Chapter 4

I didn't know where Hendley lived, so I had to search through Cruz's social media accounts.

She was beautiful with a good family background, and had quite a following on Ins.

Though she usually only posted about makeup, today she suddenly posted a rant video.

"This is hilarious! I've never seen a woman so desperate to throw herself at someone!"

"If I hadn't paid to get her wedding time and schedule, my childhood friend wouldn't have believed she was planning a wedding all by herself!"

The longer I looked at her face, the more nauseous I felt.

I quickly searched through her past location tags.

Finally, at the club they frequently visited, I found traces of Hendley.

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I could hear Cruz's exaggerated laughter.

"When the time comes, I'll livestream the wedding. Hendley, don't go. Let her wait and completely humiliate herself."

Another weak female voice hesitated:

"That's not very nice. Cruz, you have hundreds of thousands of followers. If you really do this, how will she face people?"

"Hendley, maybe you should talk to her again and offer some compensation or something."

Hendley was silent for a moment, then scoffed.

"Do what Cruz says. Let's see what kind of joke she can make of herself."

I clenched my fists and turned to leave.

For the next few days, Hendley didn't receive any message from me giving in.

But the group chat was lively.

Cruz said smugly:

"Good thing I pretended to be her landlord so she didn't block me. I can see all her Twitter updates."

"Look at this wedding dress—such an outdated style. Even for an enemy, I feel sorry for her!"

In the nine photos, I wore a conservative wedding dress style that didn't expose my arms.

But the photographer had good skills, outlining the figure by the window as sacred and beautiful.

Like a light, floating cloud that could drift away at any moment.

Hendley's voice grew hoarse. He unconsciously clicked to save the original image.

He suddenly imagined me in a wedding dress walking toward him.

His heart unexpectedly stirred.

Cruz in the group chat remained oblivious, still pointing and criticizing.

"This idiot even sent me a wedding invitation, saying she invited over a thousand people and hoped I'd come."

"Hilarious. Of course I'm going. I really look forward to seeing her humiliate herself on stage!"

The wedding day soon arrived. Cruz continued to relay Twitter updates in real-time.

"Grandma can finally witness my happiness."

The accompanying photo showed Grandma in a wheelchair with me in a wedding dress, tears glistening in Grandma's eyes.

Hendley's friend spoke up:

"Oh no, I'm starting to feel bad. What if the old lady has a heart attack on the spot?"

"Hendley, are you really not going?"

Hendley's lips trembled. Cruz interrupted first.

"It's only fun if her family is there! That old woman sat at the education bureau for a week with her cane, insisting on reporting me for bullying her granddaughter."

"My daddy confiscated my yacht because of that. I still haven't gotten revenge for that!"

She tested the waters again:

"Hey, Hendley, you're not getting soft-hearted, are you! You promised to help me!"

Hendley gritted his teeth.

"How could I? If she dared to pressure me into marriage, she should have thought of the consequences."

Cruz relaxed and sent a blowing kiss emoji.

"Okay, I'm going to do my makeup for the wedding. Remember to watch the livestream! I specifically paid for promotion. I'm really looking forward to what happens next."

The group chat fell silent for a while, then another Twitter screenshot was posted.

"This life, this person." The accompanying image showed two marriage certificates.

Hendley's friend was confused and immediately @mentioned Hendley.

"Hendley, didn't you say she burned the fake certificate in a rage? What's this about?"

But the message went unanswered for a long time.

At that moment, Hendley was driving his fastest sports car at full speed toward the wedding venue.

It's just a ceremony, right?

If she wants it, he'll give it to her. It's not that big a deal.

The certificate wasn't officially registered anyway, so it wouldn't violate his promise to Cruz.

He rushed to the wedding. The ceremony had just begun.

Good, he wasn't late.

Hendley pulled out the wedding ring he'd prepared from his pocket.

On a whim, he'd stopped by a jewelry store on the way.

It turned out the dimensions of her fingers were already engraved in his heart.

Cruz, sitting in the audience, looked a bit green. Hundreds of thousands of people flooded into the livestream.

All clamoring to see who was so shameless as to throw themselves at someone.

Now Hendley was the first one standing on stage.

The wedding march began playing. Hendley looked expectantly toward the end of the red carpet, but the person in the wedding dress still hadn't appeared.

The MC picked up the microphone.

"Miss Billson welcomes everyone to this event. Please first watch a video."

Event?

Hendley felt an inexplicable strangeness. Maybe it was just an unprofessional MC hired at the last minute.

He shifted his gaze to the screen. After just one second, the world spun before his eyes.