Chapter 1

My fiancée' s childhood best friend had tested me three times.

The first time, when my fiancée Valerie was sick with a cold, he hid razor blades in my shoe. The blades cut deep into my soles, yet he made me deliver her medicine through the pain.

He called it a test of whether my love could overcome any hardship.

The second time, on our fifth anniversary, as I left work two hours early to cook, he sprinkled itching powder into my kitchen apron. By the time I finished dinner, I was covered in itchy welts.

He laughed, claiming it was to prove my true intentions.

Third time, when I returned exhausted from a two-week business trip, Valerie prepared a heartwarming bowl of noodles for me. Only he’d stirred two live earthworms into the broth.

He smugly left a message, saying this was to test if I can swallow the bitterness of love without turning violent.

Valerie always gently reminded me.

"Derek used his college fund to cover my mom' s surgery back then, which is why he couldn't t study abroad."

"Even while we were living overseas these past few years, he was the one taking care of my mom in the nursing home."

"He made such a huge sacrifice for me, but in the end, I' m marrying you. His heart is just broken. Please try to understand."

But what Valerie never knew was that the third test would turn her wedding into a funeral.

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