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I watched them embrace as if no one else existed. The guests, my wedding guests, erupted in cheers for them. The pain was a physical thing, a blade twisting in my chest as despair washed over me.
Just then, a hotel waitress approached, nervously holding a velvet box with a pair of custom–made rings.
“Miss Williams,” she began, her eyes full of pity, “Mr. Vance had these specially made for you.”
My gaze fell to the rings, and I shook my head with a bitter laugh. “There must be a mistake. We didn’t order any custom rings.”
Besides, a single glance told me they weren’t my size.
The hotel did offer a ring customization service. I had begged Perry to get a matching pair with me, but he’d refused, claiming he was allergic to metal.
At that moment, the two of them broke their embrace. Perry turned, calmly took the ring box from the waitress, and didn’t spare
me a single glance.
He walked back to Bianca, dropped to one knee, and slid the ring onto her finger.
“Bianca,” he said, his voice ringing with emotion, “I had this made just for you. Will you marry me?”
Bianca looked down at the ring, a shy, pleased smile on her face, but she didn’t answer immediately.
“Say yes!” someone shouted from the crowd.
The chant grew, a wave of voices engulfing the hall. “Say yes! Say yes!”
And there I stood, on the edge of the crowd, a ghost in a wedding dress, completely out of place at my own wedding, where my groom was proposing to another woman. Their cheers were like spikes, driving deeper and deeper into my heart.
The crowd parted. Bianca, radiant in a simple white dress, walked towards me on Perry’s arm. She moved with an effortless grace I
could never hope to imitate,
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Chapter 1
“Miss Williams,” she said, her voice soft and melodious, “on Perry’s behalf, I do apologize. I never imagined he would use such a drastic method to get me to see him.”
“We’ve discussed it, and we’d like to offer you financial compensation. Please, don’t refuse.” She held out a check. For five million
dollars.
Her tone was gentle, but her words were a raw, public humiliation.
“Wow, five million just like that. She’s set for life.”
“You don’t get it. Some girls look all innocent, but they’re masterminds.”
“I heard she chased after Perry relentlessly.”
The whispers were the final straw. Tears streamed down my face, mingling with the crimson drops on the floor. I couldn’t stand anymore. I clutched my chest, my vision blurring as the pain threatened to swallow me whole.
“Was this your idea?” I managed to ask, my voice a raw, broken rasp, looking up at him. Don’t people like them understand that a Human heart has value?
Perry’s gaze flickered to my ashen face, his lips parting as if to speak, but he said nothing.
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The crowd’s murmurs had turned into outright hostility. They were shouting at me, the “homewrecker,” to get out. They were sycop- hants, eager to curry favor with the powerful. To please Bianca, some of them even started to push me.
I was shoved back and forth until my head slammed against the wall with a dull thud. I sagged, using the wall to stay upright, my
face contorted in agony.
“Stop it!” Perry roared. His eyes locked onto my colorless face. “Are you alright?”
At his side, Bianca’s brow furrowed. She shot me a venomous glare and tugged on his sleeve.
It was as if her touch broke a spell. Perry forced his gaze away from me.
“Go wait outside,” he said, not looking at me. “I’ll take you home later.”
That flicker of concern, however fleeting, was enough to give me a sliver of strength. The fog of pain receded slightly. I glanced at his unreadable expression, then turned and stumbled out of the hall.
“Miss Williams!”
The waitress who had brought the rings was the first to see the bloody trail I’d left behind. She screamed.
I looked back at her and shook my head, a helpless, bitter smile on my face. The blood was real, but there were no visible wounds.
If Perry found out now, he would just accuse me of faking it. I couldn’t bear another ounce of humiliation.
For the first time, I disobeyed him. I left on my own.
I went back to my apartment, lay down on my bed, and quietly waited to die.
When I opened my eyes again, it had been two days.
To my surprise, I was still alive: My body was incredibly weak, but the bleeding had stopped. I immediately summoned the System.
Unknown, it replied, its mechanical voice tinged with confusion. Mission failure was confirmed. By all logic, you should have expired on the wedding night. However, the Host’s life force has stabilized at 0.1 percent and is no longer declining.J
We concluded it must be a bug in the system.
Not knowing when I might suddenly drop dead, I dragged myself to my office to resign. The moment I walked in, I was met with a
wall of thinly veiled contempt.
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Chapter 1
“I thought she said she’d die. Looks like she’s doing just fine to me.”
“Pathetic. Trying to threaten Perry Vance with death.”
A lump formed in my throat. I finished my handover in a daze and fled the building.
When I got back to my apartment, I found a tall, familiar figure waiting at my door.
