Chapter 1

My girlfriend, Elara proposed to her assistant.

I confronted her, but overheard her conversation with a friend:

"If I don't marry him, his family will force him to marry someone he doesn't love."

"What about Asher? He's your boyfriend. Aren't you afraid he'll get mad?"

"What's getting mad going to do? Asher and I have been together for seven years. He can't live without me."

Later, I got married on the same day.

As my wedding cars passed each other, Elara completely broke down when she saw me in the other car.

"Mom, I've agreed to the family arrangement."

In the dim living room, my soft voice sounded hollow and numb.

Mom was shocked when she heard me agree. "You weren't willing before, were you? Why the sudden change of heart? Asher, marriage isn't something to rush into. Whether it's an arranged marriage or not, all I care about is your happiness. You need to think this through, don't be impulsive."

Listening to Mom, my eyes welled up.

"Mom, I've thought it through. You can start preparing for the wedding."

Mom knew I was hurting. After a moment of silence, she comforted me:

"You and Elara have been together for so long, yet she never wanted to make your relationship public, and she always put off meeting your family. Your dad and I knew this relationship wouldn't last."

Mom's words were like a thorn piercing my heart.

Turns out, everyone else saw it clearly. I was the only one who was blind.

"Chloe from the Sterling family is someone your dad and I picked out for you as a suitable partner for an alliance early on. Your parents carefully vetted her. Putting everything else aside, her character and family background are undoubtedly excellent. My son deserves the best."

I took a deep breath. "Thank you, Mom. I trust your judgment and Dad's."

Mom continued, "Shall we arrange for you two to meet in the next couple of days?"

"No need. Just go straight to preparing the wedding."

After hanging up, Elara appeared behind me, I don't know when, holding a small cake. She asked, confused:

"What wedding? Who's getting married?"

Mine. I'm getting married.

I answered silently in my head, but the words never left my lips.

I calmly shook my head. "Nothing, just a friend."

As the words left my mouth, I noticed her expression visibly relax.

A bitter pang hit me again.

She was so tense just now. Was she worried I was going to pressure her into marriage? Or perhaps, was she getting married to her beloved assistant, Milo Jensen, and thought I had found out?

"I brought you your favorite cake from that bakery. Do you want to eat it now?"

Elara used to always bring me treats when she came home from work.

Even if many weren't to my taste, I still felt as sweet as if I were floating in a honey-sweet dream.

Just because I felt the love of being constantly remembered and fed by the person I adored far outweighed the taste of the food itself.

But now, looking at this box of cake, I felt nothing but irony.

Just moments ago, I saw Milo change his previously private SnapChat stories to public. I only scrolled through a few before I couldn't bear to look anymore.

Now, I realized how ridiculous I was.

This cake, it turned out, was Milo's favorite.

Not just this cake, but all the other nuts and snacks were Milo's favorites too.

Even more tragically, I discovered that Elara's habit of bringing me food after work had only started after Milo joined the company.

So, Elara, when you were feeding me, who were you pretending I was? Asher, or Milo?

I swallowed the bitterness and spoke softly:

"I don't like sweets. They're too cloying. Don't buy them anymore."

Elara was surprised by my reaction. Her eyes showed a hint of bewilderment:

"What? You never seemed to mind them before."

After all these years together, if she truly cared about me, how could she not have noticed my food preferences?

Some things, when repeated too many times, become exhausting, eventually turning into a compromise.

I didn't argue further, just casually offered, "My tastes have changed recently."