Chapter 2

Tears fell unconsciously.

Oliver blocked all the staff's scare tactics for Lily, leading her successfully out of the haunted house.

Lily pulled her hand away from Oliver's, pouting playfully.

"Do you protect your girlfriend like this usually too?"

I lowered my eyes and shook my head gently.

Except for when Oliver and I were kidnapped as children. I covered his escape and got my leg broken, then was locked in a dark room.

After I was rescued, he took care of me tirelessly.

But in the seven years we'd been dating, he never protected me again.

When I was sick, he went drinking with friends.

When I had a car accident, he called to yell at me for being brainless.

Even last year when I had heart transplant surgery with only a ten percent success rate—I was terrified I'd die without seeing him again, so I begged him to come be with me for the surgery.

Oliver didn't show up because he was celebrating his ex-girlfriend's birthday.

Hearing Oliver's negative answer, Lily finally let him hold her hand again.

The livestream audience didn't want to watch them being lovey-dovey. More than half left quickly.

Lily's eyes lit up as she shook Oliver's arm playfully.

"I heard you and your girlfriend are getting ready to get engaged. How about showing me your wedding house?"

I frantically spread my arms in front of Oliver.

"No! That's the house my dad renovated with his own hands!"

Every brick, every coat of paint was infused with my father's love for me.

To create my dream wedding home, he developed severe back pain. His back hurt so badly he couldn't straighten it.

How dare Oliver let someone else trample on my father's hard work?

I desperately tried to stop him, but my body kept passing through Oliver.

He drove Lily to the wedding house.

The livestream viewer count doubled.

"Oh my god, that's so thrilling! Isn't this basically bringing his mistress to his wedding house?"

"What are you talking about? If he's willing to bring Lily there, it means Lily is the woman he truly loves."

"Do you guys even understand what true love means?"

Lily's eyes curved into crescents as she turned to kiss Oliver's cheek.

"Right? The one who's not loved is the real mistress."

"Don't be jealous, everyone."

I trembled with rage, wishing I could grab the steering wheel and kill this shameless pair.

But I couldn't. I could only helplessly watch Oliver open the door to our wedding house.

Lily excitedly held up the camera and rushed into the living room.

She ran her hands over the exquisite table and lay on the soft sofa.

"It's so beautiful."

Dad had specially installed a projector in the ceiling.

When turned on, it would automatically project a starry sky onto the walls.

I threw myself at Oliver, begging him to throw Lily out.

"Get out! You're not welcome here!"

A crisp shattering sound pierced my eardrums. I whipped around.

Lily stuck out her tongue playfully, pointing at the ceramic shards on the floor.

"Sorry, I bumped into it accidentally."

My mind went blank.

I knelt down, my fingers trembling as I tried to piece together the broken ceramic doll.

Mom had made it with Dad and me the day before she died.

She said the ceramic doll would stay with me forever in her place.

Tears flooded out like a broken dam. I clutched the fragments and sobbed uncontrollably.

Oliver glanced carelessly at the shards on the floor and swept all the pieces into the trash without a second thought.

"No."

But he couldn't hear me.

Even if he could, he wouldn't feel sorry for me.

I sat paralyzed on the floor, my eyes empty, wishing I could vanish immediately and find Mom to apologize.

I hadn't protected what she left for me...

The next second, an urgent phone ringtone rang out.