I miss out on a call from my fiancee, Lauren Sink, because my phone is out of service when I'm in the elevator.

The next thing I know, I receive a text from her, stating that our wedding has gotten called off.

"Let's call off our wedding. I don't want to marry you anymore. Gregory isn't feeling well, so I've gone over to his place to take care of him. I don't want you disturbing us."

This is the 99th time Lauren has called off our wedding because of Gregory Cooper.

But this time, I don't get to plead to Lauren in time because I'm in too much agony from the news.

Suddenly, I see a row of comments appearing before my eyes.

"Why aren't you pleading with Lauren to stay with you, Cameron? She loves you, you know! She just doesn't know how to convey her feelings for you!"

"She doesn't love Gregory at all! She gets close to him and calls off the wedding with you just to make you jealous!"

"If Lauren genuinely doesn't want you to disturb her, why would she tell you where she is? Hurry up and please her already!"

My heart skips a beat at the sight.

So… So Lauren has loved me all this time?

But I don't want the love that I can't feel at all.

I got up wearily and went home to pack my things. At the same time, the live comments continued scrolling before my eyes in defense of Lauren Sink.

"Don't go, Cameron! Lauren actually loves you! The room she never lets you enter is full of proof that she loves you!"

I froze for a moment and turned to look at the tightly shut door. Lauren had never allowed me inside. Once, I tried to sneak in when she wasn't around, but she caught me.

Furious, she had threatened to break off our engagement. That marked the very first time she had said that. I panicked and humbled myself completely, coaxing and apologizing to her the whole night.

"I'm sorry, Laurie. I'll stay far away from that room from now on, okay? Please don't be mad at me anymore."

Since then, I had never dared to go near that room again. I even convinced myself that the room was filled with memories of her with Gregory Cooper. Now, the comments claimed that it was all proof that she loved me.

Unconvinced, I gripped the door handle and pushed it hard. What filled my vision were photos of me. There were pictures of my daily life, my graduation, our trips, and my first day at work…

Almost every small moment of my life growing up had been captured by her camera. On the table were magazines I had once recommended to her. She used to say they were boring, yet she had secretly bought copy after copy.

Beside them lay a thick stack of diaries, every page filled with moments when she had loved me. I stared at everything in disbelief. My tears fell without control, soaking the ink on the pages.

So, Lauren actually loved me more than she let on. If so, why did she give me the passive-aggressive treatment all this time? What about the way she behaved with Gregory?

The comments kept scrolling past, still speaking up for her.

"She's just too insecure. Every time she pushes you away, she's only trying to see how you feel."

"Cameron, go comfort her already! She's waiting for you at Gregory's place so she can take back what she's said! She'll be devastated if you don't go!"

But I didn't want to do it anymore. Not this time. I packed my suitcase and planned to leave tomorrow.

When I woke up again, I saw Lauren sitting by the bed. Her eyes were red, and she was staring at me with clear displeasure. It was obvious she was upset that I hadn't gone to beg her last night.

She ignored me and started changing her clothes as if I weren't there. As she moved, the collar of her shirt slipped slightly, revealing large patches of hickeys along her collarbone and chest.

Although she might've done this to make me jealous, my heart still ached when I saw them.

My reaction seemed to satisfy her at last, judging from the smirk on her lips. Within seconds, however, she replaced it with a cold expression.

"I'm not going to give in just because you look like that. This time, I'm determined to break off the engagement with you!"

There it was again. Every time she threatened to call off our engagement, it was always the same few lines. Every single time, I was terrified she meant it.

So, I humbled myself until there was nothing left of my pride. I knelt to beg for forgiveness and wrote promise letters for ten whole years.

I got up. Lauren glanced at me smugly, assuming I would beg again like before. Instead, I picked up the suitcase beside me and prepared to leave.

Her eyes widened in disbelief, and her voice came out shakily, "What do you think you're doing, Cameron Lockwood?"

I looked at her calmly. "Let's do it, Lauren. Let's cancel the engagement for real this time."

Lauren stared at me in shock. Then, she seemed to remember something and snorted coldly. "Did you forget the last time you tried to leave? You couldn't even last a day before you came back crying and begging me to forgive you.

"What's your plan this time? Same thing? How long will it last? One day? Three days? Don't come crawling back again, crying and begging me like a child!"

I ignored her and walked out without looking back. This time, I held out longer than ever. A whole week passed, and I never once went to see her.

Even when she kept indulging Gregory, provoking me just like before—sending me little updates of their sweet moments together—I still didn't go to her.

The comments were relentless. They were all standing up for Lauren.

"Cameron, do you have any idea how much Lauren misses you? She's been abusing alcohol and has already drunk herself into stomach bleeding!"

"She actually hates Gregory. She only acts close to him to make you jealous!"

Even when being advised by those with an omniscient perspective, I still refused to believe she would get that upset over me.

I still remembered the day of the school anniversary ceremony. Lauren stood on stage as the freshman representative, giving her speech. She shone so brightly that even the spotlight seemed dull beside her.

I fell for her at first sight. So, I gathered all my courage and handed her a love letter. She read it out loud in front of everyone and let the whole crowd laugh at me.

Then, she casually tossed the letter into the trash.

From that day on, I was always the one beneath her. She had no interest in me, so she rejected me time after time. Still, I shamelessly pursued her. Even when she constantly compared me to Gregory, I never resented her.

At last, Lauren agreed to be with me. Even then, she remained distant. I always thought our relationship existed only because I forced it. Thus, I was careful about everything, never daring to go against her.

Now that I knew the truth, I suddenly felt like a complete joke.

I thought we would finally go our separate ways, but Lauren suddenly came looking for me. "Even though our engagement is off, our parents are still out of the loop. Don't you think we should talk to them?"

Honestly, I didn't want anything more to do with her, but Mr. and Mrs. Sink had always been nice to me, so I thought I owed them an explanation.

To my surprise, Lauren didn't take me back to her family home. Instead, she brought me to an event hall. My heart skipped a beat because this was the place I had personally chosen for our wedding.

The decorations for the ceremony, the design of the stage, and even the dishes for the wedding reception had all been my choices. However, since Lauren kept breaking off our engagement, the venue reservation had been canceled just as many times.

Now, ironically, it was filled with guests—relatives and friends of hers were there, along with many big names from the business world and a few media outlets she had invited.

Why did Lauren bring me here? What was with the crowd? Was she planning to marry me today? Had she finally learned how to love me?

I watched as she walked toward me step by step. My heart pounded wildly in my chest. I even started persuading myself that as long as she treated me well from now on, I would forgive her.

Lauren came closer by the second. Just as I was about to reach out, she walked straight past me and took Gregory's hand instead.

At that moment, my heart seemed to stop. The pain was so sharp I could hardly breathe.

Lauren didn't spare me a single glance. She interlocked her fingers with Gregory's and walked up to the stage under everyone's gaze.

She picked up the microphone and announced solemnly to the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my and Gregory's engagement ceremony. Thank you all for coming to witness our love."

Then, she took out a ring and proposed to him with deep affection in her eyes. "Greg, will you spend the rest of your life with me?"

He nodded excitedly. "Of course!"

Lauren carefully slid the ring onto Gregory's finger, then kissed him passionately in front of everyone. At that moment, feathers began drifting down through the hall, landing lightly on everyone's shoulders.

I picked up one of them. This was the wedding ceremony I had dreamed of countless times. I had bought these very feathers myself. Now, she was giving them to someone else.

The crowd saw the romantic scene and showered them with congratulations. At the same time, the laughter and ridicule aimed at me came crashing like a wave.

"I told you so. Ms. Sink is way better with Gregory! I don't understand how an elite like her even began to fall for Cameron in the first place."

"I bet Cameron won't leave her alone. Look, he's even crashing her engagement ceremony."

"What's Cameron doing here at Lauren and Gregory's engagement ceremony? He's not here to crash it, is he? How shameless!"

"Look at him. He's really like a clown."

They pointed and murmured at me. Even the media turned their cameras on me, painting me as an arrogant, delusional man trying to steal someone else's woman.

I ducked to avoid the lens, and the hatred in my chest brewed heavily. Why did Lauren do this to me? Why did she lure me here? Why give me hope, only to crush it later?

It was then that Lauren finally noticed my sadness. She assumed it was me being jealous and felt a surge of pride. Little did she know, my feelings for her vanished the moment she took Gregory's hand and allowed everyone to ridicule me.

I fled in shame to the restroom and locked myself in. I clutched one of the feathers and finally couldn't hold back my tears. Even then, Lauren wouldn't leave me alone.

I could hear her voice with Gregory nearby. They engaged in a sloppy kiss, broken now and then by her soft gasps and moans. "Oh, Greg…"

Gregory was seemingly aware of my presence in the next cubicle, seeing that he also deliberately let out a few groans. Not only did she not reject him, but she reciprocated with more passion, tearing off his clothes.

During that, Gregory said some things to provoke me. "You know, Lauren… I know all these decorations came from Cameron's ideas. Won't he be upset, considering you're giving them all to me?"

Lauren didn't seem to care. "And? Not just these, but I'll even give you his wedding suit and our house. Of course, if you want, I'll even make some adjustments for you."

Gregory spoke through gasps, "You're so good to me, Lauren…"

I couldn't hold it in anymore. My body reacted by coughing up a mouthful of blood. When they heard me retching, they didn't stop but only got louder.

I stumbled out of the place, running until I could run no more, collapsing onto the ground. I knew what Lauren had been doing all along. She wanted to make me jealous, to push me into begging her like I always had.

But all that pushing and threatening had left me with nothing but regret and resentment. I hated myself for always giving her the chance to hurt me. If I went back to her now, I would deserve all the humiliation.

I cried until I had no strength left, and finally, I made up my mind to leave. Just then, Gregory appeared. He stood there with a smug grin, as if daring me to react.

"Why are you hiding here all alone and crying, Cameron? You look so ridiculous. No wonder they're calling you a clown."

He leaned closer, smirking, and purposely revealed the hickey on his body. Softly, he taunted, "You have no idea how eager Lauren is whenever she's with me. She almost broke her back bending for me…"

I glared at him in fury, unable to understand why he had to come here just to taunt me. I was about to turn and leave when he grabbed my wrist. "Say, what would Lauren do to you if something happened to me?"

Then, without warning, he stumbled backward, rolling down the stairs.