Two weeks before our wedding, Jonah Alston suddenly wants to postpone it.

He says, "Sasha says she's having her first exhibition on that day. She'll be alone during the opening, and I'm worried she'll get stage fright. I have to help her. We're just going through the motions with the wedding, anyway. What does it matter whether it's a day earlier or later?"

This isn't his first time postponing our wedding for Sasha Lester's sake, though.

The first time he did it was because he claimed she missed having homecooked food after undergoing surgery. He'd flown abroad to care for her for two months.

The second time was because he said she wanted to head into the mountains to get inspired. He'd gone with her out of concern for her safety.

Now, this is the third time. I hang up and look at Austin Everett, my childhood sweetheart. He sits across from me, looking leisurely as he taps his emerald-embedded walking cane on the marble floor.

I ask, "Do you need a wife?"

On my wedding day, Sasha holds up her glass and waits for Jonah to clink it with his. However, his eyes are red as he watches a livestream—it's the wedding of the scion of Everett Group, the country's largest property development company.

Austin Everett stopped fiddling with his thumb ring and looked at me with dark, unreadable eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"It's not like I haven't given Jonah enough chances," I replied with a shrug. "Three strikes and you're out, right? The fact that he delayed our wedding three times for another woman's sake proves that we're not meant to be together. Why should I remain stubborn about it?"

Chuckling, Austin cocked a brow and said, "Since you've made up your mind, I'll get my people to start preparing the wedding. An Everett wedding will be the center of everyone's attention. You'll need to be mentally prepared for that. In two weeks, everyone will know who the wife of the future successor to Everett Group is."

I gazed solemnly at Austin, knowing that he was earnestly declaring his decision.

"Sure, and don't worry. My family, the Fergusons, will do our best to support Everett Group. We won't be a burden."

Laughing once more, Austin glanced at me and said pointedly, "I didn't do it for Everett Group."

…

Once I got back to the house, I quickly cleared everything related to me. When Jonah Alston came in, he was startled, but soon, he scoffed.

"Here you go again, Celeste. Are you a baby? Don't you find it childish to throw a tantrum and run away from home each time we have a fight? Are you that desperate to get married? I already said it was just an unfortunate overlap between the dates. It's not like I'm refusing to marry you."

As his annoyed tone filled the room, I deftly continued packing my things without looking at him.

"Who said I was leaving? There are too many things lying around here. I'm tossing out everything that's not needed anymore."

That included him, of course.

Jonah leaned against the door and placed a cigarette between his lips indifferently. "Oh, in that case, you can tidy up the guest bedroom while you're at it. Sasha will be moving in soon. The art gallery is nearby, so it'll be convenient for her to stay here."

Nodding, I replied, "Sure. I'll get the staff to prepare the guest bedroom tomorrow. What else do you think she'll need?"

Jonah, who was in the middle of lighting his cigarette, paused in disbelief. His tone abruptly grew gentle as he said, "I know things must've been hard on you, sweetheart. You like the wedding bands from Cartier, right? Let's get another pair so that you have two to switch between.

"I might not be able to spend much time with you these days. It's Sasha's first time having a solo art exhibition. I need to help her out with it. Once my schedule clears up after the end of her exhibition, I'll be sure to make time for you."

Feeling a tightness in my chest, I couldn't turn around to face Jonah. Still, my voice was unusually pleasant as I replied, "It's fine. I don't need you to make time for me. You can go ahead with whatever you need to do. It just so happens that I have a lot of things I need to clear out and settle anyway."

Jonah never bothered asking why someone like me, who favored a minimalist lifestyle, would suddenly have so many belongings to get rid of. He simply thought I had suddenly become a lot more understanding.

Feeling pleased, he said, "Well, since you mentioned it, I was thinking we should turn the study into an art studio instead. It gets a decent amount of sunlight. It's such a waste to simply use it as storage for all your research-related stuff. Why don't we let Sasha use it as her workspace instead?"

"You're absolutely right," I said, still briskly packing things away. "She likes that room a lot. It'll be her dedicated workspace from now on."

Since Sasha Lester loved moving in on someone else's man so much, she might as well move into the house too.

The next day, without even bothering to have breakfast first, Jonah rushed to the airport to pick Sasha up from her flight.

The media were all in a frenzy reporting about the return of Sasha, the up-and-coming artist who was about to hold her first exhibition in her home country. The news even went viral online, and the online community left positive comments.

"Isn't this a modern-day fairytale? I'm inspired to write a novel about the stock market genius and the free-spirited artist!"

"Eat the rich and all, but there's no way I can hate these two. They're such a match made in heaven! They deserve a happy ending."

I was happily browsing the comments section when Austin called. His deep, rich voice flowed through the speaker.

"My PR department wants to know if you want to take down those news reports and viral hashtags."

"It's fine," I replied with a knowing smile. "If you've got money to spare, you should spend it on the wedding instead. You're not allowed to waste your money on unimportant people."

Austin chuckled. "Alright. Let's go shopping for our wedding outfits today. As for the flowers, tell me which type of rose you like the best. I had them ship in three types, so you can choose among them later."

I had to marvel at his efficiency. We had only decided to get married yesterday, but he had already managed to bring in three types of roses today.

In fact, from the moment the decision was made, Austin and his team handled everything. I didn't even lift a finger, but Austin made no comments on that. He simply got everything ready in advance before allowing me to choose what I wanted.

I was reminded of how things went when Jonah and I decided to get married. Unlike my role now, back then, I was the one who had to plan and organize everything. Whenever I tried to get Jonah's input on something, he would always snap at me irritatedly.

"You can make such insignificant decisions yourself. Don't come bothering me with everything."

Now that I had Austin's actions to compare to, I finally realized this was how a groom should be behaving. He even prepared close to 50 gowns for me to choose from, and strangely, every single one of them fitted me perfectly.

The designer tirelessly encouraged me to try on as many as I could. "Mr. Everett approached our team yesterday and made us work overnight to prepare everything. A lot of these wedding gowns had been modified at the last minute. He also requested us to be on standby so that we could make any necessary changes."

As he stared at me while I stood there in the dazzling gown he designed, I saw the way his eyes shone with happiness for a soon-to-be newlywed couple. "I'm sure Mr. Everett loves you very much."

My cheeks turned a little pink as I stole a glance at Austin, who was sporting an unreadable smile.

I spent the day trying gowns and picking out my wedding jewelry. I also had to look through all the flower options for the wedding ceremony. Thus, by the time I got back to the house, I was so exhausted that I plopped right on the couch to get some rest.

However, as soon as I sat down, I saw an incoming call from Jonah, as well as over a dozen missed calls from earlier.

"Where are you?" Jonah demanded. "I told you countless times not to be late! Must you insist on showing up after everyone else just to seem important?"

Puzzled, I asked, "Where am I supposed to be?"

Jonah sneered. "I see how it is, Celeste. Here I was thinking you'd genuinely accepted Sasha now. Turns out you were just putting on a show yesterday, huh? You've even started ignoring my messages, have you?

"I sent you a message ages ago saying that I'm hosting a welcoming party for Sasha on her first day back. Sasha has kindly insisted on inviting you to join us, so hurry up and come over. I'll send you the location."

The call ended before I could get another word in edgewise. The message with the location was soon followed by a voice message.

"It's been ages since we last met, Celeste. Do come over as soon as you can. I don't want you to misunderstand my relationship with Jonnie…"

That voice message trailed off, and when I played the next one, Jonah's voice rang out.

"If you don't come over right this minute, Celeste, you can forget about getting the contact information of the editor-in-chief of the journal I promised to give you."

That made me hesitate. I had a background in medicine, but I was taking a rather long time to get one of my research papers published because I wanted to have it printed in a specific medical journal. Jonah had chanced upon the contact details for the journal's editor-in-chief and promised to give them to me.

Well, here he was, now using it to blackmail me instead. What a deplorable man he was.

I stood up and freshened up a bit, figuring I might as well go. Those two wouldn't be able to disgust me for much longer anyway.

As soon as I entered the private lounge at the hotel where the party was, I saw Jonah and Sasha sitting together in the center of the lounge. They were stuck close together, looking like the perfect couple.

Once Sasha spotted me, she quickly stood up and called out with a smile, "You're here, Celeste! Come and take a seat."

She even started scooting to the side to give me her spot, but she barely moved an inch before Jonah stopped her, saying, "Just sit here. You're the star of tonight's party, Sasha. There are plenty of other seats to go around. She can just sit anywhere."

Sasha gave me an apologetic look. Looking slightly embarrassed, she said, "I'm so sorry, Celeste. Jonnie is probably a little drunk."

Waving her off, I took a random seat and said, "It's fine. I can sit here. Your precious Jonnie is right. You're the star of tonight's event."

Patrick Thompson, one of Jonah's friends, called out, "That's enough. What's the big deal about a seat anyway? You know, when we saw the photos the reporters took today, we all realized just what a perfect match you and Sasha are, Jonah! All of our friends who aren't acquainted with you guys thought you two were dating!

"Alas, Sasha is so focused on her career. All she can think about is pursuing her dreams! It was such a shame that you two had to break up back then, but now that she's back in the country, you guys can start over again!"

Without even looking at me, Jonah said nonchalantly, "Don't be ridiculous! Sasha's dream in life is to become a world-renowned artist."

He didn't bother commenting on how Patrick was trying to set him up with Sasha—even though I was the one he was supposed to marry soon.

Just how much of a pushover was I back then that I could be in love with a man whose heart was devoted to another woman?

Biting her lip, Sasha said tearfully, "Don't listen to them, Celeste. They're just joking around, albeit a little carelessly. Please don't take them seriously."

She passed me an exquisite-looking box and said, "Here's a gift I brought for you, Celeste. Do take a look and see if you like it."

When I opened the box, I was greeted by the sight of a thin, dainty bracelet dotted with some barely visible fragments of rubies.

I looked up at Sasha who was wearing a necklace made with several large, intricately carved rubies. Judging from the style and workmanship, it was obvious it was custom-made.

The sight of it made me freeze for a moment.

Didn't Jonah get that necklace made for me?

He claimed he wanted me to wear that necklace when I walked down the aisle. The brilliance of the red rubies signified his passionate determination to marry me.

After preparing the design draft, the designer informed me that once the rubies had been cut for the necklace, some scraps would be left that could be used to make smaller accessories, such as bracelets.

Well, the statement necklace meant for my wedding was now being worn around Sasha's neck, and she had just given me the additional bracelet made from the discarded gemstone pieces.

I couldn't resist laughing, which Patrick misunderstood for joy. He scoffed in derision, thinking that I was so ignorant that even a bracelet like that seemed precious to me.

Someone else in the room muttered, "I can't believe Jonah would be interested in a woman like her."

Meanwhile, someone else looked at Sasha and was drawn in by the ruby necklace she was wearing, exclaiming, "Sasha, that's such a gorgeous necklace you're wearing!"

Shyly fiddling with the necklace, Sasha turned to Jonah with an affectionate gaze and said, "Jonnie gave it to me. He said it was to celebrate my return to the country. He also said he'll give me an even better one once my exhibition is over."

I abruptly remarked, "Oh, my! How generous of Jonah. Those rubies were a family heirloom passed down from his mother's side. Just the design process for the necklace alone lasted almost six months. The rubies were even sent abroad to be cut and polished. That necklace was meant to be passed down in the family among the Alstons' daughters-in-law. Jonah sure does care about you a lot."

Instantly, the room plunged into silence, and Jonah's expression darkened.

Even the most clueless of guests earlier started realizing the situation.

Since the necklace was meant to be given to the daughter-in-law of the Alston family, it should've been given to me, the one who was about to marry Jonah. And yet, it was now worn around Sasha's neck. What more was there to say about that?

Sasha shakily stood up. She clutched the necklace, looking as if she didn't know whether to take it off. Her eyes reddened within seconds.

"I'm so sorry, Jonnie… I-I didn't know it was meant to be for Celeste. I'm such a fool. I should've asked you about it…"

Her tears streamed down her face, making her seem rather pitiful.

Hands trembling, she tried to rip the necklace. She even made it seem as though she didn't care if she got injured in the process, for she yanked it against her neck so hard that her skin turned red.

"Quick, Jonnie… Help me take it off," Sasha pleaded tremblingly, even sounding like she could scarcely breathe.

Jonah's heart ached for her. Pulling her hands away, he said, "Since I said it's yours, that means it's yours! Why should you take it off? Just leave it on. Don't listen to her nonsense."

Then, he glared at me and continued, "It's just a bunch of rubies! Didn't you study medicine? Why would you care so much about a handful of stones? You even have a doctoral degree! I can't believe you're still so shallow. Aren't you ashamed of acting this way in public?

"In any case, since it's meant to be for the daughters-in-law of my family, that means it's for my future wife. I have the right to decide who gets to wear it! Don't assume it should be yours. Since I gave it to Sasha, it means she's worthy of it.

"We're about to get married, aren't we? Why are you still so hung up on these petty things? You'll be my wife anyway, so why aren't you satisfied?"

Smiling through her tears, Sasha piped up, "Thank you, Jonnie. I really think this ruby necklace matches the gown I'm wearing for the launch of my exhibition really well. It's been so many years, Jonnie, but you still know me best."