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?”

Almost on instinct, Leland immediately got up and moved away from me.

He pretended to be annoyed. “Seriously? Such a hassle.”

He turned to me, saying, “Babe, wait here. I’ll deal with it and come back to keep you company.”

I didn’t say anything, but I clearly heard it—the moment he stepped out of the room, he was already impatiently tangled up with Shanna.

My mind went blank. I grabbed a pillow and pressed it hard over my ears, refusing to listen anymore.

In the end, Leland still broke his promise. He didn’t come back, not even when the sun came up.

I wiped away those pathetic tears at the corners of my eyes and swore to myself that this would be the last time I ever cried because of him.

Pressing the emerald bracelet my mom left me before she died against my chest, I finally drifted off to sleep.

I had no idea what time it was the next day when a sudden bark jolted me awake.

I shot up in bed, and my vision filled with the sight of a Caucasian Shepherd. My eyes widened in horror, and I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I’d always been terrified of dogs, and once Leland found out, he’d told the servants to be extra careful.

Over the years in this villa, not only were there no dogs. I had not seen even a strand of dog fur.

Now, the dog in front of me was nearly half my height, glaring at me with vicious eyes, letting out a low growl.

My hands and feet turned cold. I didn’t even dare breathe.

In my panic, I suddenly noticed—the bracelet was gone from my wrist.

I scanned the room. That’s when I saw it—the dog had it clamped tightly between its teeth!

Just then, someone blew a whistle outside the door. The dog dashed out immediately, still carrying the bracelet.

My fingers went white from clenching so hard. My legs trembled uncontrollably.

But the bracelet was the only keepsake Mom left me. Gritting my teeth, I ran after it.

The moment I reached the stairway, I saw the dog already rubbing affectionately against Shanna, tail wagging wildly.

Shanna bent down slowly and pulled the bracelet out from the dog’s mouth using just two fingers, like she was picking up something dirty off the ground.

“Silly Hawkeye, why do you keep picking up trash?”

She lifted her gaze toward the stairway, landing precisely on me. A mocking smile tugged at her lips.

“Cheap junk like this actually made it into the LaVeaus? Don’t you think it lowers the standard here?”

Before her words even finished, she flicked her wrist sharply.

With a crisp crack, the emerald bracelet shattered instantly into countless tiny pieces—not even a single intact gemstone left.

My heart skipped a beat. My eyes locked on Shanna, the fear from moments ago evaporating under a rush of fury and heartbreak.

I yelled at her, “That was my mom’s! How dare you break it?!”

Contempt filled her eyes. “Well, this is the LaVeaus’s place. I can break whatever I want. If you’re so upset, go call Leland. Let’s see whose side he takes.”

I completely lost it. I lunged at her like a madwoman, pinned her to the floor, and slapped her across the face several times.

“Give me back my mom’s bracelet!”

I kept shouting the same thing over and over. I was so far gone that I didn’t even notice the big dog rushing in and tearing into my calf.

It wasn’t until a brute force suddenly yanked me by the hair and violently threw me backward that I snapped out of it.