Chapter 1

It was the day Ryan Lewis reunited with his ex-girlfriend.

The same day he was supposed to be engaged to me.

His ex arrogantly smashed my engagement gift.

I stood there, bloodied, while he only cared about lifting her into the ambulance.

At the hospital, the doctor briefed him on my condition.

He held his ex in his arms, his voice distant, "It's just a disfigurement. She doesn't make a living off her looks anyway."

I swallowed the ache in my chest and turned to walk away.

That was when I hastily married a man with power and influence.

Only then did Ryan begin to panic.

But by then, all he could do was watch as I called another man "husband."

I watched as Ryan Lewis knelt before me, his expression serious as he held out the engagement ring.

Tears of emotion shimmered in his eyes.

Just as I was about to extend my hand, the door of the villa was suddenly flung open.

A young woman strode in, confidently crossing the threshold.

The once-lively room fell silent.

Everyone turned to look at the uninvited guest.

Her name was Green Nelson, a rising star in the entertainment industry.

She was also Ryan's ex-girlfriend--someone he had broken up and reconciled with countless times over the years.

She was beautiful, with a figure to match.

Bathed in the crystal chandelier's glow, she was exquisite from head to toe.

I silently straightened my posture.

But the oversized gown I wore made me feel hollow, making her appear all the more flawless, while I, in contrast, felt like a fool.

"Ryan Lewis."

Green glared at me, her voice dripping with disdain.

"Is this what you mean by sending me my engagement dress, only for her to wear it?"

My mind went blank.

She said this was her dress?

No wonder it felt so wrong on me.

I instinctively turned to Ryan.

He stood tall under the chandelier, his lips set in a hard line, his expression cold.

He didn't even glance at Green.

It was as though he didn't recognize her at all.

The room was quiet for a moment.

Finally, Green softened her tone, though her pride remained unshaken. She looked at Ryan and said,

"Forget it, I admit defeat. Let her take off the engagement dress."

She spoke with the hardest words, but the softest tone.

Then, she stepped forward to remove the dress from me.

Ryan stretched out his hand and pulled me into his arms.

He shot her a mocking smile.

"Do you think marriage is just a game? You can't just replace someone like that."

I leaned into Ryan's embrace.

My eyes burned with unshed tears, my heart aching.

"Look clearly, she's my fiancée now. We're engaged."

Ryan's long fingers gently cupped my chin, and he lowered his head to plant a lingering kiss on my lips.

Green's face shifted.

Tears streamed down her face immediately.

"Ryan Lewis, this is what you said, right? You said you'd never regret it and never come back to me!"

She shot me a hateful glare.

As she turned, she knocked over a table stacked with highball glasses.

The glasses crashed to the ground, shards flying toward me and her.

"Watch out!"

Ryan let go of me and rushed toward her.

"Ah--"

She screamed as her arm was sliced by the glass.

And I--my body, caught in Ryan's sudden release, fell face-first onto the shattered glass.

"Are you okay?"

Ryan's voice wasn't directed at me.

He didn't even look at me.

Instead, he was asking Green.

Green cried louder, pounding her little fists against his arm as she scolded, "Didn't you say you didn't want me anymore? Didn't you say you were getting engaged to her? Well, go be with her then!"

"Stop it. You're bleeding."

Ryan firmly grasped her hands, his gaze softening as he looked at her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used our engagement to provoke you. Please, be good."

He lifted her from the floor and quickly walked toward the door, never once sparing me a glance.

There were plenty of people in the room.

But none of them were my friends.

In the midst of the chaos, some people couldn't hide their glee.

Others whispered amongst themselves.

"I told you, a dog like him never ends up well."

Chapter 2

"I was wondering how Ryan could get engaged to someone like that. Turns out, it's just to get back at Miss Murray."

...

When they were done, they all left, one by one.

I quietly rose from the pile of broken glass, wiping the blood from my face.

The pain in my wounds was sharp, but the ache in my heart was worse.

I thought back to five years ago, that night.

Ryan had shown up outside my window.

He asked me, after all this time of silently loving him, if I wanted to be with him.

I was overjoyed, thinking my unspoken love had finally borne fruit, and I agreed to his confession on the spot.

Later, I realized he already had someone he truly loved--a "white moonlight." That night was actually the night he was rejected by her.

His confession to me? It was simply revenge.

All the years of on-and-off with me, and now this engagement--none of it was for me. It was all because of her.

No wonder everyone liked to call me a "dog that licks."

Maybe I really was just that--nothing more.

I surveyed the wreckage around me, my gaze catching on the scattered champagne roses on the floor.

I picked one up absently and inhaled its fragrance.

This was the first time I had received so many champagne roses.

A week ago, Ryan suddenly reappeared after a month-long absence.

He brought me to this room, filled with champagne roses, and held me close as he whispered, "North, let's get engaged and leave here. Let's never come back."

Champagne roses weren't my favorite.

But at that moment, my nose grew stuffy and tears welled in my eyes.

"You disappeared for a month to prepare all of this?" I asked, my voice quivering.

A flicker of guilt flashed in his eyes before he bent down and kissed me deeply.

Only now did I realize the source of his guilt.

All the roses, the engagement dress, the entire ceremony--it wasn't for me.

It was for his "white moonlight."

He came to me only because she had once again broken up with him.

All the engagement I had dreamed of so many times? It had turned out to be a joke.

That night, Ryan returned.

He surveyed the wreckage around the room, his gaze falling on my bloodstained face.

A trace of guilt flashed in his eyes.

"North, are you okay?"

I forced a smile and said, "I'm fine."

It was nothing more than a deep cut from the glass. At worst, I'd be disfigured.

He seemed to think the same.

Nodding, he lowered his voice and said to me, "Green, we're breaking up. I'm getting engaged to Green now."

"This is the last time. Name your price, and I'll try to make it up to you."

He said it was the last time.

Five years.

He had said those words countless times before.

Each time, it was him who suggested breaking up, only for him to return soon after, claiming he loved me, that he couldn't live without me...

I wiped away the tears in my eyes.

"Ryan, is this really the last time?" I asked.

Ryan looked at me, his expression slightly softened.

"North, don't cry. I..."

At that moment, his phone rang.

Green's panicked voice blared through the speaker.

"Ryan Lewis, you're my fiancé now, and you're still going to comfort her?!"

"Do you really love me?!"

"Babe, stop making a scene, I'm talking to North about breaking up."

"Well, then hurry back and be with me."

"Okay, behave."

Ryan ended the call, his gaze hardening as he turned back to me.

"North Foster, this is the last time."

"Okay."

I felt like my heart had turned to ash.

Yet, in a strange way, I also felt like a bird freed from its cage.

For five years, I had been trapped in this on-again, off-again love affair. I was exhausted. It was time to let go.

I had six stitches on my face.

From my ear down to my cheek, there was an unsightly scar.

My best friend, Mary White , was furious when she saw me.

She cursed Ryan over and over, then finally asked,

"North, he's been toying with you like that, and you're just going to let him off the hook?"

Chapter 3

"What else can I do? Hit him back?"

I gave a bitter smile.

"Maybe I should ask him for compensation -- five years of relationship and a ruined face. At least a million, right?"

Ryan wasn't a stingy person.

He'd promised to compensate me.

But now, he was busy preparing for his engagement with his 'white moonlight,' probably long forgetting about me.

Why should I humiliate myself further?

I stayed with Mary for a while as my wound healed.

Just as I was considering leaving Riverland, my family had an emergency.

My father had been running a food stall business with my younger brother outside the city.

I heard that last night, during a dispute over territory, my brother had severely injured someone.

The person insisted on a 500,000 compensation or they would take the matter to court.

500,000...

For a man who had been selling street food for half his life, that was an astronomical amount.

I'd only been working for a year and had no savings.

My father was desperate.

He pulled my hands, crying in agony.

"North, I didn't approve of you being with that Ryan Lewis before because I thought wealthy men were unreliable. But now I see... without money, one can't survive in this world. Please, go ask your boyfriend for help. Please, help your brother..."

I felt humiliated, yet I had no other choice.

For my brother, I gathered every ounce of courage and went to Ryan's villa again.

The first person I met was Green.

She was dressed in a sexy black silk nightgown, her fair neck covered with hickeys. From a distance, it was both eye-catching and painful to see.

Her eyes looked at me, full of disdain.

"Ryan likes to take a bath after everything, Miss Price. Are you looking for him for something?"

I listened carefully and could indeed hear the sound of water flowing from upstairs.

I straightened my back, trying not to lose in the battle of composure.

"I'm here to ask Ryan for compensation. The so-called 'breakup fee.'"

She froze for a moment before raising an eyebrow and sneering. "You? A ruined ex-girlfriend?"

"Yes, I'm the one whose face you ruined."

I said coldly, "500,000. Surely Miss Murray won't be so petty as to deny him that amount?"

Green laughed dismissively.

"I'm the daughter of the Murray family. 500,000 isn't even enough for me to have a decent breakfast, but I will still have him pay..."

She took a step toward me, the mocking smile deepening in her eyes.

"Because... I'm his fiancée now."

"You want money?"

Suddenly, she turned, grabbed her bag from the sofa, and pulled out five hundred-dollar bills, tossing them in my face.

"With your face right now, Miss Price, it's worth no more than 500 bucks."

The bills were few, but they struck my freshly healing wound, sending a wave of pain to my heart.

I looked at her.

She had beauty, status, and could control Ryan with ease.

Over the years, every fight Ryan and I had was because of her.

Every time Ryan discarded me, I promised myself I would leave him.

But each time, Ryan would patiently coax me back, swearing he would never do it again.

What he meant by never again was that he thought Green would never come back to him.

In the silence, the sound of water upstairs stopped.

Ryan's gentle voice echoed down. "Baby, want to join me in the bath?"

"I'm coming!"

Green responded sweetly, then smiled at me.

"Sorry, Miss Price. I need to go up and join my fiancé in the bath."

She took a few steps toward the stairs, then turned back to glare at me.

"Miss Price, be smart about this. Otherwise, next time, it won't just be 500,000."

When I left Ryan's villa, my tears finally broke free.

I never imagined I would be humiliated with 500 bucks.

I knew I was insignificant, powerless to compete with this privileged, haughty woman.

She could ruin my face and destroy my father's food stall.

One day, she would take my life as well.

I had to find a way to stop her.

And the only person who could stop her was the head of the Murray family.

The first time I went to the Murray estate, the security guards kicked me out because they didn't know Green.

The second time, I went to the Murray building, but I was chased away because Green's matters were outside of Mr. Murray's jurisdiction.

I was feeling hopeless when I arrived at the food stall to comfort my father.

Just then, my brother came back.

And with him was a tall, handsome young man.

The man had a strong build, chiseled features, and an aura of authority.

When he bent to get out of the Rolls-Royce, it was as if an elegant piece of art had come to life.

He stood beside the car, looking at me, his gaze so intense that I couldn't look him in the eye.

"Miss Price, I heard you've been looking for me?"

"?"

I didn't understand.