On the day of the wedding, while driving to pick up my fiancée, I was deliberately cut off and sideswiped by another car.

The driver was arrogant and bluntly declared that no one was leaving until the matter was resolved.

Anxious to get to my fiancée, I dragged the man straight to the police station.

Only when I demanded an outrageous amount in compensation did he admit that my fiancée had hired him to delay me on purpose—just so I wouldn’t make it to the ceremony on time.

By the time I caught a cab to the hotel, my fiancée was already exchanging wedding rings with her assistant.

I broke up with her in front of everyone, but her face darkened.

“Adrian Scott, can you stop making trouble for no reason?”

“Ryan Scott is the Scott family’s only son. He was just here to act on your behalf and keep up appearances. Officially, I married into the Scott family, but in reality, my husband is still you. If you can’t be grateful, fine—but what right do you have to break up with me?”

Ryan had his arm around her, smiling smugly.

“Adrian, you made it? Perfect—you can still have a drink at our wedding banquet. One bottle costs half your yearly salary, so make sure you savor it.”

I couldn’t hold back and punched him in the face.

In return, Sophia Bennett slapped me even harder.

“Get out! This isn’t the place for you to lose your mind!”

Security dragged me out of the hotel, and I watched her help Ryan into a car.

Eight years of love ended in that moment.

I called my father.

“Tell that illegitimate son to get out. I’ll take over the Scott family.”

I don’t even remember how I got home. Too much had happened that day.

The first thing I saw when I stepped inside was our wedding portrait—Sophia leaning against me with a tender, affectionate smile.

The sweetness from that day still vivid in my mind, yet now everything had changed.

I numbly tossed every couple’s trinket into the trash.

Then I sent her a breakup message.

Three hours later, after I’d finished packing, she still hadn’t replied.

I let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Even now, part of me had still been holding onto hope.

A friend texted, saying he wanted to take me out for drinks to celebrate my wedding.

I thought about how I hadn’t gone to such places in eight years, all to give Sophia a sense of security.

Now that we’d broken up, I no longer had to care about her feelings.

Leaving my luggage behind, I headed straight to the bar.

A bottle of hard liquor later, the pain of heartbreak was still just as sharp.

Drowsy, I heard my phone ring several times.

My friend glanced at it and teased:

“Your wife’s checking up on you.”

“Adrian, you didn’t report your whereabouts? Better watch out—she might call again.”

I chuckled coldly twice.

“We broke up. Forget about her.”

“Huh? Weren’t you two getting married today…?”

To keep my identity a secret, I hadn’t invited these friends to the wedding, so naturally they didn’t know what had happened.

Before I could explain, a hand snatched my glass away.

The drink splashed over my face, and Sophia glared at me furiously.

“Adrian Scott, what’s your problem? Why aren’t you answering my messages? Can’t you see them?”

“We just got married and you’re out drinking—what do you take me for?”

I squinted at her, the face I once loved now blurred in my eyes.

“We broke up. Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be with your new alliance partner? Careful he doesn’t think I’m the other woman.”

Sensing the tension, my friend quickly excused himself and left.

My cold attitude only made Sophia angrier. She grabbed my arm, trying to pull me outside.

“Who agreed to the breakup? I told you already—the wedding today was fake! Why are you being so unreasonable?”

“If you had even a bit of ambition, would I have had to trick my parents into a marriage alliance? You think I wanted this?”

We stayed silent the whole way home. When we arrived, I was ready to confront her and leave, but then I saw Ryan Scott lying on the couch—in my pajamas.

The place I had meticulously cleaned was a complete mess, and the red wedding double-happiness symbols on the wall had all been torn down.

Without even looking up, Sophia Bennett coldly ordered,

“Ryan will borrow your slippers. He took quite a beating from you and needs to rest here for a couple of days, so you can keep your shoes on inside.”

“The doctor said his bandages need to be changed on time. I’m busy with work and have already given him leave. You can take him to the hospital yourself.”

I couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.

“Sophia, what makes you think I’d accept my wife cheating on me—and then personally take care of her lover?”

“Aren’t you giving yourself way too much credit?”

Sophia’s face flushed red in anger.

“Cheating? Can’t you talk without being so nasty?”

“I told you—Ryan only filled in for you at the wedding to deal with my parents. He’s the dignified only son of the Scott family. The fact that he’d lower himself to be my assistant and help me act the part—why are you being so petty?”

Ryan sat there, bored, watching the show.

My own temper was starting to boil over.

“Right—you’re noble, you’re pure, and I’m just the worthless one who’s never been good enough for you.”

“If you knew I had no money, why did you get with me in the first place? And today—married and still scheming to have someone crash my wedding car. You went to all this trouble just to make me step aside for you two, didn’t you? Fine. I’m agreeing now.”

“We’re done. There’s nothing more to say.”

At that, panic flickered across Sophia’s face.

“What do you mean, hire someone to crash your wedding car? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ryan stepped forward weakly.

“Adrian, don’t be mad at Sophia. It was my idea.”

“She was afraid you’d be too upset seeing the groom switched at the last minute, so I came up with this plan…”

“If you’re going to blame someone, blame me—it’s all my fault. Don’t fight with her over it.”

He pressed a hand to his forehead with a pained hiss.

Sophia’s expression immediately softened as she rushed to support him.

“It’s not your fault. You were just trying to help—otherwise the wedding wouldn’t have gone through at all!”

Then she turned to meet my gaze, her eyes igniting with anger again.

“Adrian, let me be honest with you—Ryan joined the company from the start to develop feelings with me. My family wanted me to marry into an alliance, but I never agreed.”

“If it weren’t for wanting to be with you, would I have been in such a bind?”

“We just had a wedding; we didn’t even register the marriage. Why are you acting like this?”

Seeing my cold, unyielding face, she softened her tone and reached for my wrist—only for me to pull away.

“Adrian, I’ve thought it through. Once we fool my family, we can have a smaller wedding—just the two of us. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Behind her back, Ryan flashed me a taunting grin.

When she turned around again, he put on a look of polite understanding.

“Don’t worry, Adrian. I won’t interfere with your relationship. Once I’m healed, I’ll leave.”

“In the meantime, I’ll trouble you to take care of me.”

I let out a cold smirk and placed my hand on my suitcase.

“No need. If you left, Sophia would be in an awkward spot. The one who should go is me.”

“Sophia, if I liked you before, that was my blindness. From now on, if we meet again, we’re strangers.”

I turned to leave, but Sophia rushed forward to grab my suitcase.

“What did you just say? Say it again!”

“Adrian Scott! If you dare break up with me, I will never forgive you!”

I didn’t even lift my head.

“I don’t need forgiveness from someone who betrays love. Move.”

I strode out, and behind me came hurried footsteps—

followed by Ryan Scott’s repeated cries of pain.

Sophia Bennett was forced to stop and check his injuries.

By the time she looked up, I was already inside the elevator.

“Adrian Scott, just try leaving tonight!”

“Don’t forget—everything you have today was given to you by me! Without me, you’re nothing!”

“Even if you kneel and beg me later, I won’t give you a second glance!”

The elevator doors slowly closed, shutting out the last of her shrill screaming.

I felt a wave of disorientation, unable to understand how something once so beautiful had turned into this.

I had thought the end of a first love would be marriage—our world of two becoming a warm family of three.

Never had I imagined that love would end in venomous words and bitter enmity.

It wasn’t until I was lying on the large hotel bed that the memories came flooding back like a tide.

When I first met Sophia, she was lively, beautiful, and gentle—

the only ray of light in my otherwise gray world.

From the misery of being forced into endless business courses, just one glimpse of her would sweep away all my exhaustion.

Because of my father’s orders, I wasn’t allowed to make friends casually at school.

I became the most solitary figure in the class.

But Sophia broke through the boundaries I had set for myself again and again, barging into my life.

She would smile as she brought me milk tea, teasing:

“It’s my birthday today, so I bought milk tea for the whole class. You get one too!”

Later I learned from classmates that she had bought it for everyone only so she could give one to me.

They were jealous of me, yet envious that I had caught the attention of the campus belle.

When my father found out, he cut off all my living expenses.

He told me that if I couldn’t become the kind of heir the Scott family needed, then I didn’t deserve to enjoy its benefits.

From that day on, I attended classes in the daytime and worked multiple part-time jobs at night.

When payday came, my boss told me I’d done well and tripled my salary.

When I pressed him for the reason, he admitted that Sophia had bought the shop.

I won’t deny it—my heart skipped a beat in that moment.

I didn’t dare get closer to her innocence and warmth, so I pretended I didn’t know and went on with my life.

But Sophia once again broke through my boundaries.

No matter where I worked, she would somehow become my coworker.

If I was handing out flyers, she would wear a mascot costume to draw in a crowd.

If I was washing dishes, she would be in the kitchen carrying plates.

Watching a pampered heiress bend down to work alongside me—it would be a lie to say I wasn’t moved.

Even though I refused her with words, the wild pounding of my heart betrayed me.

By the tenth time she had followed me to one of my workplaces, I couldn’t take it anymore and pulled her aside.

“You don’t have to do this. This isn’t the life you should be living.”

She blinked playfully, her face full of innocent mischief.

“I’ll decide what kind of life I should live.”

“Besides… seeing you makes me happy. That’s worth it. But if I’m bothering you, I’m sorry…”

That thin paper window between us was finally pierced, and I could no longer lie to myself.

From that night on, my life had an angel in it.

I thought that by keeping our relationship a secret, I could protect her.

But on graduation day, when my father attended as a shareholder to present awards, he discovered the truth.

“Either inherit the Scott family, or get out. You choose.”

“Adrian Scott, I told you—you can’t afford weaknesses as an heir.”

I chose Sophia, and I never regretted it.

Leaving the Scott family, I used her connections to enter her family’s company.

I thought that as long as the Bennett family accepted me, I could endure any hardship.