I knew it was Isobel who had called Dante.

Turning back, I looked at the pregnancy report on the table. According to the information, Isobel got pregnant a little over five weeks ago.

On the day of conception, Dante had been gone the entire night. He told me that he went to Cassington to deal with an issue with a smuggled shipment at the port. Thinking about it now, I realized that he'd been with her, completing the surgery that was supposedly nothing more than helping her pass down her family bloodline.

This proved that my permission had been considered an unessential part of the plan from the start. They merely waited to "inform" me. They never truly sought my agreement.

All along, I'd been waiting in anticipation for my wedding day. I was eager to take Dante's hand and stand at the altar together. But now, all of my thrill and excitement had vanished into thin air. Not a trace was left behind.

Just then, the buzzing from my phone pulled me out of my thoughts. The voice that rang out through the speaker belonged to Julia Carter, a college senior of mine.

"Nina, I know you're about to get married, but I still wanted to ask you one more time. Are you sure you don't want to consider joining us at the hospital?" Julia urged.

"You're the most talented student Professor Moore has ever taught. He continues to hope that you can join our medical team. Since you're getting married, he has even agreed to let you have a two-week break every two months. That way, you can still spend time with your husband."

William Moore, my former professor, had established a research project at Laran Hospital in Etolia. Six months ago, he called me and invited me to join his medical research team.

However, if I did that, I would have to be cut off from the outside world for extended periods. Such periods of isolation could last anywhere from a month to a year or more.

At the time, I couldn't bear to be apart from Dante for so long, so I rejected Professor Moore's invitation. But now, Dante was already the father to someone else's baby.

Since he never once gave any consideration to our relationship or our prospective marriage before he made his decision, I saw no reason to proceed with the wedding.

"I've decided, Julia. I'm willing to join the hospital, and I won't need the break. I'm fine with sticking to the project timeline," I said.

"That's great news! Professor Moore will be thrilled!" Julia exclaimed in surprise and delight. "When do you plan on coming over? Why not join us a week after the wedding? That way, you can still go on your honeymoon."

"That won't be necessary. I'll fly over on my wedding day," I replied softly.

My eyes fell on the calendar on the table. I had circled the tenth of next month with a red marker. Initially, it was just a reminder for myself—a countdown to my wedding date. It made things easier for me when I had to make all the arrangements.

Now, it was a countdown to when I would leave Dante. In 15 days, Dante and I would no longer have any ties with one another. It would be over between us for good.

Dante didn't come home that night, and I didn't call him to ask where he was either. I'd already seen Isobel's social media updates.

After leaving the hospital that afternoon, Dante and Isobel returned to Isobel's home to inform her family about her pregnancy. I saw a picture of Isobel's grandmother affectionately holding Dante's hand while saying something to him. He had an unusually tender smile on his face as he stroked Isobel's abdomen with his other hand.

In the five years we'd been dating, Dante only agreed to visit my family with me once, after we'd decided to get married.

Even though it was less than a half-hour drive between our houses, he had never taken the initiative to visit my family before that, not even once. He said he didn't like spending time with older people. It made him feel uncomfortable.

During that visit, he merely treated my family politely, unlike the warmth he showed Isobel's family, which I saw through the photos.

I closed my eyes. Doing my best to quash the bitterness I felt, I turned off my phone.

The next day, I reached out to a few friends and told them that the wedding had been called off.

Dante once said that he didn't like wedding ceremonies. He thought they were a meaningless formality. At my insistence, he reluctantly agreed to have a small wedding ceremony with only our closest family and friends invited.

Everyone around me knew how much I loved Dante. My friends were stunned to hear that the wedding had been canceled.

"Haven't you been in love with Dante for ages? Why have you suddenly decided to break it off with him?"

An indescribable sense of heartache washed over me. It wasn't easy to abruptly terminate a bond that had lasted for two decades. However, as it turned out, our relationship didn't start on an equal footing. All along, I was the one who did my best to keep up with him. He had never paused for me.

At first, I didn't care about that. I told myself that if I could wait until he agreed to marry me, then after we were married, I could keep waiting until he truly loved me.

I was willing to wait until he opened up his heart to me.

Alas, it all changed six months ago when Isobel, his so-called savior, showed up.

At last, I realized that Dante wasn't cold and indifferent to everyone. In front of Isobel, he was always gentle and generous with his smiles. As for me, I was never anything more than a side character in his life.

Still, the hardest thing for me to bear was his deceit. While he pretended to seek my approval, he had secretly made Isobel pregnant through artificial insemination.

It was from that moment on that it finally hit me. There was never going to be a future with Dante and me.

I didn't tell my friends the truth. I simply said that I was leaving for work at a different hospital and would get in touch with them sometime later. Feeling apologetic about the suddenness, I hung out with them until late at night before heading home.

When I got back, Dante had only just arrived as well. Smelling the stench of alcohol on me, he frowned and backed away. He covered his nose and impatiently snapped, "Stay away from me. Don't get any of that alcohol odor on me."

I let out a self-deprecating laugh. He was probably just worried that the alcohol might end up affecting Isobel. After all, she was a pregnant woman.

Without saying anything, I went to the bathroom and took a shower. When I came back out, Dante was tapping away on his phone with a smile on his face.

I spared him a glance before deciding to head to the bedroom to sleep, but he stopped me.

"I need to discuss something with you," Dante said.

I paused in my footsteps. He had said the same thing two weeks ago, when he first told me he wanted to have a baby with Isobel. We'd been arguing ever since then.

Isobel was already pregnant, so what else did he have to discuss with me?

"Let's not go for our wedding photoshoot tomorrow," Dante said.

I checked the calendar on the table. The words "wedding photoshoot" were clearly written in the box for the next day.

I wasn't sure why Dante was suddenly asking to cancel the photoshoot. Nevertheless, I didn't intend on going through with the wedding anyway. If he hadn't said anything, I would've found an excuse to call off the photoshoot. Since he was bringing it up himself, it not only saved me the trouble but also made me feel relieved.

Nodding, I said calmly, "Fine. I'll call the photographer to cancel the photoshoot."

Dante was startled. He hadn't expected me to agree to it so readily. Then, doing his best to hide his uneasiness, he continued, "You don't need to cancel it. Isobel says she might never have a chance to get married, so she wants to do a wedding photoshoot with me. That way, she can pretend like she got married as well and won't have any regrets.

"Isobel and I will do the photoshoot tomorrow. You and I can have a replacement wedding photoshoot in the future."

His tone was calm and nonchalant, as if he were merely describing what he'd like to have for lunch tomorrow. He made it sound like his request was a perfectly ordinary one. He'd done the same thing two weeks ago when he told me he wanted to have a baby with Isobel. Although he phrased it like a discussion, his tone made it clear that he had already made up his mind. He was merely informing me about it.

Dante didn't know there wasn't going to be a "future" with us still together.

"Fine," I replied coolly before heading to bed.

Since the wedding wasn't happening, it didn't matter to me who Dante took wedding photos with.

As he watched me leave, Dante felt a strange, uneasy feeling he couldn't explain. I was too calm. I didn't even question him. All of the arguments and reasons he prepared went unused. He expected me to get emotional and demand to know why he made such a decision, but I showed no reaction at all.

The next morning, I woke up just in time to see Dante get ready to leave. While putting on his shoes, he said to me, "After the wedding photoshoot, I plan on taking a trip with Isobel. She's been longing to go on holiday to Northshore Island, so I'll go with her.

"Keep the wedding simple. I won't be able to attend the rehearsal, so you'll have to make all the decisions. You don't need to ask for my opinion."

While munching on a piece of toast, I curtly said, "Got it."

He wanted me to keep things simple, huh? Well, the wedding wasn't going to have any photos, guests, or an officiant. It wasn't even going to have a bride.

Dante looked at me as I calmly ate my breakfast. After giving it some thought, he added, "After the wedding, let's go to Aerona for our honeymoon. I know you've always wanted to go."

In the past, if I'd heard Dante voluntarily suggesting a honeymoon, I would've happily begun planning for it. After all, I'd asked him countless times to go on holiday with me, but he'd always rejected me. He kept saying that he hated traveling and thought it was too exhausting.

But now, I merely focused on my food without giving him a response.

Dante wanted to continue speaking, but when he saw the clock on the wall, he rushed out the door after saying, "We'll talk more when I get back."

I picked up the calendar and crossed out the words "wedding photoshoot" with a marker.

There were 12 more days left.

After breakfast, I began tidying up the house, clearing it of unwanted items, such as the photo album with fewer than five photos inside, the dust-covered project in the corner, and the couple-themed pajamas that had never been worn.

We'd been together for five years. I had carefully selected every single item in this place, slowly turning the empty house into a cozy home.

If I'd paid closer attention, I would've noticed that Dante had never touched most of these things. He said that even though he was dating me, he was still his own person. He didn't like using couple-themed items. They made him feel like he was being controlled by another.

Since that was the case, it was better to get rid of everything and let these memories disappear as well.