Jasper Eaton decides to ditch me at the altar just so he can meet up with Wendy Klein, his ex-girlfriend who abandoned him when he almost got crippled five years ago.

All the guests are stunned, to say the least. I can only tug at Jasper's hem of his shirt while trying very hard to keep my expression intact.

"Can you please stay with me now?"

Mixed feelings cross his eyes, but he soon wrenches my hand off him, finger by finger. At the same time, he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, but I must go now. I need to ask Wendy why she was so heartless to me back then."

Amid the crowd's shocked gasps and murmurs, Jasper leaves without even looking back.

My dad, who has a bad heart, trembles violently out of fury. I can only stare in a shocked daze as he collapses to the floor shortly after.

"Dad!"

I break down on the spot. Still, I manage to send him to the hospital.

There, I slump outside the emergency room. At that moment, my phone buzzes for a short while. Two new text messages have shown up on my screen.

The first message comes from Wendy. "I told you that as long as I'm back, Jasper will never choose you. You lost again, Celeste."

The second message comes from Jasper. "Give me 30 days. We'll break up for the time being. Once the period is over, I'll definitely love you and you only."

My gaze is already hollow at that point. The smile curving on my lips is one of mockery and bitterness.

This time, I will never lose ever again.

The red light outside the emergency room had been on for three hours with no sign of change.

Dad had heart bypass surgery the year before last. He had told me clearly that Jasper Eaton wasn't a good man, but I had stubbornly insisted on believing that Jasper loved me.

Now, that certainty felt like a slap to the face—so hard it left me suffocating with pain.

My mother, Dolores Norton, was crying beside me.

"What do we do? If your father doesn't make it, I—"

"He will." I cut her off, trying to convince myself as much as her. "Dad will be fine."

But my voice was trembling. I had never been this scared in my life.

Just then, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was a video sent by Wendy Klein.

In the video, a disheveled Jasper rushed into a hotel room and confronted her.

"Why did you come back?"

Wendy said nothing, but Jasper was the first to lose control, his eyes reddening.

"You left without a second thought back then, so what gives you the right to show up now and turn my life upside down? Wendy, how can you be so selfish?"

I walked into the quiet stairwell and watched the video in silence. The man losing control on the screen felt like a complete stranger.

My best friend, Eleanor Burch, had told me more than once that Jasper was far too calm with me.

But I would just brush it off and argue back, "Men at the top of the pyramid like him don't wear their hearts on their sleeves. I can accept that this is just how he is."

However, it now hit me with startling clarity that he could lose control, tremble, weep, and beg with utter humility. Only none of it was ever for me, his wife; it was all for Wendy.

I closed my eyes and forced down the wrenching pain in my chest, then kept watching.

In the video, Wendy said nothing in response to Jasper's questions. All she did was stand there and look at him quietly.

After a moment of spiraling out of control, Jasper suddenly let out a bitter laugh. Then, all his resentment and blame seemed to crumble away, and he pulled Wendy into his arms.

"I'm just glad you're back."

And Wendy, nestled against his chest, glanced at the camera with a look of provocation and smug satisfaction.

The video stopped abruptly.

I smiled bitterly, my eyes filled with nothing but desolation.

Outside, thunder suddenly roared, and tears and rain came pouring down all at once. So, this was what Jasper looked like when he loved someone. I had never once felt anything like it.

I wiped away my tears and returned to the emergency room entrance just as the doors swung open. I rushed over, my eyes frighteningly red.

"Doctor, how is my father?"

"He's out of danger, but this absolutely mustn't happen again. His heart can't handle any more stress."

My whole body tensed as I nodded vigorously.

"It won't. Thank you, doctor."

Mom collapsed in relief, sobbing as the tension finally broke. Just then, Dad was wheeled out.

Looking at him so pale and gaunt, I wanted nothing more than to slap myself hard. Why did it take me until now to finally wake up?

Not long after we settled into the hospital room, a specialist pushed open the door.

"Ms. Ingram, I'm Dr. Heath Bullock, a cardiology expert sent by Mr. Eaton. May I ask about the patient's condition?"

At the same time, a message from Jasper came through.

"Sorry, I didn't know it would upset Dennis. I've arranged for a hypertension specialist to come to the hospital. Dennis will be fine."

I gripped my phone tightly, my hand trembling.

It was absurd. We had been together for five years, and he didn't even know what condition Dad had.

I fought hard to keep my emotions in check.

"That won't be necessary. Please leave."

After getting Dad settled, I went down to the OB-GYN department on the lower floor, only to glimpse Jasper and Wendy through the gap in a door.

Jasper, his face full of urgency, was holding Wendy, who was deathly pale.

The doctor asked, "Tell me about your symptoms."

Wendy didn't say a word, while Jasper answered without hesitation, "Her periods have always been irregular. She also has a habit of eating cold things, so her body's been in a weakened state for a long time. We tried herbal medicine to regulate it, but it never helped."

I stopped at the doorway, my feet feeling as though they were filled with lead.

Every single word Jasper spoke, rattling off the details of Wendy's condition as if he knew them by heart, stabbed mercilessly into my chest.

He couldn't even remember what illness Dad had, and yet he could recall everything about an ex-girlfriend he'd broken up with five years ago.

A bitter smile tugged at my lips. I called my lawyer, Logan Atwood, and told him to draft the divorce papers.

Then, I pushed open the door to another consultation room.

"Please schedule an abortion for me."

The doctor looked at me with surprise, then frowned. "I remember you. The last time you were here, you were so happy when you found out you were pregnant. So, why would you want an abortion now?"

My expression stiffened for a moment as a bitter feeling welled up from deep within.

A month ago, while Jasper was away on a business trip, my body had felt off. After an exam, I found out I was pregnant.

I hadn't told him right away because I'd planned to surprise him with the news after our wedding today. But I never expected that Wendy would come back.

He had fled from our wedding, making me a laughingstock in front of all the guests. I was still wearing the wedding dress, which only made me look all the more pathetic.

"I've just seen things clearly, that's all. Please make the appointment for me."

The doctor sighed. "Alright. Tomorrow at 9:00 am, in the first operating room. Just give your name at the desk."

I nodded and went back to the hospital room.

When I unlocked my phone, our mutual friends' group chat was buzzing with discussion. Jasper had added Wendy to the group.

"Welcome back, Wendy. I knew it—after everything, you'd always end up back with Jasper."

"That's more like it. You're one of us after all."

"Uh, have you guys forgotten that Celeste Ingram is still in this group?"

The chat fell silent instantly.

I felt a pang of mockery. These people had only ever accepted me because of Jasper, but they had never truly thought of me as one of their own.

The very next second, a notification popped up in the chat.

"You have been removed from the group by the admin 'Jasper.'"

My lips turned pale and unsightly, drained of all color.

He sent me a message, saying, "I'll add you back in a month. Be good."

I stared at the screen for two seconds without replying. Once the abortion procedure was done the next day, there would be nothing left tying me to him.

On the third day, Dad regained consciousness. I went through with the termination and returned to Eaton Group to submit my resignation letter.

I had just sat down in the executive office when Wendy stepped out of the elevator with Jasper.

He stopped in front of me. "Has Dennis' hypertension gotten any better?"

I clenched my fists, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Thanks to you, he's better than he's ever been."

Jasper pressed his lips together and frowned, as if he disliked my barbed tone. He was far more accustomed to me being completely compliant and agreeable.

He shifted his gaze away with displeasure, then turned to Wendy. His expression softened instantly, even becoming somewhat ingratiating.

"You'll work as the chief secretary in the CEO's suite first. Once you're familiar with the business, I'll arrange for you to join the project department."

Wendy glanced at me. "Sure, I'm still new and don't quite know my way around yet. Jasper, how about you have Celeste show me the ropes?"

I snapped my head up and said with suppressed fury, "I refuse."

Wendy didn't react, nor did she get angry. Instead, she simply stood there quietly, waiting for Jasper to speak.

Sure enough, the very next second, Jasper's commanding voice exploded in my ears, brooking no argument.

"You're in no position to refuse. Celeste, this is a workplace, not a game. Your preferences don't come into it."

With that, he cast a cold glance over my stricken eyes. Then, he took Wendy by the hand and walked straight into his office.

My hands and feet turned ice-cold.

Just then, snow began to fall from the sky that had only just cleared. The icy wind poured in through the window, making me shiver violently. I collapsed weakly into my seat.

All around me, the mocking laughter of the other staff in the CEO's office kept drilling into my ears.

That afternoon, I had just finished composing my resignation letter when Jasper, his face dark with fury, called me into his office and hurled a document at my feet.

"Celeste, do you think a contract is a joke? You wrote a 30-million-dollar project as 300 million dollars! Everyone is cleaning up your mess right now!"

I picked it up and took a look. What I saw sent a jolt through me.

"That's impossible!"

I had checked it countless times, especially the price. There was no way it could have been wrong!

My gaze inadvertently swept over to Wendy standing to the side, and the sight of the faint smirk curling at the corners of her lips made my pupils constrict sharply.

"It was you."

No wonder she had suddenly become so eager to learn after being assigned to shadow me this morning. She had been sitting beside me all morning, so getting my computer password would have been no trouble at all.

"Celeste!" Jasper roared, making me freeze. His face was completely expressionless as he said, "Are you seriously trying to shift the blame?"

I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath. Then, forcing down the tremor in my voice, I replied, "Then let's check the surveillance footage. Wendy probably doesn't know that the figurine on my desk is actually a surveillance camera."

Wendy's expression stiffened for a fleeting moment, but I saw it all too clearly.

Jasper pressed his lips together.

As I watched him hesitate, my heart sank further and further.

Without waiting for him to speak, I turned around, grabbed Wendy by the arm, and pulled her out of the office.

A crowd had already gathered.

"Celeste, you—" Jasper started to say something from behind, but I acted as if I hadn't heard a word.

Right there in front of everyone, I pulled up the surveillance footage. The timestamp showed 12:23 pm. After everyone in the executive office had left, Wendy had approached my computer.

The monitor displayed, with perfect clarity, every single move she made as she altered the contract.

Jasper's expression turned grim. Gasps rippled through the onlookers.

"It really was Wendy? Why would she do that?"

"Why else? Have you forgotten Wendy is Jasper's ex-girlfriend? It's the ex framing the current girlfriend. Now it all depends on whose side Jasper takes."

"My bet's on Wendy. You newcomers have no idea how intense things were between Jasper and Wendy back in the day."

My back stiffened. I fought hard not to show any weakness, and I tried just as hard to ignore Jasper's ambiguous, wavering stance.

Just then, Wendy—who had remained silent—suddenly smiled at me.

I frowned, and my heart gave a lurch.

She turned around and, showing no remorse whatsoever, confessed to Jasper point-blank.

"I did it. I framed Celeste. You can fire me."

Their eyes met. Wendy looked straight at him and asked, "Jasper, are you going to fire me?"

I lifted my gaze.

He would, right? The evidence was right there, and Wendy had confessed. What reason was there not to fire her?

Hands clenched and breath held, I watched him without so much as a blink.

After a brief pause, Jasper shifted his gaze away from Wendy.

"This matter ends here. I will personally bear all the consequences of Wendy's actions."

Wendy smiled smugly and cast a look of utter derision at me.

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

A deafening boom went off in my head. It felt as though I had been brutally slapped across the face. A bitter chill spread through my chest.

"On what grounds?" I asked, though I couldn't stop my voice from trembling.

Jasper glanced at me and replied matter-of-factly, "Wendy is my girlfriend now. She just had a momentary lapse in judgment. If she's made a mistake, it's only natural for me—her boyfriend—to take responsibility for it."

I let out a laugh. "Girlfriend? Jasper, don't forget we are legally married! That makes Wendy a mist—"

"Celeste!" He cut me off, his voice simmering with suppressed fury, his eyes ice-cold. "She's not."

I lowered my eyes and stared blankly at the floor.

It finally dawned on me that Wendy's brazen confidence stemmed from Jasper's partiality toward her.

I didn't want to fight anymore.

"Fine, she's not."

Jasper dismissed the crowd, then stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," he said, his voice softening. "Celeste, I told you it's just one month. After that, I'm all yours."

I clenched my hands, the pain sharp. Then, I lifted my face and gave him a bright smile.

"Alright, I believe you. Oh, by the way, there are a few contracts here that need your signature."

I slipped the resignation letter and the divorce papers in among the other documents and handed them all to him.

The shift in topic was so abrupt that Jasper was momentarily caught off guard. But seeing that my expression gave nothing away, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He signed without even looking, then sat back down in his chair.

I faxed the signed divorce papers to Logan, then handed my resignation letter to the HR department.

Once that was all done, I quietly waited for the workday to end.

At dusk, I took one last look at the place where I had spent five years of my life and set my employee badge down on my desk.

In the parking garage, Wendy was standing next to my car. I didn't want to engage with her, but she spoke first.

"See? I told you that once I returned, you'd be out of the picture. Celeste, if you have any self-respect, you'd divorce him. After all, why would you hold on to a man who doesn't love you?"

I stopped in my tracks, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "Is that so? What a pity that until I actually get divorced, you'll never be anything more than a dirty little mistress skulking in the shadows."

"Why, you!" Furious, she lashed out and slapped me hard across the face. "You cow!"

Jasper happened to appear at that exact moment and saw the whole thing.