Chapter 1

My boyfriend, Ethan Moore, suffers from severe social anxiety.

Whenever he goes outside, he has to wear a baseball cap and a mask, fully covering himself.

Whenever marriage comes up, he becomes so resistant that his entire body shakes.

Going to the courthouse to get a marriage license would make it hard for him to breathe, and having relatives and friends stare at him during a wedding would make his heart race.

Every time, I compromised. I had never even tried on a wedding dress.

Until today, when I received an AI-generated marriage certificate and an AI wedding video from him.

I pressed my lips together and said nothing.

My best friend, Sophie Grant, turned red around the eyes.

“Lily, don’t overthink this. Ethan has social anxiety, and you’ve always wanted to get married, so he used AI to make your dream come true.”

The moment she finished speaking, my childhood friend Ryan Carter had already moved protectively in front of Sophie.

“You have the ceremony and the marriage certificate now. You didn’t have to show your face in public. You should be satisfied.”

Another childhood friend, Alex Reed, followed with a laugh.

“Marriage is just a formality anyway. As long as the sentiment is there, isn’t that enough?”

Sophie hurriedly waved her hands with an aggrieved expression.

“Forget it, forget it. I’m sorry. It was my fault.”

The three of them immediately began comforting her.

“She was only trying to make your dream come true. How could we let you blame her?”

Even my mother called to scold me.

“Sophie spent several days working on this for you, and the whole family helped record wedding congratulation videos. Don’t be so ungrateful.”

I watched them fussing over Sophie, asking if she was all right, and couldn’t help letting out a mocking laugh.

I took the ring off my finger and threw it into the trash along with the marriage certificate.

Because just yesterday, I had come across a clip on Instagram of Sophie and Ethan’s wedding.

In front of millions of viewers and countless cameras, Ethan’s eyes held a tenderness I had never seen before.

If they loved putting on an act in front of me so much,

then I didn’t want any of them anymore.

The living room fell silent.

Ethan usually avoided eye contact and never dared to look at anyone for more than three seconds.

But now, he stared at me with his eyes wide.

“Lily Hart, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Ethan’s voice suddenly rose.

“I forced myself to go record that video. I had to take medication just to get through it! And this is how you treat me?”

Ryan’s brows drew together.

“Lily, don’t you understand Ethan’s condition?

Sophie made this video out of kindness. Even if you don’t know how to be grateful, do you really have to throw a tantrum?”

Alex stepped forward, patted Sophie’s shoulder sympathetically, then turned to me impatiently.

“Even if you’re unhappy, did you really have to throw it away right in front of her? Where does that leave Sophie’s dignity?”

I laughed so hard that tears rolled down my face, as if I had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

One month earlier,

Ethan had told me that his depression had returned and that he needed to go out of town for a month of inpatient treatment.

Ryan said his company had a major project that required him to work in seclusion.

Alex said he had to accompany his family on a trip to another state and didn’t know when he would return.

Even my mother said she had to go back to her hometown to repair the old family house.

Everyone had silently disappeared for a month. It turned out they had been throwing a grand wedding for Sophie and Ethan.

On the livestream, Ethan walked steadily toward Sophie under the gaze of hundreds of guests and millions of viewers.

His eyes were full of tenderness, and he kissed Sophie in front of the cameras for a full three minutes.

Below the stage, Ryan and Alex were grinning more brightly than anyone else.

My mother was so moved that she cried uncontrollably, holding Sophie’s hand as she said, “Seeing you two finally make it this far has made my whole life worthwhile.”

Ever since I was little, my mother had never really looked at me with pride.

She always said I was too stubborn and wasn’t as sweet and socially graceful as Sophie.

When Sophie scored sixty percent on a test, she bragged about it.

When I came in first, all she said was, “What use is it for a girl to read so many books?”

So I wasn’t surprised by what my mother said.

But for that entire month, I had been an idiot.

Every day, I anxiously calculated whether Ethan had enough medication.

At night, I was afraid to sleep too deeply in case he suddenly called to say he was scared.

“You call this your hard work?”

I looked at Ethan with an indifferent expression.

“What else would it be? Lily, you’ve always been this selfish!”

Ethan gritted his teeth and pointed at the trash can.

“Do you know what it felt like to be covered in cold sweat while recording those AI movements?

Do you know how much I had to overcome psychologically?

I’ve already compromised this much. Why do you still have to push me?”

Sophie let out a perfectly timed sob and tugged on Ethan’s sleeve.

“Stop, Ethan. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have taken it upon myself to make this video…

“I just saw how badly Lily wanted to get married, and I didn’t want you to suffer too much.”

“What does this have to do with you?”

Ryan pulled Sophie behind him and glared at me.

“Lily, pick that stuff up and apologize to Sophie right now!”

I looked coldly at the four people in front of me.

I pointed toward the door, my voice quiet.

“Are you finished? If you are, get out.”

Ethan froze. “What did you say?”

“I said all of you need to get out.”