At the height of my career, I stepped away from the research world and married my fiancé, Leland LaVeau.

But right when everything was at its sweetest, I found out he had a childhood sweetheart he absolutely hated—a girl he grew up with.

She used to rip up his love letters, change his college applications behind his back, and even take private photos to ruin his reputation.

Every time those things came up, Leland would grit his teeth, like he wished she would disappear forever.

But on the day of our first wedding, when she deliberately slashed her wrist at the venue, the usually calm and composed Leland went pale. His eyes reddened, and without a second of hesitation, he left me standing there and scooped her up to rush her to the hospital.

The second time, she drugged herself with an aphrodisiac, ran straight to the wildest bar in the city, and forced Leland to “detox her” with his own body.

And there I was again, alone on the lawn, standing in the pouring rain for an entire day, ending up the biggest joke in our circle.

This circus went on ninety-eight times. And every single time, Leland enabled her.

Every single time, he’d promise, “Next time, I’ll give you the perfect wedding you deserve.”

But then, the night before the ninety-ninth wedding attempt, I overheard his childhood sweetheart confronting him outside the study.

“Drop the act, Leland. You think I don’t know? You got close to Charmaine just so her mother would donate her heart to me! You even staged that accident. You ran her mother over on purpose!”

Then her voice grew more frantic.

“After all these years, are you really still not willing to admit it? That the person you’ve loved… has always been me?”

Just as she turned to leave, Leland suddenly grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.

His breath was hot, thick with years of suppressed longing.

“I admit it,” he said. “From the very start, you’re the only one I’ve ever loved.”

Tears streamed down my face. But I didn’t confront them.

Instead, I quietly left, went back to my room, and dialed my senior, Galen Morroway.

“You told me before about that research project that requires wiping my identity and living on a closed island for five years,” I said. “I’m joining. See you in a week.”

…

After I found out that Leland, my long-time fiancé, killed my mother for the sake of his childhood sweetheart, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I called Galen, who had been trying to recruit me for ages.

“Galen, that ‘Lone Star Project’ you kept inviting me to join… I’m saying yes now.”

On the other end of the line, his voice clearly perked up, but he still reminded me, “This experiment is strictly confidential to the outside world. You’ll have to erase your identity, and the base is on a completely isolated island. According to the agreement, you won’t be allowed to leave for five years. Are you sure you want to join?”

I didn’t even think. “I’m sure,” I confirmed immediately.

“Alright. Then wait seven days. I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

I nodded lightly. “Mm. See you in a week.”

The moment I hung up, my body just gave out and I collapsed onto the floor. As all the memories of the past years with Leland resurfaced, I felt like the punchline of a very cruel joke.

Back then, I was the rising star of Earth Sciences, a prodigy in the research world, yet I chose to retire at my peak.

All because Leland filled the entire Santa Barbara coastline with 9.99 million crystal roses and proposed to me.

It was also the first time I learned from Leland’s friends that he had a childhood sweetheart he grew up with but basically hated—Shanna Auclair.

She used to tear up all the love letters in his drawer, force-kiss him in front of girls who had a crush on him to scare off anyone else in school who wanted to confess.

During the SAT applications, she even secretly changed his choices to match hers, causing him to miss out on the university he’d dreamed of for years.

The most outrageous thing she ever did was when she drugged him, took intimate photos of the two of them, and spread them everywhere in their circle, completely ruining his reputation.

After the scandal broke, her parents immediately sent that troublemaker daughter of theirs abroad to hide until things cooled down.

When I found out, I couldn’t hold back my frustration. I went straight to confront Leland.

But the moment he heard Shanna’s name, he showed pure disgust and disdain.

“Just hearing her name ruins my day,” he said. “Good thing that vicious woman left the country. If she knew we were about to get married, who knows what she’d pull on me.”

Seeing my uneasiness, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me gently to reassure me.

“Babe, don’t listen to people’s nonsense. All that crap is in the past. I only have you in my heart now,” he reassured me. “We’re getting married soon. From now on, there’s no place for her in my life.”

Hearing his explanations again and again, I finally settled down.

But I never imagined that just two days later, after he publicly announced nationwide that we were getting married… Shanna actually rushed back from abroad in a frenzy.

That day, she barged straight into his shareholders’ meeting, ignoring that he was still presenting.

Right in front of me and everyone else, she threw herself onto him, kissing and biting him like a madwoman. She not only ripped his shirt apart but also sank her teeth hard into his chest, leaving a circle of bite marks.

Leland was furious and humiliated. He shoved her away, but she only laughed even more wildly.

“You dare get married before me, Leland? Dream on!” she exclaimed. “I’ve marked you mine now. Let’s see if your little fiancée still wants you!”

Then she shot me a blatantly provocative look. And right there in public, she declared that as long as Leland tried to marry before she did, she would never let things go his way.

At my first wedding, right as I was about to exchange vows with Leland, Shanna shoved the priest aside, and right in front of my husband-to-be, she slit her own wrist with a piece of broken glass.

Leland, who’d been standing protectively by my side a second earlier, completely panicked. He dropped everything—including me—and rushed her to the hospital. Our engagement rings were still lying on the floor where he’d left them.

The second time, the night before the ceremony, Shanna drugged herself and ran off to the wildest, most chaotic bar in the city, demanding that Leland come “save” her as the antidote.

The two of them caused a scene the entire night. The next day, Leland slept straight until two in the afternoon, completely forgetting about me, leaving me standing alone on an empty lawn under the rain for an entire day. From then on, I became a laughingstock in the circle.

Every time something like that happened, I told myself I should break up with him.

But then, I’d see this man—who was always so cold, so untouchable in front of others—cry and beg me for forgiveness again and again… and I’d cave.

After all, back in college, someone fed my face into an AI and created disgusting fake porn of me.

Nobody was willing to hear my side.

Everyone hated me, shunned me, and bullied me. And when the school expelled me for “causing a huge negative impact,” Leland was the one who pulled me out of hell.

When I tried to jump off the building, he grabbed me so hard that the railing tore open his arm, but he still held on.

He believed me without question. He stopped the school from expelling me by pledging to donate five buildings a year.

Then he put out a massive bounty to hunt down the people who spread the rumors. One by one, the students who bullied me were forced to apologize and beg for my forgiveness.

He announced to the whole world that I was someone under his protection, and after that, not a single person on campus dared look down on me again.

Not to mention the expensive gifts and the way he took care of me so attentively.

All of that made me believe Leland truly loved me.

That’s why, every time he cried and begged, I forgave him. And every time, I quietly looked forward to our final wedding.

But on the night before we tried to get wed for the 99th time, I overheard Shanna talking to him.

“Seriously, Leland, after all these years, you still won’t admit you like me?

“Don’t think I don’t know—you only got close to Charmaine because you wanted her mom to donate a heart to me! You even staged that accident and killed her mom for it!

“I know I’m the one you love the most. Now that I’m back, don’t marry her, alright?”

Her voice was dripping with temptation as she leaned in to kiss him.

Leland turned his head away, his expression cold, but he still couldn’t bring himself to push her away.

“That was all in the past. The person I love now is Charmaine…”

“You liar!” Shanna cried out.

“I saw it! The photo album of me in your study! It’s practically falling apart! You obviously flipped through it so many times that there are marks all over it!

“All these years while I was abroad, you were basically using my photos to relieve yourself, weren’t you? You’ve never even touched Charmaine. Otherwise, that night when you were my ‘antidote,’ you wouldn’t have been so… insatiable.”

Leland fell silent… because everything she said was true.

Seeing that he still refused to give me up, Shanna’s face twisted in despair.

“My parents already arranged a marriage for me. I only came back because I thought you still liked me. Looks like I was just delusional…”

She stood to leave, but Leland grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, his voice thick with possessiveness.

“You’re not marrying anyone else. The only man you can have… is me.”

Shanna’s eyes reddened. “Why? You don’t even love me.”

Leland grabbed the back of her head and kissed her hard. He didn’t let go until both of them were gasping for air.

He finally admitted, “I love you. From the very start, you’re the only one I’ve ever loved.”

The next second, he swept everything off the desk, and the room filled again with breathy, intimate noises.

I stood outside the door, tears pouring down my face, unable to believe he had lied to me for so long.

My mother’s death… I’d comforted myself countless nights, telling myself it was an accident, just so I could feel a little better.

But now, I finally knew—Leland had planned everything from the start!

All our sweet moments were just sugar-coated poison, and now it was exploding inside me, tearing me apart from the inside out.

I don’t remember how I numbly made it back to my room that night.

All I remember was that when I touched my face, it was already covered in dried tears.

All those little moments that once moved me… all of them vanished into nothing.

I turned on the lights. The master bedroom was filled with ninety-nine wedding dresses—symbols of my ninety-nine failed weddings.

Each dress was more expensive and designed more elaborately than the last.

Leland said it was because he felt guilty and wanted to make it up to me.

I picked up the newest one. The jewels covering it were worth enough to buy a small estate.

I remembered how overwhelmed I was the first time I saw it, thinking it was way too extravagant. Leland had held my hand and told me, “My fiancée is the best girl in the world. She deserves everything beautiful.”

But now, all I saw was how painfully bright those shining jewels were.

After calling my senior, I lay alone on the cold bed. No matter how many times I tossed and turned, I couldn’t fall asleep.

I don’t know how long it was before Leland finally pushed the door open and joined me in bed.

He wrapped his arms around me from behind like he always did, but the faint scent on him after making out with his other woman made my stomach turn.

I instinctively pulled away. My voice was flat and distant. “Go to sleep. You woke me up.”

He froze for a second, then brushed it off. “You’re mad just because I stayed in the study a little longer to deal with work?”

“When did you get so petty?” he commented.

A sour ache rushed up my chest. I had to dig my nails into my palm just to stop myself from confronting his lies.

When I didn’t respond, he helplessly shrugged.

“Alright, cheer up. Tomorrow you’ll officially be my wife,” he said.

Then, he asked, “Have you tried on the new custom wedding dress? Do you like it? Does it fit?”

I frowned, my irritation slipping out. “I don’t like it. And it doesn’t fit at all.”

I thought he’d at least pretend to coax me a little.

But instead, he actually looked relieved—almost happy. He blurted out, “If that’s the case, why don’t we just cancel the wedding tomorrow?”

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized he messed up and hurried to explain.

“You know this, babe. I’ve always wanted to give you a perfect wedding. I don’t tolerate even the smallest mistake.

“So just wait for me a little longer, okay? I promise I’ll make you the happiest bride.”

I tugged the corner of my lips in a silent, bitter smile. Listening to his self-righteous excuses almost made me laugh.

We’d been together for so long, and only now did I realize Leland was this manipulative and heartless.

I turned my back to him and numbly nodded.

It didn’t matter anyway. After the last seven days, none of this man’s life would have anything to do with me.

Just then, the bedroom door opened.

Shanna stood there, tears shimmering in her eyes.

“Leland… your house is so big and dark. I’m scared of being alone. Can you come keep me company?”