Chapter 1

"Is that overseas branch position you mentioned last time still available? I've made up my mind, I want to go." Eva sat at her desk, her fingers hovering over her phone.

Her boss's voice carried clear relief through the speaker. The corners of her lips tightened as she heard it.

"Great, I'll submit your information right away. But I heard you're getting married soon..."

"It's fine, the wedding's off. Don't worry about it."

Her voice trembled slightly. To prevent him from noticing, she quickly ended the call.

Her eyes remained fixed on the thousands of photos of a girl displayed across Anthony White's computer screen, lost in thought.

After graduation, they had joined the same company, working in different departments. Tonight he had gone to attend a bachelor party thrown by his friends, with his phone turned off.

His manager couldn't reach him but urgently needed a proposal, so the call had come to Eva. That's how she ended up turning on his computer for the first time, only to discover these photos.

In an instant, eight years of memories flooded her mind.

Throughout their time together, he had never kept any photos of her on his phone, nor did he maintain any records of their relationship. No matter how much she cried or complained, he always said that since they saw each other every day, there was no need for mementos.

It wasn't until this moment that she understood - it wasn't unnecessary; she was just unnecessary to him.

For eight years, she had made every excuse for his indifference. Her stubborn behavior now seemed like a cruel joke.

The words his friend had accidentally let slip when he learned about their wedding suddenly echoed in her ears:

"Wow, I thought you were going to stay single forever because of Anne Hall! You're really getting married? You're not just being impulsive, are you?"

At the time, she hadn't noticed Anthony's awkward expression. She had confidently patted her chest, declaring, "We're doing it for love!"

Now she understood why he had asked that question, and she no longer had the confidence to say those words.

Eva took several deep breaths and closed the computer. She opened her phone, wanting to text Anthony about breaking up, but saw that he hadn't even replied to her message about choosing a wedding dress from a day ago.

She opened his WhatsApp Moments, seeing a blank black background without any updates. Only a single word appeared under his profile picture.

[Waiting.]

Her lips pulled into a bitter smile as she collapsed powerlessly onto the sofa.

Before, she hadn't known he was hiding someone else in his heart; she had just thought he was introverted and not good at expressing himself. Now that she thought about it, her naivety was laughable.

She had asked him many times about his WhatsApp bio, but he had never answered. At this moment, she finally knew why.

There were only three days left until their simple wedding. She had set the countdown as her phone's dynamic wallpaper to remind herself daily. Looking at the numbers ticking away on the screen, she rubbed her sore eyes, suppressing the overwhelming fatigue.

Just as she was about to book a ticket, Anthony's friend called.

"Eva, Anthony is drunk. Can you come and take him home? I'll send you the address."

Through the receiver, she faintly heard Anthony's familiar voice calling "Anne!"

Her heart clenched unexpectedly.

The caller quickly covered the phone and hung up.

Eva shook her head to clear away emotions she shouldn't have. She changed her clothes and walked to the entrance. Only then did she see that Anthony's half of the couple's keychain she had carefully chosen was carelessly thrown on the cabinet.

This was a custom design she had ordered from an original store based on their experiences together. He had said it was too childish and never wore it.

After some thought, she picked up the keychain and threw it in the trash.

Looking up, she caught sight of the unopened couple's mugs under the coffee table. They seemed to be silently mocking her one-sided play.

A wave of powerless frustration welled up, and she picked up the trash can and threw all the couple items into a bag.

After disposing of the garbage, she took a taxi to the address his friend had sent.

As she reached the door of the private room, playful questions drifted out from inside.

"Anne, why did you come back today? You didn't regret it after hearing that our Anthony is getting married, did you?"

Eva took a deep breath, pulled her lips into a smile, and pushed the door open.

The laughter and chatter inside stopped instantly, everyone's faces turning awkward.

The man who was supposed to marry her in three days was lying in a woman's arms, his face full of tender affection.

That woman's face - Eva had just seen it countless times on his computer.

Chapter 2

Anthony's friend hadn't expected Eva to arrive so quickly and hurriedly tried to pull him away from Anne. Unfortunately, Anthony seemed to have drunk quite a bit and remained completely unmoving.

He muttered unclearly, "Get lost! Don't touch me!"

This was the first time Eva had seen him this drunk.

His friend leaned close to his ear and said, "Eva is here to pick you up! Wake up! You're about to get married..."

The others, seeing the situation, also came forward to help. It took great effort to finally pry Anthony's hand away from Anne. His body fell heavily onto the sofa, his face flushed red.

His friend finally let out a sigh of relief and introduced Eva.

"This is our high school classmate Anne. She went abroad in her sophomore year and just came back today. She happened to join our gathering. Anthony drank too much, don't overthink it..."

If it were before, Eva might have lost control and questioned them right there. She might have demanded to know why, knowing that Anthony and she were about to get married, they had let Anne come. Why hadn't they stopped it?

But now she just smiled indifferently.

Anne looked at Eva with a hint of playful curiosity in her eyes. The expression remained until Anthony's friend started to introduce Eva's identity.

When he said the word "fiancée," Anthony, who had been silent on the sofa for a while, angrily spoke up:

"She's a friend!"

In that instant, Eva's hand tightened under her sleeve. Her palm stung from her nails digging into it, trembling slightly.

The people around changed their expressions, looking at her with difficulty in their eyes.

This wasn't the first time Anthony had refused to acknowledge her identity. Earlier, when he had refused to post on social media, refused to appear with her at the company, and refused to invite both families' elders and friends to the wedding, she had already guessed their fate.

She was just unwilling to accept it, wanting to bet on their eight years of feelings one last time.

But she had still lost.

Eva maintained her smile, nodding to Anne. "Hello, I'm Anthony's friend Eva. You look even better than in the photos."

After she finished speaking, the room fell into complete silence.

Everyone looked at each other with various expressions.

Anne smiled nonchalantly and reached for the fruit platter on the table.

However, Anthony, who had just fallen down, suddenly sat up straight again.

"Anne, you're allergic to mangoes, you can't eat that!"

Anne's outstretched hand paused in mid-air, looking at his serious expression with amusement.

She said softly, "How are you still the same as ten years ago, silly? This is watermelon. You're drunk."

At that moment, something seemed to explode in Eva's mind. The fragments pierced her heart, leaving it bloody and torn.

So it wasn't that he couldn't remember - he just didn't care about her.

For eight years, she had reminded him countless times that she was allergic to seafood, but his first choice for dates was always seafood restaurants.

She had gone from being angry at first, to compromising later, and even deceiving herself. She had told herself he was just too tired from work, his mind couldn't hold anything else.

But today, reality once again slapped her awake. Every detail was revealing the fact that he didn't love her.

Eva expressionlessly helped him up from the sofa. As they were going downstairs to get a taxi, Anne chased after them.

Her gentle eyes smiled warmly at Anthony's face as she carefully instructed Eva:

"Anthony can't hold his liquor well, and he's allergic to the ingredients in hangover medicine. When you get home, make him a cup of honey water, but the water temperature can't exceed 60 degrees. He'll be fine soon, otherwise he'll have a headache when he wakes up in the morning."

Anthony had never told Eva any of these things.

She bit her lip and didn't say anything, turning to get into the car.

But Anne called out to her again.

"Oh, why don't I add you as a contact? If he feels unwell tonight, you can ask me."

"Anthony doesn't sleep well after drinking. You'll need to keep an eye on him all night. If he kicks off the blanket, cover him immediately, otherwise he'll definitely have a fever tomorrow."

Eva's nails were digging so hard into her palms they almost drew blood. Her eyelashes trembled uncontrollably.

She stared at Anne's innocent eyes for a while, and finally nodded.

They added each other as friends, and that's when Eva discovered Anne's WhatsApp Moments background was actually a photo with Anthony.

In the photo, the two of them from ten years ago looked young and naive, their eyes determined, fingers tightly intertwined.

As the car door closed, tears silently slid down Eva's cheeks.

She had only heard others talk about the power of a first love before, and she had scoffed at it. She had believed that persisting with true love would always be reciprocated.

But at this moment, her belief wavered.

Chapter 3

On the way, Anthony's phone vibrated several times. They were all messages from Anne asking if he had gotten home safely.

Eva unlocked the screen, originally intending to politely reply. But then she saw his chat history with his friend.

[This fake wedding is my last chance. If she still doesn't come back, I'll really have to give up.]

[Post the news about my wedding in the class group chat, but don't say much to others.]

Her finger froze on the screen, and she abruptly closed the phone. Her breathing became rapid.

It felt like no matter how much she tried to open her mouth, oxygen couldn't enter her lungs. Tears flowed more freely and violently along the corners of her eyes.

No wonder he had suddenly proposed to her three days ago. No ring, no marital home, no bride price. Just one sentence: Don't tell our families.

She had thought he felt guilty for not giving her enough ceremony, thought her dedication had finally moved him. But she never imagined that the wedding she had been looking forward to for eight years was just his bargaining chip to stimulate Anne to return to the country.

The last bit of attachment Eva had for this relationship in her heart was finally completely exhausted. She could only keep comforting herself. Since she had already decided to leave, their affairs no longer had anything to do with her.

After they got home, Anthony had sobered up a bit. He went straight to the bathroom to wash up.

Eva prepared honey water for him as Anne had instructed. For these last three days, she didn't want to leave any regrets for this relationship.

She had just sat down on the sofa when her boss called again about handing over her work before leaving.

As the call ended, Anthony's irritated voice suddenly rang out:

"Leaving? Where are you going?"

He was wiping his wet hair with one hand, his face expressionless as he questioned her.

Eva handed him the honey water and said calmly, "It's nothing, just going on a business trip."

He couldn't be bothered to think more about it, or perhaps he simply didn't care about anything concerning her.

He took the cup and was about to drink when he noticed the honey added to it. His brows immediately furrowed.

He angrily questioned her: "Who taught you this?"

"Don't just randomly look things up on the internet. Things on the internet aren't suitable for everyone!"

He slammed the cup heavily on the table and turned back to the bedroom.

A bitter smile involuntarily spread across Eva's face. Sure enough, the methods of a first love weren't something she could imitate.

The next day was originally scheduled for their wedding photo shoot.

Anthony woke up acting as if nothing had happened, his attitude towards Eva as cold as ever. Having seen his tenderness towards Anne, she would never again think this was just his nature.

After finishing breakfast and preparing to leave, he looked at his phone.

Suddenly he said, "Let's not take the wedding photos in the park. Let's go to the school instead. I saw online that it's trendy lately."

Eva's hand paused as she was clearing the dishes.

"Mm, whatever you say. It's up to you."

She knew why he had suddenly changed his mind - because Anne had posted on her Moments about visiting their school this morning.

Eva didn't expose his childish lie to his face. She just didn't want to embarrass herself as the relationship was coming to an end. With only a day and a half left before she left the country, she wanted to leave some dignity for both of them.

She had already guessed what would happen today, so she had deliberately chosen a wedding dress that was easy to walk in.

The photographer took them to the playground. Anthony looked around for a while, and finally saw a familiar figure in the corner under the trees.

Without saying a word to Eva, he immediately turned and went to find Anne.

Eva smiled awkwardly at the confused photographer.

"Sorry for wasting your trip. Let's end it here today. We'll pay you in full."