Chapter 2

Once I had that memory card, I threw myself into frantic preparations. Naturally, I grew colder toward Sebastian, using "wedding planning" as an excuse to leave early and come home late.

When Sebastian returned late at night, the living room lights were no longer left on for him. There was no warm hangover soup waiting on the stove, and whenever our paths crossed, the eager smile on my face was noticeably gone.

He clearly noticed the shift.

He just assumed it was another one of my pathetic games to grab his attention, so he brushed it off.

Until one night, when he leaned in to kiss me awake, and I turned my face away, dodging his lips. Eyes closed, I murmured indifferently:

"Sebastian, I'm really tired today."

The expression on Sebastian's face instantly shifted.

He scowled, letting out a sharp sneer.

"Total buzzkill."

I kept my eyes shut, offering zero reaction.

Sebastian looked suffocated by fury, yet had nowhere to direct it. He grabbed his coat, deliberately slamming things around to make noise. Before walking out, he announced pointedly:

"I'm going over to Harper’s."

"Don't bother making breakfast tomorrow. I'm sleeping there."

He slammed the door hard behind him.

I slowly opened my eyes, feeling a strange disconnect.

Sebastian had never bothered to report his whereabouts to me before. While I was piecing it together, my phone buzzed with an encrypted message from Harper:

[He just called. Said he missed me and was coming over. I'll use feeling sick as an excuse to keep my distance.]

A little while later, the screen lit up again.

[Something's wrong. He paced around, downed half a glass of whiskey, barely said a word, and left on his own before I even had to fake being sick. Did you guys fight?]

I paused, typing back in confusion:

[No. I just turned him down in bed. He's probably pissed about my cold attitude lately.]

I hit send.

The "typing..." indicator on Harper’s end blinked for a long time.

Finally, her text came through, laced with cautious hesitation:

[That explains it. Even though he’s been hanging around me lately, his mind is always elsewhere, and his mood is completely off.]

[I think... Sebastian might actually be falling in love with you.]

Love?

The word was so hilarious I almost burst out laughing.

How could a monster like Sebastian ever understand love?

He was the kind of butcher who could drown his own beloved angel in cold blood.

I locked my screen, ignoring Harper's ridiculous delusion.

The next morning, just as I was heading out, the butler stopped me with a slight bow:

"Ma'am, here is your invitation to tonight’s charity gala and auction."

"Mr. Pierce gave strict instructions that you must attend."

I took the envelope without argument. Attending these high-profile galas was nothing new; he used to drag me to them all the time. But having the butler hand it to me without a single call or text was unusual.

He was probably still throwing a tantrum.

I didn't care.

That evening, invitation in hand, I walked straight toward the VIP table labeled "Mrs. Pierce."

Just as I was about to sit down, a voice cut through the air:

"Wendy, that's not your seat."

I froze. Turning around, I saw Sebastian arriving fashionably late, Harper clinging to his arm. He gallantly pulled out the chair in front of me and spoke softly to Harper:

"Sit down, sweetheart."

Once they were seated, Sebastian completely iced me out, not even sparing me a single glance.

With no seat left, I was forced to stand beside them like an awkward, unwanted prop.

Mocking glances flew at me from every direction, accompanied by vicious whispers:

"Look at that, Mr. Pierce has someone new again. Looks like Wendy groveled for five whole years just to lose the crown right before the finish line."

"She brought it on herself! One of his friends said she started acting all cold the second he agreed to marry her. A literal plaything forgetting her own place!"

"At this rate, there'll be a different bride walking down that aisle in two days. Honestly, she was just a bed warmer. If she can't even do that right, toss her out!"

I lowered my head, quietly taking every ounce of humiliation while clenching my fists beneath my sleeves.

Still, it was a good wake-up call.

With the wedding right around the corner, I couldn't let Sebastian lose interest in me at the final hurdle.

My performance of "unconditional love" couldn't slip now.

I looked up again, directing a pathetic, pleading gaze at him. Sebastian seemed to sense my eyes on him; the fingers tapping against his armrest abruptly stopped.

He casually glanced over his shoulder at me.

"Do you know what you did wrong yet?"