Janice's POV

The test results from the domestic hospital matched those from overseas. I had only one month left.

I wasn't surprised by the outcome, but Zayne looked at me with concern. "Janice, your condition… Are we really still going on the trip?" he asked.

I didn't hesitate and gave a slight nod. With only one month remaining, I needed to say my goodbyes properly.

I took Zayne to the hillside estate where Jason and I used to spend part of every holiday. In addition to the usual estate amenities, the property even had a golf course.

Zayne received a call and stepped away to handle work, leaving me seated by the course to enjoy the sun.

Seeing the familiar scene I hadn't visited in so long, I couldn't help but remember how Jason and I used to compete here on every visit. The loser had to serve as the other's caddie for a day.

Jason was highly skilled at golf, but he always let me win. The man who was decisive and commanding in the outside world always smiled gently before me and indulged my every whim.

A golf ball landed near my feet and snapped me back to the present.

To my surprise, it was Jason who walked over. "My bad. I hit it off target. Why didn't you move? Are you here to sunbathe?"

But how could he have hit it off target? I looked away and didn't respond.

Freya hurried over, linked her arm through Jason's, and smiled brightly at me. "Ms. Moyer, what a coincidence. We met again.

"Are you here for our engagement party? Oh, that's my oversight. You declined our wedding invitation, so I assumed you wouldn't attend the engagement party either."

Jason patted Freya's hand. "It's not your fault. Some people are just strange. They refuse an invitation when it's offered, but they show up when they're not invited. How ridiculous."

I hadn't expected them to hold their engagement party there and was about to leave.

Freya stopped me. "Ms. Moyer, since you're here, why don't you come with us to see some old friends?"

I clutched the blanket around me. "No, thank you. I only came for a stroll. I had no idea you were holding your engagement party here today."

Jason scoffed. "Is it that you didn't know or that you don't have the nerve to see your old friends? Last time we met, you said you had a cold. This time, you claim that you've sprained your ankle, yet here you are at the golf course.

"Janice Moyer, have your lying skills really gone downhill? Or is all this constant misfortune and illness just karma catching up with you?"

Each word he uttered felt like a knife, repeatedly tearing open my wounds that had long since begun to heal.

My already pale face turned even more ashen. Zayne finished his call and hurried over to stand in front of me. "Mr. Thorne, Janice never wronged you—"

Fearing that Zayne might say too much, I tried to reach out and stop him. But my body betrayed me, and I fell forward.

Fortunately, Zayne reacted quickly. He caught me around the waist and carefully set me back into the wheelchair.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Jason take two hurried steps toward me. But once I was seated, his expression returned to its usual detachment. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, someone interrupted him.

"Janice Moyer! It really is you!" a familiar male voice rang out.

I looked up and saw Shawn Torres, Jason's best friend. He walked over with a golden retriever, glaring at me with contempt.

He said, "You didn't contact any of us after you came back to the country. Is it because things are going so badly for you that you're too embarrassed to face us?

"Come to think of it, we should thank you for heartlessly leaving Jason all those years ago. Otherwise, he and Freya wouldn't be living their dream life now with just the two of them and their dog."

The golden retriever seemed to understand Shawn. Once he finished speaking, the dog trotted over to Freya and Jason, nuzzling their legs affectionately.

Jason lowered his gaze and bent down to pat the dog's head. He loved dogs, but I was allergic to dog fur, so he had never mentioned keeping one before. It truly was best for him that we separated.

Seeing that I remained silent, Shawn stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Back then, Jason waited for you in the snow for three days and nights, ignoring his own injuries just to beg you to stay. In the end, you left the country without a word.

"If it wasn't for Freya, he would have ended up disabled for life!"

Shawn stood up for his best friend, brimming with anger. "Janice Moyer, why did you have to come back now, just when Jason is at his happiest? Can't you stand to see him doing well?"

I didn't have the energy to deal with the encounter. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I longed to get away as soon as possible. Just as I was about to speak, a dark figure lunged at me.

Janice's POV

The golden retriever knocked me down, covering my face in dog fur and sending a glass of water on the nearby table crashing to the floor.

Sharp pain surged through my body, and my breath caught from an allergic reaction to the dog's fur. Zayne immediately lifted me up, his eyes filled with distress.

Jason and Freya rushed to check on the dog.

Freya said, "It's soaked from the water. It still hasn't recovered from its cold these past few days. I hope it doesn't get sick again. Oh, no, it's bleeding! It must have been cut by the glass."

A worried look crossed her face as she turned to accuse me. "Ms. Moyer, even if you dislike me, you didn't have to take it out on the dog. You provoked it on purpose and got it hurt!"

I was bewildered, but Shawn quickly pulled several bags of dog treats from the back of my wheelchair. "You used these to tease the dog, didn't you? Are you trying to get close to it so Jason will look at you again? Keep dreaming!"

The concern in Jason's eyes vanished completely, replaced by profound disgust.

"There's a limit to your lies! Why would we even bring dog treats when we go out?" Zayne tried to defend me, but no one believed him. They were all focused on the dog.

My breathing became increasingly difficult. I grabbed Zayne and whispered, "I want to go home."

Zayne shot them a glare and pushed me toward the exit, but Jason blocked our path.

He said arrogantly, "The dog was supposed to bring us the rings at the wedding, but now, it's injured because of you. To make up for it, why don't you deliver the rings for us instead, Janice?"

Zayne clenched his fists. "How could you humiliate someone like this?"

Jason's eyes were my favorite part of him. He used to look at me with such focus and intensity, as if I were the only person in the world worthy of his devotion. But now, when he looked at me, his eyes were filled with nothing but hatred.

He said, "Otherwise, I must ask you both to stay until the dog has recovered. Ms. Moyer, if you need anything, just let me know. You don't look particularly well."

Did he remember that I was allergic to dogs?

But I wanted nothing more to do with him. "I… I'll do it."

I agreed without thinking. All I wanted was to leave as soon as possible.

The people around me burst out laughing.

Some said that I had come back because I couldn't make it abroad. Others claimed that I returned to win Jason back now that he was about to get married. In their eyes, I had become the desperate ex-girlfriend who was willing to do anything to please Jason.

It didn't matter. Soon, I wouldn't hear any of it anymore. They could say whatever they wanted.

Zayne was furious. "You know full well that your body can't handle long flights, so why did you agree to such an unreasonable request?"

I had taken my allergy medication and regained some strength. "It's not for him. I just want to go see that snow-capped mountain again."

Zayne said nothing more and turned to arrange a private jet to Selvaria.

I closed my eyes as the sprawling snow-capped mountains of Selvaria drifted into my mind, along with a small cabin glowing with warm yellow light at the foot of the mountains.

I remembered racing Jason down the ski slopes. After having our fill, we returned to the hotel to shower and change, then went down to the bar for a drink and sat there the entire evening.

Jason had also invested in a ski club in Raveth, where a photo wall was dedicated to documenting our moments.

Once, he was emboldened by the alcohol and asked me, "How about I propose to you in front of this wall someday?"

I laughed and pushed his face away. "Who said I'd marry you?"

Back then, I had always spoken the opposite of what I felt. In my heart, I had already decided that I would marry him or no one. Looking back now, it seemed that I hadn't broken my word.

The plane landed smoothly in Selvaria, and Zayne gently woke me up. "We're here. I'll have someone to take you to the residence first. Dr. Barnes will arrive in an hour. I'll wait for him at the airport."

William Barnes had been my attending physician while I was abroad and was also a close friend of Zayne's. He was familiar with the hospitals in Selvaria.

I nodded and followed the staff toward the car, but before we reached the exit, Shawn blocked our way.

"Ms. Moyer, you're right on time," he said.

Janice's POV

"Since we've run into each other, let's head out together," Shawn said.

Running into Shawn here was a stroke of bad luck.

I declined coldly, "No, thanks. I have a ride."

"Today is the pre-wedding party. You've already agreed to attend the wedding, so skipping the party would make us look bad. Or is what they say true? Do you still have feelings for Jason and can't even bear to look at him?"

Shawn didn't give me a choice. As soon as he finished speaking, he had his men shove me into the car.

We arrived at a bar with deafening music blasting inside. The people dancing wildly in the private room turned to look at me in my wheelchair, and the room instantly fell silent.

Someone asked, "Freya, did you really invite a disabled person to your wedding?"

The room erupted in laughter.

Freya gave the person a light and playful shove. "Stop that. This is a good friend of Jason and mine. Ms. Moyer, let's play dice."

From the moment I entered the bar, I felt pressure building inside me. My head spun as waves of nausea washed over me.

Someone pushed me toward Freya. I looked back and saw Jason.

He glanced at my legs, covered by the blanket. "Is that sprained ankle still not healed? I hope there isn't some other problem—"

Freya laughed and cut him off, "Jason, you're teasing Ms. Moyer again. Ms. Moyer, Jason's just like that. He's blunt with everyone except me.

"Don't take it personally. Let's play dice. The loser drinks!"

I pressed my lips together and stayed silent. When I lost, I forced myself to pick up the glass and drained it. The harsh liquid burned its way down my throat, making my blood boil.

I set the empty glass on the table and stared at Freya. A surge of stubbornness and refusal to accept defeat rose within me. "Again!"

After a few rounds, I lost almost every single time. That was only to be expected, given how weak my hands were.

They pushed another drink toward me, but I could no longer lift the glass. I nudged the glass away with my fingers. "No, I'm done."

Freya smiled. "Ms. Moyer, it's fine if you don't want to play. But the rule here is that if you can't drink, you have to take off a piece of clothing or dance."

Even without thinking, I knew she was deliberately making things hard for me. I couldn't even manage half of what she asked.

If this were five years ago, I would have drunk them all under the table without flinching. Back then, no one dared to bully me. Now, the person who once stood by my side felt worlds away.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Jason leaning against the couch with his arms crossed. He watched us with total indifference, as if this were nothing more than a joke.

Freya's grin widened. "Do you want to drink or dance? Make a choice, Ms. Moyer."

Just then, Jason's phone rang. He gave me a long look before getting up to answer it.

My body reached its limit. I forced my eyes open, twisted my lips into a sneer, and whispered, "In your dreams. Can't you hear what I'm saying? I said that I'm done."

Freya's expression shifted instantly, and she slapped me hard. "Why didn't you die abroad? Are you tired of living? If you won't die on your own, I'll make sure you do."

Suddenly, a cold bottle was shoved into my hand. The moment the door opened again, Freya grabbed my hand and smashed the bottle against her own head.

She shrieked hysterically, "Jason, save me!"