Fleeting Love

On the eve of our wedding, Ellis Stewart threw a tantrum and hurled the wedding ring I had given her.

I spent the entire night searching through the icy lake until my numb fingers finally closed around it.

When I went to return the ring to her, I overheard her speaking with a close friend.

“How many times have you toyed with Jonathan already?

“It’s been three years since Gregory’s passing, and you still can’t forget him?”

“If Jonathan hadn’t clung to me three years ago, begging me to pick him up, how could Gregory have died in that car accident?” Ellis replied coldly.

“He’s the one who killed Gregory. Everything that happened was nothing but his own doing.”

My knuckles whitened around the ring, and for an instant, it felt as though all the blood in my body had turned cold.

So Ellis had never loved me at all.

My unwavering devotion had been nothing more than a crucial piece of her revenge.

In silence, I let the ring fall from my hand.

Then I pulled out my phone.

“Dad, Mom, I’ve figured things out. I agree to the marriage you’ve arranged. Let the wedding be in three days.”

My parents’ delighted voices filled my ear.

“It’s good that you finally figured things out, Jon. No matter how good Ellis is, she’s ten years older than you. People will always talk.

“Do you remember the youngest daughter of the Fallstars? She’s your age and has been waiting for you!”

“I understand. Go ahead and prepare for the wedding. I’ll be there in three days.”

After hanging up, I drew several deep breaths, steadying myself for a long moment before opening the door and walking inside.

The moment I stepped in, a glass of red wine splashed across my face, followed by a shrill scream.

I lifted my gaze and met Ellis Stewart’s eyes from the sofa.

“Sorry, Sandra thought it was some creep breaking in. She didn’t mean it. You’re not mad, are you?”

Her tone sounded apologetic, yet the faint lift at the corner of her lips and the satisfied gleam in her eyes revealed her pleasant mood.

To everyone’s shock, I flung the red wine back at Sandra Band, and the scattered droplets stained Ellis’s beloved white dress.

Ellis’s displeased gaze settled on me.

“I already apologized on Sandra’s behalf.

“Don’t take my affection for granted and just do whatever you want.”

Affection?

Ellis’s so-called affection had always been her way of toying with me, watching me humiliate myself for her amusement.

She had once left me in the mountains, where I struggled for three days to survive and barely returned alive, while my right leg was left permanently injured.

When I delivered medicine to her in a storm and was drenched until my lungs became infected, she vanished without a trace.

Even a romantic confession I had prepared with care had been delayed again and again under the excuse of traffic.

Seeing how tightly I pressed