to call out his lies, so she made up an excuse. "I've been slammed with work, not feeling great."

Dark circles marred her face from a sleepless night, her appearance worn and weary.

Adrian finally noticed Janice's pallor and reached out to feel her forehead.

"You look awful. Caught a cold? I'll carry you to bed."

However, before he could act, his phone blared to life.

Janice caught a glimpse of the screen and spotted that name–Yvette Ellis.

Adrian scrambled to the balcony, his voice a hushed whisper as he tried to soothe someone through the phone.

"Missing your own bed, can't sleep?

"I wouldn't dream of it. I won't lay a finger on her!

"Okay, okay, I'm on my way to you, sweetheart."

Janice watched his shadow stretch out in the moonlight and was hit by a wave of nostalgia. She remembered how, in the early days of living together, he kissed her forehead every morning and murmured, "Good morning, sweetheart."

Once Adrian ended the call, he snatched his jacket and bolted, "Some trouble at work, and I've got to check it out. You get some rest, don't wait up."

The door banged shut, and Janice, alone in the quiet room, let out a laugh.

She pulled out her phone and picked out a few pictures of men's suits, sending them his way.

[Which one of these suits do you like?]

He texted back immediately, [Any of them, my suit just needs to go with your wedding dress.]

[Fine.]

That night, Adrian texted that he was swamped with work and would not make it back.

For the next three days, he was like a ghost–no word from him at all.

However, on Yvette's social media, Janice saw pictures of a beach at midnight, brilliant fireworks, and hands clasped tight under the old oak tree in a churchyard.

The captions were all floating in a cloud of pink. [He said, "Romance is mine," and I am forever her.]

Janice scoffed as she looked at the screen, then shot off a message to her realtor.

[List the house, now.]

Later that night, Adrian called to say they should go to a friend's birthday party together.

Janice was not in the mood.

Adrian's voice was laced with impatience. "Jayden's been on about how we haven't hung out in ages, so he made me invite you.

"Don't waste time. I'll be there in ten minutes to pick you up."

The call ended with a sharp click, leaving Janice staring at her phone, fuming.

As she reached to open the passenger door, a wave of sweetness hit her. Yvette was there, beaming up at her.

"Hey there, Janice."

Janice knew Yvette all too well. She would run into her plenty during her visits to see Adrian overseas. The girl was always batting those doe eyes, sweetly calling her "sister" and vowing to "keep an eye on your brother-in-law" for her.

It seemed her version of keeping an eye on him was to keep him right in her bed.

"Oops, sorry, Janice. I got carsick, so I snagged the front seat," said Yvette, comfortably lounging and twirling the seatbelt around her finger. "Adrian saved it just for me."

Adrian coughed slightly. "Yvette's my assistant now. It made sense to give her a ride."

The moment the car door shut, Yvette, like she owned the place, dug out a pack of gum and waved it at Janice.

"Chewing gum? This brand's the only thing that helps with my motion sickness. Good thing Adrian remembered to stock up for me."

She inhaled deeply, her nose wrinkling theatrically. "Ah, new perfume! The last one was so overpowering, I couldn't stop sneezing. Adrian's such a sweetheart, swapping it out on the sly."

Her finger then darted to a trinket in the car, and she squealed with delight.

"Wow, this little trinket looks so familiar. Oh my gosh! Isn't this the super-rare blind box figure I was obsessed with? The one that's like finding a needle in a haystack? How many boxes did you go through to find it?"

Yvette's shrieks were like a barrage of tiny darts, each one piercing Janice's heart.

Janice glanced up and caught sight of Adrian in the rearview mirror, his lips curled into a fond, indulgent smile as he drove. She realized that the man she had always taken such great care of could be just as thoughtful in return.

She turned away, pretending to be lost in the deep night outside the window, and stealthily wiped away a tear that had dared to escape.

In the passenger seat, Yvette caught Janice's eye in the mirror, and her smile grew even wider.

When they walked into the private room, their old friends immediately started ribbing them. "Look who's here! The soon-to-be-wedded couple has graced us with their presence!"

"So, Adrian, when's the big day? You've got to let us know so we can get our gifts ready!"

Janice paused, looking over at Adrian. However, he was busy giving Yvette a nervous glance, her expression souring, and quickly diverted the conversation. "Let's talk about that later. Tonight's all about celebrating Jayden. Let's make sure he's the one we're toasting to the ground."

Adrian's buddies, the same ones who had been at his proposal, jumped in to lighten the mood. "Right, right, let's make a deal–whoever hits the floor first tonight is footing the bill!"

Janice's gaze fell, and she quietly slipped into a corner to sit down.

Adrian, after getting Yvette settled, instinctively draped his jacket over her legs. It was only after this gesture that he caught a glimpse of Janice, sitting alone, and could not help but feel a twinge of guilt.

Adrian leaned in a bit closer to Janice, trying to clear the air with a few words. Janice, who was usually glued to his side, was staring down at her phone, not even bothering to look up at him.

Adrian was taken aback and could not help but peek at her phone, only to find a shopping page full of wedding dresses staring back at him.

A smirk tugged at his lips as he leaned back, settling into the chair with a cool, dismissive ease.

At the dinner table, someone suggested a round of King's Cup, a classic card-based drinking game.

Janice lost the first round, and her penalty was three stiff drinks.

The moment the glasses hit the table, Adrian instinctively reached to grab the one in front of her, but a buddy next to him blocked his move, grinning cheekily, "I get that you two are tight, but you can't mess with the drinking game rules. If you cover for her, the drinks double. That's six shots, Adrian. Think about it!"

Adrian winced at the thought.

Yvette, with her hands propping up her chin, gave Janice a sideways glance. "Janice, you're not a schoolgirl like me. You've been rocking the business scene for years, so this drinking game is old hat for you, right? Three little shots should be a breeze."

Yvette's challenging look was like a punch to Janice's gut.

Janice shot a look at Adrian, who was chuckling nearby, and felt a wave of irritation flood through her.

Without a word, she snatched up her glass and downed the drink in one go. The fiery liquid scorched its way down her throat, searing her stomach, but she gritted her teeth and powered through all three shots.

Yvette was the loser in the second round.

She looked at the full glasses before her, lips pursed in a pout, and kept shooting hopeful glances at Adrian.

Adrian did not hesitate this time. He grabbed his glass and knocked back six shots: "Yvette's my junior, and she really can't handle her liquor."

The room burst into applause and cheers.

There were some curious looks being exchanged, eyes darting between Yvette and Janice.

After setting his glass down, Adrian sneakily reached for Janice's hand under the table, but she snatched it away.

Adrian leaned in, trying to say something, but Yvette's sweet voice cut him off. "Adrian, please check my eye. I think a bug flew into it!"

After one too many rounds of King's Cup, Janice's head was spinning. She lowered it to the table, trying to steady herself.

However, the moment she did, she felt the table shaking in a steady rhythm. Peeking underneath, she caught Adrian's foot stroking Yvette's leg.

When she looked up, Yvette was blushing and nestled in Adrian's arms, playfully pushing him away. "Stop it, don't..."

Adrian smirked devilishly, whispering in her ear, and Yvette's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red.

Janice's stomach churned, and she could not hold back the wave of nausea. She bolted for the bathroom.

After throwing up until there was nothing left, Janice stood up, leaning on the toilet for support.

She stood silently, leaning against the stall door for what felt like forever, her legs going numb. Just as she was about to leave, she heard the bathroom door lock, and then Yvette's sugary voice floated through the air.

"Hubby, when are you going to tell everyone about us? They all think Janice is your wife!"

"Feeling a little green-eyed?" Adrian's voice was muffled, like he was speaking into a pillow. "Hold your horses. Once this new project kicks off in ten days, we're getting hitched right on schedule!"

"But I'm freaking out here. You're not going public with us, and you're shacking up with her. What if you bail on me and marry her instead? She's gorgeous, and her family's got more clout than mine."

Yvette's voice wavered with tears, the hurt clear in her tone.

Adrian let out a derisive laugh. "If I wanted to marry her, I would've said 'yes' when she got down on one knee two years ago. Why would I have traveled the world with you?

"I've been over her for ages. Four years of sleeping together, and I'm bored of her face. Now, I only get that spark with you. Don't believe me? Check for yourself."

"Cut it out! Hey, stop that! What if someone catches us..."

"Don't sweat it, the door's locked." Adrian's voice turned deeper, more intense.

Before long, Yvette's breaths came in quick gasps.

The rising and falling of their whispers pierced Janice's ears from behind the partition, slicing through her heart, leaving her bleeding inside.

Back in college, after each close moment, she would rest her head on his chest, dreamily sketching out her ideal wedding, and he would brush her off with a curt "Not yet."

Two years back, at their graduation, she had gathered her courage and proposed to him on bended knee, only to be told to wait until his studies were over.

She had flown out to see him countless times since, always asking about setting a date, but he would dodge with excuse after excuse.

She had convinced herself that Adrian was just being a typical guy, scared of settling down.

It seemed he was not scared of marriage–just of marrying her.

Janice's world crumbled around her.

She was itching to burst out and give that cheating pair a piece of her mind. Why did they have to do that to her?

However, her anger was so overwhelming that she could not even breathe properly. Her body went limp, and she collapsed against the stall wall, paralyzed and silent.

Time lost meaning until the noise outside finally stopped.

Janice gathered every ounce of her remaining strength to push the stall door open.

The bathroom had a faint, lingering seminal odor.

The mirror over the sink was marked with two large and two small handprints, a stark reminder of the ordeal she had just endured.

Janice's stomach churned, and she clamped a hand over her mouth as she stumbled out of the club.

At that moment, she felt a surge of relief. Only seven more days, and she would be free from him, ready to marry someone else...