Swallowed by the Flames of Regret

I had been engaged to Atlas Payne, a powerful CEO, for five years. This was the 21st time he had canceled our wedding ceremony.

The first time, his secretary, Jasmine Scott, sprained her ankle. He left me by the roadside and rushed to the hospital.

The second time, Jasmine cried and made a scene on the eve of our wedding, so he left me alone on the red carpet.

The Payne family was powerful, while I was merely the daughter of a housekeeper. Therefore, everyone advised me to just deal with his mood swings.

Every time Atlas left me behind, he would solemnly apologize and promise me that the next wedding attempt would definitely go smoothly.

I kept believing him. Even though I was not the family's legitimate mistress, I still handled all the family affairs for him. I waited and waited, but the wedding ceremony never came. All I received was news that Jasmine was pregnant.

This time, I had no reason to convince myself to stay.

"I will never let you leave my side. If you ever disappear, I’ll make sure to use my family's influence to find you."

The sweet words he once said to me were now a cage that trapped me.

On Christmas Day, I prepared to leave him for good. I started a fire at home. Even the most powerful family would not be able to find someone who was supposedly dead.

Years later, I unexpectedly came across Atlas kneeling at my ‘grave’. He was always so stern, but now, he was crying and begging me to come home and see him again.

Today was the 21st time Atlas Payne had promised me that we would have a wedding ceremony. He had arranged the church, flowers, and fine wine, yet I did not even want to change into my wedding dress.

He had broken his previous promises twenty times. I was not the only one smiling mockingly—the guests were, too. However, they were afraid to show it because of Atlas's power.

"Mrs. Payne, it's time to get dressed up." The butler, Alfred Dane, handed me the wedding dress. When he touched my hand, he was startled to feel my burning-hot skin.

A few days ago, Atlas' secretary, Jasmine Scott, called him. He left me by the roadside to go meet her.

By the time Alfred picked me up, all my clothes were soaked through. I still had a high fever to this day. I sighed and dizzily went to get changed, but a cold voice came from behind me.

"Don't rush to get changed yet. Jasmine is in the hospital, and I'm planning to see her first. I'll try my best to come back for the wedding dinner. If I don't make it, you can handle things like you did before."

After saying that, Atlas kissed me on the cheek and left in a hurry.

Usually, at times like this, I would hold his hand, begging him not to leave with red eyes. Now,