I couldn't understand. I was the girlfriend George was in a relationship with for years, yet why did I have to let Winona have the wedding plan I'd painstakingly worked on?

Why did I have to let Winona have the wedding dress I'd personally designed?

Last but not least, why did I have to let Winona have George?

I couldn't stop myself from crying, but I did bite the back of my hand to muffle any sounds I made.

After a while, I took several deep breaths to calm down.

I kept telling myself that the quicker I finished packing, the sooner I could leave.

That night, I was already asleep when cold fingers reached out to touch my waist. When I opened my eyes, George's eyes were staring right into mine.

He spoke in a low voice, sounding rather pitiful. "Mary, I can't sleep alone."

When I remained silent, he moved his head closer.

At that moment, his phone, which he had placed beside his pillow, lit up. The light coincidentally illuminated the love bite on his neck, making it appear glaringly obvious.

I hurriedly turned my face away to avoid his approaching lips. Bile rose in my throat at the sight, and I felt like vomiting.

Noting my discomfort, George quickly asked, "Mary, what's wrong?"

I pointed at the door. "Get out. I just want to sleep by myself."

In the hazy darkness of the room, I vaguely saw a surprised expression on George's face, although I didn't know if I had imagined it.

After what happened, I lost all semblance of drowsiness.

Unbidden, a memory came to me.

One evening, I'd decided to take a shortcut by going through an alleyway behind the school. Unfortunately, I had run into a thug with malicious intentions toward me.

Just as I was panicking, George had appeared out of nowhere and charged at the thug, who was wielding a knife. Despite the danger, George had risked his life to protect me.

At the time, we'd actually been giving each other the cold shoulder due to an argument, so I was surprised at his sudden appearance. Worried he would be hurt by the thug, I'd shakily taken out my phone to call the police.

After the thug had run away, he'd wrapped me up in a tight hug. "Don't be scared, Mary, I'm here. No one can hurt you with me around."

Still trembling from the fear, I'd asked worriedly, "George, are you okay? Are you injured?"

George had been clutching his arm, but he still shook his head at me. In the dim light of the alleyway, all I could see was the love and concern shining in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me, as long as you're fine."

The sincere and youthful George of the past slowly changed into the current George.

In an instant, I felt an emptiness yawning inside me, as well as an overwhelming sense of loss.

Just how did George and I end up like this?

Before I'd realized it, it was already morning. My phone calendar reminded me to pick up the wedding ring from the jewelry store today.

The ring had been carved with jasmine designs—the flowers George used when he proposed to me.

Since I wouldn't get to use it, I would destroy it.

After checking my receipt, the jeweler raised his head and said, "Someone has already come to retrieve this. Let me check the surveillance for you."

In the surveillance footage, George entered the shop with Winona, who was hugging his arm. George then took out the ring and slipped it onto her finger.

Winona seized the opportunity when George lowered his head to stand on her tiptoes and kiss him.

George froze in surprise, but he didn't move away.

Waving the hand with the ring on it, Winona was smiling dazzlingly as she asked, "George, does it look good on me?"

Noticing how pale I had gone, the jeweler asked if I needed any help. However, I forced myself to smile and told him I would handle the matter myself.

Following that, I called Winona.

"Mary, do you need something?"

"The ring with the jasmine design is with you, isn't it? Return it to me."

I had barely finished speaking when George's voice came over the line.

"Mary, I know what the ring means to you, but since Winnie likes it, just give it to her. She's younger than us, so we should indulge her."

I could vaguely hear Winona in the background, saying in an aggrieved tone, "George, Mary is upset, isn't she? Maybe I should return the ring to her."

"Winnie, keep it if you like it. As your sister-in-law, she won't mind."

As I listened silently to the conversation between the two, a familiar ache burned in my heart.

I couldn't help but scoff at myself for not learning my lesson despite being burned so many times before.

No matter what, when it came to Winona and me, I would always be the one thrown aside.

Wiping the tears leaking from the corners of my eyes, I took in a deep breath before saying, "You can keep the ring. I don't like it anymore, nor do I want it."

I didn't want George anymore either.

George attempted to use his usual methods to comfort me. "Mary, I'll gift you an even bigger—"

I decisively hung up, cutting off George's voice.

It was time to let the past stay in the past, be it human or object. That was the best decision I could make for myself.

At the thought of how I still needed a few packing bags, I decided to walk to the next street, as there was a store there that sold them.

Unexpectedly, I had only just crossed two intersections when George's car stopped right in front of me.

He lowered the window and ordered, "Get in!"

When I ignored him, he directly climbed out of the car and forcefully dragged me inside.

His expression was dark as he stared at me with pursed lips. Several seconds later, he spoke in a low tone. "Mary, you've never hung up on me before."

I turned to look out the window, completely disregarding him.

Sighing softly, he lowered his voice and said, "Mary, Winnie is pregnant, so let's be more understanding and let her have her way, okay?"

Upon hearing this, I still couldn't hold back from exploding, all my accumulated grievances spilling over. I stared at him with red-rimmed eyes, yelling, "Am I at fault for her getting pregnant? Why should I always let her have her way and give her everything?"

The next second, I spotted an official-looking piece of paper by the gear stick.

It was a marriage certificate.

George followed my gaze and instantly panicked. He tried to explain, "Mary, this is just a formality. It's not real. You have to believe me!"

Forcing myself not to cry, I simply turned away and resumed looking outside the window in silence.

An indescribable exhaustion swept over me, both physically and mentally. At this point, arguing any further seemed pointless.

George stubbornly stared at me for quite a while. He opened his mouth to speak, but the words never left his lips.

The car ride progressed in silence. After returning home, I avoided George and sprinted straight for the bedroom.

Throwing myself onto the bed, I soon drifted off into much-needed sleep.

When I next woke up and opened the door, I was greeted by the sight of a candlelit dinner.

With a smile on his face, George gestured at the table in a gentlemanly manner. "Lady Mary, please enjoy your meal."

I was indeed hungry, and a meal wasn't a big deal, so I decided to take a seat. Before George could say anything more, I had already begun digging in.

After standing there awkwardly for a few seconds, George pulled out the chair next to mine and sat down.

He was rather diligent, purposely picking my favorite foods to put onto my plate.

"I've been rather busy preparing for the wedding recently, but I'll try to set aside more time to spend with you."

Then, not waiting for a response from me, he added, "Mary, Winnie wants you to be her bridesmaid. I agreed on your behalf."

The fork I had been bringing to my mouth halted in mid-air. Suddenly, all these favorite dishes of mine seemed to taste like ash.

Setting down my cutlery, I gazed right at George and ignored the stabbing pain in my heart. Then, I said in an icy tone that I had never used before, "George Sunther, who gave you the right to make that decision for me?"

With that, I no longer had any appetite and left for my room. I decided I was moving out tomorrow.

Through the door, I could hear the sound of George's phone ringing.

"Don't worry, Winnie, I'll get Mary to agree. You just need to focus on becoming the most beautiful bride in the world. I believe in Mary's feelings for me. She's just throwing a tantrum now, so I simply need to mollify her a bit more."

I laughed silently, though I wasn't sure if it was more in bitterness or relief.

Catching sight of the packing bags strewn all over the floor, I called the moving company.

The next morning, just as the moving company called to inform me that they were half an hour away, I saw George rushing outside.

I vaguely heard him say something about a wedding rehearsal.

This was perfect, as I wouldn't need to explain anything to him.

Looking around at the bare room, I felt as though my heart had been emptied of my feelings for him as well.

I had only just finished moving when I received a message from an unknown number.

In the message, the person claimed to be my fiancé and even attached the address of the largest hotel in the city.

There wasn't much information, but at the sight of the word "fiancé", my heart still quickened its pace.

When I arrived at the hotel, a couple happened to be there.

The woman was dressed in a pure white wedding dress, while the man was in a tailored black suit. From their silhouettes alone, they seemed like a perfect pair.

The man reached out a hand to gently tuck an errant lock of hair behind the woman's ear. Then, he kissed her forehead with a smile.

Curiosity had me glancing at them a few more times. As the man turned around, I realized it was someone familiar.

George and I locked gazes, causing him to pause in surprise for several seconds. Winona, sensing something off, turned and caught sight of me as well.

I could only laugh wryly. What amazing luck I had!

Winona's expression changed before she came over to me, the hem of her wedding dress trailing behind her. There was an aggrieved look on her face as she said, "Mary, are you here to snatch George away?"

She grabbed my arm, her voice sounding like she was about to cry as she pleaded, "I promise that once the baby is born, I'll return George to you, so please, can you not ruin my wedding? I beg you!"

I extricated my arm from her grip. "You're overthinking it."

Nonetheless, Winona refused to leave me alone. George also approached, his brow furrowed deeply.

"George, I don't want a wedding anymore. Have Mom and Dad tell everyone that the wedding is canceled." As Winona spoke, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Frowning harder, George yanked me aside to reprimand me. "Mary, can you please stop being so insensitive? Stop agitating Winnie. Rest assured, I'll marry you, so don't do something as foolish as crashing the wedding."

A sense of bitterness welled in me, but I simply turned and headed for the restroom.

I was drying my hands when I spotted Winona in the mirror, a smug look on her face.

While caressing her belly, she said with a smile, "Marilyn, do you know just how gentle George looks when he touches my belly? Once the baby is born, they will call George 'Daddy' and me 'Mommy.' We will be a happy family of three."

I tossed the used napkin in the trash bin before answering blithely, "Oh, then congratulations to you. I wish you two a happy marriage."

There was silence behind me for a while, but I could still sense that gaze fixed intently on my back.

Suddenly, Winona laughed and taunted me, "Shall we see who George will choose between us?"

Following that, I heard her calling George on her phone. "G-George… I can't… My stomach hurts so much! M-Mary, she… She still blames me, so she pushed me down… It hurts!"

I found the entire situation ridiculous and couldn't be bothered with her any longer. However, I was abruptly shoved aside, and my hip hit the sink.

There was a sharp flare of pain..

"Winnie, are you okay?" George didn't bother hiding his worry as he carefully picked Winona up.

"George, it hurts!"

I forced myself to endure the pain coming from my hip and exited the restroom, only to hear George shouting at me. "Marilyn Lithos, how could you be so wicked? I already told you I would marry you, so why did you still hurt Winnie?"

I looked over my shoulder, seeing an iciness in his gaze that I had never seen before. In his arms, Winona had a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

When the passersby spotted the pregnant woman in George's arms, they instinctively sided with him. They shook their heads and commented, "How could she push down a pregnant woman? Does she have no morals?"

In that instant, I wasn't sure if I wanted to cry or laugh more. I had been with George for so many years, yet it seemed he didn't have even the slightest bit of trust in me.

Winona, probably thinking there wasn't enough drama, continued to moan and whine about how much pain she was in.

George gritted his teeth, his eyes becoming red with anger.

"Marilyn Lithos, get out of my way! If you ever appear before Winnie again, don't blame me for overlooking our past!"

Each word was like a cold bullet slamming into me.

I opened my mouth, wanting to explain, but when I met George's hate-filled eyes, it was like a hammer had bludgeoned my heart. He had already deemed me guilty of something I didn't do, and nothing I said would change that. It would only make me appear even more foolish.

I had originally thought that even if our relationship fell apart, it was built on the foundation of many years, so we would still know each other's characters well.

However, at the end of the day, nothing could beat one single sentence from Winona.

Immediately, I became the subject of scorn for the crowd as they began cursing and scolding me.

Even the security guard was rough as he shoved me to get me out of there. I had clearly done nothing wrong, yet I was being treated like the vilest of criminals.

One particularly hard push from the security guard caused me to lose my balance, and I resigned myself to falling.

But in the next second, a pair of strong arms caught and steadied me.

The low voice of a man sounded in my ear. "Sorry, I'm late."