Chapter 1

I was getting married tomorrow, but my boyfriend of eight years had no idea.

These days, he'd been completely absorbed with his new executive assistant. They'd hit it off instantly, their endless conversations punctuated with laughter. For her birthday celebration, he'd even special-ordered an elaborate three-tiered cake from an upscale bakery. At the party, they'd playfully smeared frosting on each other's faces, seemingly forgetting my severe dairy allergy.

That night ended with me in the ER, and when I finally regained consciousness, I agreed to the arranged marriage my parents had proposed.

Mom wasted no time. Just as I was about to unlock my apartment door after returning from the hospital, she bombarded my phone with wedding packages to choose from.

As I scrolled through the options, her final message made me pause.

[I always knew you and Nathan wouldn't work out. If he truly wanted to marry you, why would he string you along for eight years? Better to realize it now than never. I've already lined everything up for the wedding.]

[The ceremony is in three days. Take your time packing. No need to rush.]

Apparently, everyone else had seen what I'd been blind to. But I'd been caught in Nathan's web of empty promises, unable to break free.

With a resigned sigh, I sent her a voice message. "Mom, just pick whatever you think is best. They all look fine. Let's keep it simple."

I didn't notice Nathan approaching from behind. When he caught the word "wedding," he blurted out, "Wedding? What wedding?"

Just as he tried to peek at my screen, I quickly pocketed my phone. He reached for it, but at that exact moment, his phone started ringing.

The night was so quiet that I could clearly hear the panicked female voice on the other end.

"Nathan, I just went downstairs to grab something from my car, and I think someone's following me! I'm really freaked out. I've walked around the block twice, but they're still there!"

Nathan's expression instantly transformed into one of concern.

"Sophia, stay calm. Find a well-lit area – there should be a security guard at the front desk. Wait there, I'm on my way!"

He hung up, completely forgetting about the wedding conversation. Without a second glance, he left me standing there and rushed off into the darkness.

I maintained my composure, keeping my expression neutral.

After he left, I called my aunt to say goodbye.

My parents had relocated to Boston for their careers ten years ago, and since then, I'd been living with my aunt in Chicago.

Nathan lived in the adjacent townhouse, and that's how we met. Later, when my aunt remarried and sold her place to move in with her new husband, I didn't want to impose on their newlywed life, so I temporarily moved in with Nathan. That "temporary" arrangement had stretched into eight years.

When Aunt Marie heard I was leaving to get married, she was shocked. "Married? To Nathan? Well, it's about time – after eight years together!"

I pressed my lips together and corrected her assumption. "No, it's an arranged marriage. I don't know him."

She fell silent for a moment before asking slowly, "Have you really thought this through? I mean, Nathan clearly cares about you; I just don't understand why he hasn't proposed. Maybe I should talk to him?"

I gave a small, detached smile.

"Don't bother. It was never really a relationship anyway. We never made it official. Just eight years of this undefined thing between us. If I don't end it now, I'll waste my entire youth."

Aunt Marie was stunned to learn we'd lived together for eight years without ever defining our relationship, so she didn't push further and said she'd support whatever I decided.

Before bed, I set a three-day countdown widget on my phone.

The next day, I asked my mom to send some local New England specialties as a thank-you to my aunt for her decade of care and as a farewell gift.

That evening, a delivery truck finally arrived loaded with packages. I gave the driver directions to my aunt's house, but I didn't expect to run into Nathan downstairs.

Chapter 2

Sophia's petite figure trailed right behind him, both of them laden with bags from Whole Foods. They looked exactly like a young couple settling into their first home together.

Just then, Aunt Marie came down to greet me and caught sight of the scene. She was about to speak up when I cut her off. "Mom sent over some care packages from Boston. Make sure to check the expiration dates – she tends to go overboard."

I deliberately avoided looking at Nathan, though this time he surprisingly took the initiative to explain.

"Ellie, it's not what you think. Sophia's old neighborhood had some safety issues, so I helped her find a new place. I had no idea your aunt lived here too. What's with all these packages?"

As I directed the delivery driver where to take the boxes, I replied with practiced indifference, "You don't need to explain your work relationships to me. My mom went a bit crazy with the shopping; we're not sure when we'll be back this way."

Seeing that I hadn't jumped to conclusions, Nathan visibly relaxed.

"That's fine. Back Bay isn't far from downtown. Just let me know whenever you want to visit."

He still had no clue I was moving back to Boston permanently, and I had no intention of telling him.

Aunt Marie was about to say something, but seeing how attentively Nathan was hovering around Sophia, her expression darkened.

The four of us stood in uncomfortable silence until Sophia, feigning exhaustion, finally broke it.

Nathan immediately told the delivery driver to pause, saying they had fewer items and should take the elevator first. Seeing their grocery bags, I stepped aside to let them pass.

Nathan looked momentarily surprised, then hurriedly stepped into the elevator.

As the doors closed, I couldn't help but see my former self in Sophia. When Aunt Marie first moved out, Nathan had been just as attentive with me – running errands, taking care of all the details, moving my things into his place with a bright smile while calling me his "future Mrs. Blackwood."

Watching the elevator ascend, Aunt Marie sighed heavily.

"Are you sure you don't want me to talk to him? You've known each other forever. It would be a shame to throw it all away over a misunderstanding."

I shook my head. "There's no misunderstanding to clear up. Nathan never lets those linger overnight. If he hasn't explained himself by now, that tells me everything I need to know."

Nathan and Sophia really didn't have that much to carry; they could have easily managed it in one trip. But even after I'd finished delivering everything to my aunt's place and said my goodbyes, they were still nowhere to be seen downstairs.

Out of courtesy to an old friend, I pulled out my phone and sent him a quick message asking when he'd be back. Almost immediately, he replied with a voice message. When I played it, Sophia's sweet voice came through. "Ellie, Nathan's helping me set up my WiFi and smart home system. The place is brand new, so there's a lot to configure. You should head home – don't wait around on our account!"

Just as I was about to close the app and order an Uber, she sent another message.

"Oh, and Ellie? Please don't read too much into this. Nathan's just being helpful because he feels bad that I'm all alone in a new city."

Thinking of my own parents who'd moved away years ago, I swallowed my retort and closed the chat.

After getting into the Uber and staring absently out the window at the Chicago skyline, Nathan called.

"Ellie, what's with the attitude toward Sophia? She's my employee, and I'm just helping her get settled. The company's corporate housing isn't ready yet – isn't it normal for me to help out?"

"Since when did you become so petty? At her birthday party, you claimed you weren't feeling well and wanted to leave early. I let that slide, and now you're causing drama again?"

I could hear Sophia's soft sobs in the background.

Her demeanor now was nothing like the sweet, innocent junior employee Nathan had described.

Taking a deep breath, I finally understood her game but was too exhausted to call her out.

"You're right, my bad. I was just asking. Don't worry about it – I'm already heading home. Don't rush back on my account."

Chapter 3

Nathan's questioning tone died in his throat at my cool response. I ended the call just as the Uber pulled up to my building.

After getting out, I noticed a flood of notifications from Nathan's company Slack channel. When I opened it, there were 99+ unread messages. Pinned at the top was a photo Sophia had posted of Nathan setting up her smart home system.

[Who else has such an amazing boss?] she wrote. [I'd sign a lifetime contract with Blackwood Tech in a heartbeat! #BestBossEver]

Below her post, other employees had chimed in with their comments.

[Never seen the boss like this before. Didn't Janet from Facilities say he's a total neat freak? Not looking so OCD now!]

[OMG, he looks so hot in casual clothes! Officially crushing on Mr. Blackwood! Back off ladies! ?]

[Posted by the future Mrs. Blackwood herself. Give up those CEO dreams, girls – stick to your KPIs!]

Before Sophia joined, I used to help Nathan with all these tasks without expecting anything in return. But after she took over my unofficial role, I'd forgotten to leave the channel. After reading through the thread, I cleared my notification history and left the workspace.

Now that I'd made my decision to move on, seeing this preview of their life together didn't sting as much as I'd expected.

I remembered my early days at Blackwood Tech after graduation. Nathan used to share snippets of my work in the company channels all the time, sneaking photos of me making his morning cold brew or updating the dev team's sprint board.

Everyone in the office could see how much he liked me.

His attention made even the mundane workday special, and his affection brought life to the usually dry company chat.

But everything changed when Sophia entered the picture. She took over all my unofficial duties, and Nathan banned any mention of me in the channels. He seemed drawn to her, both openly and subtly.

One of my former teammates, who had been close to me, once made a harmless comment that Sophia wasn't as efficient as I had been.

Nathan immediately rescinded her annual bonus. Later, I quietly transferred her $10,000, hoping to prevent her from rage-quitting.

When I returned to the place I'd called home for eight years but never truly belonged to, I started packing my things. My gaze fell on a thick photo album filled with memories from the past decade.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, I opened it and flipped through each page.

Every photo represented a gift Nathan had given me.

Eight years ago, he told me he'd give me 9,999 surprises before we walked down the aisle together. He wanted to win my heart with sincerity, so I'd willingly become his wife. The album, custom-made to hold exactly 9,999 photos, now had just one blank page left. But in the end, it was all meaningless.

Taking the album down to a quiet corner of the building's courtyard, I lit a match and set it ablaze. I watched as each photo caught fire, turning slowly to ash, cremating the last eight years of my life with it.

Nathan arrived to find me standing over the flames, his face ashen.

He rushed forward, pushing me aside to try and salvage what he could. But the fire was too intense for him to reach in.

Within seconds, his hands were red from the heat. Furious, he stomped on the burning album, trying to snuff out the flames as they devoured each photo.

"What the hell are you doing? Have you lost your mind? All our memories – gone because of you!" he shouted.