Chapter 4

I didn't answer. Not until the doorbell rang did he snap out of it.

It was the takeout I'd ordered.

All high-sugar, high-calorie little cakes, cookies, and pizza.

Things I'd never dared touch before while dieting.

Tristan said in surprise:

"Why did you suddenly order all this food for me?"

He never imagined it was all for me to eat.

After all, in the past, when I couldn't fit the ring, at my most extreme, I'd gone three days without eating.

"How could I eat all this by myself?"

"I never said it was for you."

Opening the cake packaging, I dipped my finger in some frosting and gently placed it in my mouth.

So sweet...

Before I could savor this sweetness I'd lost for seven years, the cake in my hand was violently pushed away by Tristan.

"Mara, have you lost your mind?"

"Do you know how many calories are in one bite of cake?"

I looked at him calmly:

"I know. Very high calories. So what?"

A flash of bewilderment crossed Tristan's eyes.

Tonight's version of me was too abnormal.

Like I didn't care about anything anymore.

He spoke slowly:

"Aren't you..."

"Aren't I dieting? Trying to fit into your family's ancestral ring, trying to legitimately marry you."

Torturing myself into this state for a lie.

Selene's vitamin C was just slightly low, and Tristan was beside himself with worry.

Yet he forgot that to fit into the ring, I'd been extreme dieting, requiring regular nutrient IV drips just to maintain my vital signs.

After a moment of silence, I suddenly said out of nowhere:

"You've really taken such good care of Selene."

Fair skin, rosy cheeks.

In contrast, I was skin and bones, pale as death.

Seeing Selene today, my first reaction was: not worth it, so not worth it!

New York winters were cold. My father had raised me plump and healthy, yet I'd done this to myself for a man.

Hearing this, understanding flashed in Tristan's eyes.

He grabbed my hand and coaxed gently:

"So that's why you're acting so strange today—you're jealous."

"Baby, the doctor says Selene's delusional disorder will be cured soon. You'll be able to marry me very soon."

In a moment of carelessness, he'd let it slip.

I gave him a cold glance:

"Didn't you say I could only marry you once I could wear the ring? How did it become having to wait until Selene recovers?"

"I'm also really curious—why can I never fit into it?"

"Don't tell me the ring shrinks every year?"

Tristan's heart jumped fearfully, his tone unusually flustered:

"Mara, what are you talking about?"

He pulled me into his embrace, explaining anxiously:

"No one wants to marry you more than I do, but there's no helping it—that's the rule passed down in our family. My mom also wore this ring before marrying my dad."

"That you can't fit the ring... I'm in a difficult position too."

He gently stroked my emaciated spine, comforting me:

"But it's okay. A wedding is just a formality. In my heart, you've long been Mrs. Foster."

Before I could respond, a dark voice sounded from behind.

"Honey... what are you doing?"

Before I could react, I was shoved aside by a forceful push.

It was Selene.

The nurse caring for her said she'd been vomiting after taking her medicine tonight, making such a fuss that they had no choice but to bring her over.

She'd walked right into the scene of us embracing.

Before Tristan could react, Selene's fists rained down on me, one blow after another.

A woman's strength wasn't particularly great, but for someone like me who'd been extreme dieting for years, these few blows already had me breaking out in cold sweat.

Tristan pulled the frantic Selene away.

He didn't check on my deathly pale face, but instead held Selene tightly.

"Selene, don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I'm your husband. You saw wrong just now."

My stomach cramped painfully.

I found it utterly absurd.

In this scene, I—the legitimate girlfriend—had ended up playing the role of the other woman.

Selene's face was red from crying as Tristan lifted her by the waist.

"Ugh!"

The instant they rose, Selene borrowed the momentum to kick me viciously, right in the abdomen.

My lower abdomen immediately filled with pain.

Cold sweat streamed down continuously.

I called out weakly:

"Tristan..."

But he only gave me a glance before the person thrashing in his arms captured all his attention.

Before I lost consciousness, the last sound I heard was Tristan's indulgent comfort to Selene.