Seven Years of Love, One Fake Marriage

On the seventh anniversary of my marriage, I received a pregnancy test report.

Just as I was about to share the joy with my husband, I was involved in a car accident.

The doctor called my husband more than twenty times, but he never answered a single call. In the end, I had no choice but to endure the pain and sign the surgical consent form myself.

When I woke up again, the doctor looked at me with undisguised displeasure.

"Ms. Mcallister, our system shows that you're single. Why did you lie about having a husband?"

"Do you know that because the rescue was delayed, the child in your womb has already..."

I sat frozen on the hospital bed, unable to decide which piece of news hurt more.

Trembling, I placed a hand over my abdomen. The child who had just reached ten weeks was gonesilently, completely.

My eyes burned red as I stared at the doctor in disbelief.

"I've been married for seven years. How could I possibly be single? Your hospital system must be wrong."

My protest came to an abrupt halt when the hospital produced its official records.

Staring at the stamped seal on the documents, my vision shook.

I walked out of the hospital stiffly, holding both a miscarriage report and a certificate proving I was single.

The very next second, I saw my husband stepping out of the Civil Affairs Bureauarm in arm with my younger sister, who had been missing for seven years.

He had his arm around her shoulders, their intimacy unmistakable. The red marriage certificate in their hands stabbed painfully into my eyes.

At that moment, my heart sank to the very bottom.

The wind carried their conversation to my ears.

"Emmett, if Camille finds out that we registered our marriage, she'll probably blame us. After all, she's been your wife for the past seven years."

Emmett replied without hesitation, "I've never considered her my wife. In my eyes, you're the only one who truly matters. What we're holding is the real marriage certificate."

"If you want, I can get rid of her."

As the truth laid itself bare, a deafening roar filled my ears.

Seven years of devotion wasted... It was time for me to leave.

I stood frozen in place as the documents slipped from my hands and scattered across the ground.

At some point, Leanne and I met eyes. There was unmistakable pride in hersas if she had noticed my presence long ago.

"Emmett, I really didn't expect you to say something like that," she said softly. "I thought you no longer cared about me. Seven years ago, at the wedding, I wasn't ready, so I chose to run away. I never imagined that you would still love me so deeply."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Leanne began to cry. Emmett gently wiped the tears from her cheeks, his eyes filled with a tenderness I had never once seen directed at me.

"My wife was always meant to be you," he said solemnly. "Even when you left me seven years ago, I never blamed younot for a single moment."

After saying that, Emmett lowered his head and kissed Leanne deeply.

My breathing turned ragged as a sour, suffocating pain spread through my entire body.

But Leanne was still not satisfied. She narrowed her eyes and glanced in my direction before lowering her voice.

"Emmett, you don't have to say this just because of my illness. After all, you and my sister have been together for seven years. You must love her. I'll be fine on my own..."

Emmett immediately grabbed her hand, his expression earnest.

"I've never loved her," he said without the slightest hesitation. "It was only because her face resembles yours. I kept her by my side so I could look at her and miss you."

At an instant, the world spun before my eyes. The overwhelming dizziness forced me to stagger backward.

In a daze, I seemed to see Emmett smiling at me gentlyjust like he used to.

We had grown up together, childhood sweethearts in name.

But in his eyes, there had only ever been one personmy younger sister, Leanne.

He and my brothers all adored the coquettish, lovable Leanne. I was forever the silent shadow standing behind them.

No one knew that even a shadow longs for sunlight.

Or that I had secretly loved Emmett for years.

Emmett was originally my fianc.

But as we grew older, his bond with my sister only deepened, and no one ever brought up our engagement again.

Naturally, my engagement to him became hers instead.

I thought my life would simply continue like thatuntil the day of their wedding.

The venue was extravagantly decorated. Everything was tailored to my sister's tastes: the most luxurious, the most expensive, the very best.

Yet that day, Emmett waited from dawn until nightfall.

Leanne never appeared.

Even after the officiant left the venue, she still did not come.

Only then did Emmett finally break down.

That night, he drank himself senseless at a bar.

When I found him, he looked at me as if he were seeing me for the first time.

He told me everything.

He said he had long known that Leanne might flee the wedding. But he believed that if he treated her well enough, she would eventually understand his sincerity.

It wasn't until he was abandoned at the altar that he finally realizedher heart was never something he could warm.

I stayed with him and listened the entire night.

The next morning, when Emmett woke up, he proposed to me.

I knew that perhaps he was only wounded, desperately searching for a harbor to shelter in.

But I wanted his love far too badly.

So I blindfolded myselfand accepted his proposal.

Over the course of seven years, Emmett's attitude toward me changed. From distant and indifferent, to attentive and gentle.

I thought my sincerity had finally moved him.

But now I understood.

I was nothing more than Leanne's substitute.

Every gentle touch, every tender word, every whispered declaration of lovehe had been thinking of Leanne all along.

And I was still that same shadow in the darkness.

Nothing had ever changed.

I thought this was already the deepest pain imaginable.

But the next moment, my brothers' voices pierced my ears.

"Congratulations. You've finally waited long enough to see the light."

My eldest brother, Jace, smiled broadly as he lightly shoved Emmett's shoulder, amusement dancing in his eyes.

My second brother, Antonio, laughed even harder. "I'll definitely prepare a big gift for the wedding. But first, we need to deal with Camille."

"She's not the obedient type. If she finds out Emmett and Leanne are getting married, she'll definitely show up and make a scene. That would be ugly. You know how she issometimes she's just like a shrew."

The irritation in Antonio's voice was unmistakable.

In an instant, everyone burst into laughter.

The brothers who once cursed Leanne in rage for fleeing the wedding had once again become her devoted protectors.

They had forgotten everything I had done for them since childhood. Forgotten that after Leanne left, it was I who stayed by their side.

In their eyes, as long as Leanne returned, I was nothing more than a disposable substitutea toy that could be thrown away at any time.

I existed only to fill their boredom.

After realizing this, I numbly crouched down, just as I had every time I was hurt as a child, wrapping my arms tightly around myself.

Before long, a familiar hand reached out in front of meand picked up the scattered reports from the ground.

Leanne's mocking voice rang out above my head.

"A miscarriage report?" she sneered. "Camille, don't tell me you're trying to use something like this to win Emmett back?"

Trembling, I lifted my head, my face deathly pale as I looked at Leanne standing before me.

"Give it back to me."

My voice came out hoarse and broken. Not only did Leanne refuse to return the report, she leaned closer, her tone dripping with contempt.

"I know you saw everything just now. So what if I was gone for seven years?" she said smugly. "You're still the same loser. As long as I want it, everyone will abandon you. You pitiful worm."

"Seven whole years, and you couldn't even get a marriage certificate. In the end, not a single person chose you. If I were you, I'd have killed myself long ago."

Her voice pierced my ears like sharp knives. My pupils shrank as I clutched my ears tightly.

Ever since childhood, Leanne had taken everything I treasured.

I once thought that seven years of companionship could break this curse. But the moment she returned, everything I longed for fell back into her hands.

My chest burned with pain, my vision blurring with tears.

Just then, a shrill car horn suddenly sounded.

I looked upand saw a vehicle that had lost control, speeding straight toward us!

My eyes widened in terror as I lunged to the side. But at that moment, Leanne grabbed me and held me down with all her strength.

Her expression twisted grotesquely, her eyes filled with malicious delight as she looked at me.

"Sister," she said softly, "let this car accident show you the difference between you and me."

Before I could even process what was happening, someone shoved me hard.

"Leanne! Are you okay?!"

Emmett and my brothers rushed to shield Leanne, their faces full of panic and concern. Not a single one of them spared me a glance.

A sharp crack rang out as searing pain exploded in my ankle.

The next second, the grotesque front of the car slammed straight toward me.

Bang!

With a deafening crash, my world plunged into darkness.

...

When I opened my eyes again, a whimper escaped my throat.

Every inch of my body screamed in protest. The pain burned through me like raging flames.

Memories from before the accident flooded back.

Leanne's twisted, triumphant expression as Emmett and my brothers chose her without hesitation.

The sensation of my heart being torn aparteverything vanished again into darkness with that violent impact.

I struggled to sit up, but a nurse gently pressed me back down, looking at me with sympathy.

"You can't move yet," she said softly. "Where's your family?"

"You were in an accident with that other girl. She only suffered minor injuries, but her family all came immediately. Why hasn't anyone come to take care of you?"

Hearing this, I let out a bitter smile.

My family was right beside Leanne.

Through the crack in the door, I could see the ward across the hall.

It was a VIP suitecosting tens of thousands a night.

The door was wide open. Leanne sat on the bed, rosy-cheeked and radiant, while my husband and brothers crowded around her, feeding her fruit and coaxing her into laughter.

Not one of them had thought to come and check on meeven though my injuries were far more severe than hers.

"Could you please hand me my phone?" I asked quietly.

The nurse passed it to me.

I didn't try to contact Emmett or my brothers.

Instead, I sent a message to a single number.

[You once promised me that no matter when, as long as I needed you, you would appear by my side. Does that promise still count?]

I clenched the phone tightly, waiting for a response.

One minute passed.

Nothing.

I lowered my head in disappointment. Of course. Seven years had gone byhow could that person possibly still remember?

The next second, my phone vibrated.

My hands trembled as I opened the message.

[It will always count. Where are you? I'll come get you right now.]

A rush of warmth surged in my chest, yet tears spilled uncontrollably from my eyes.

I replied. [I still have something to take care of here. Can you come pick me up in seven days?]

Before the other party could reply, Emmett's voice suddenly sounded from the doorway of the ward.

"Camille," he asked coldly, "who are you texting?"

Instinctively, I turned off my phone and looked at him calmly.

"Nothing. Just a friend."

Emmett frowned, clearly wanting to ask more. But at that moment, Leanne's cry of pain came from behind him, and his expression instantly changed.

"Camille, why did you push Leanne?" he demanded. "Do you know she was almost hit by a car?"

On hearing his words, my chest tightened as if I couldn't breathe.

After a moment, I took a deep breath and intoned coldly. "Believe it or not, I didn't push Leanne. If I had, why is it me lying here after the accident?"

The mockery on my face was unmistakable.

Emmett's gaze fell on the wounds covering my body, and a trace of concern flashed across his face.

He reached out, as if wanting to touch my cheek.

"Camille, you've loved lying ever since you were a child. If Emmett hadn't pushed you away back then, the one in the accident would have been Leanne!"

Jace's sharp voice cut in from the doorway.

He strode over and yanked Emmett aside, then looked at me sharply.

"Emmett, Camille has always been good at playing the victim. Don't be fooled by her. Leanne is already ill, and she's still competing for attention like thisso immature. Leanne would never lie. It must have been Camille who pushed her."

He looked at me with undisguised disgust. With just a few words, he sentenced me to guilt.

Leanne had been gone for seven years, and for those seven years, Jace had treated me kindly.

It made me believe that I had finally become the sister he liked.

But a single car accident stripped everything away and returned me to reality.

My brothers had never truly liked me. Neither had Emmett.

The nurse standing nearby couldn't hold back her anger.

"Are you Ms. Mcallister family? How can you treat her like this?"

"She was the most seriously injured in this accidentand she just suffered a miscarriage..."

Before she could finish, Antonio rushed in, panic written all over his face.

"Emmett! Jace! Come back quicklyLeanne's illness has flared up. She fainted!"

Emmett reflexively glanced back at me.

Jace grabbed his wrist.

"There's no need to care about Camille. She brought this accident upon herself."

Antonio shoved the two of them toward the door, then turned back to look at me with open scorn.

"Camille, you tried to get Leanne into a car accident so Emmett would stay devoted to you. I never knew you were this vicious. If anything happens to Leanne, I will never let you off."

I lay stiffly on the hospital bed, enduring pain multiplied by the cruelty of both family and the man I loved, until their figures disappeared from sight.

...

From that day on, until I was discharged from the hospital, Emmett and my brothers never appeared again.

It was as if they had completely forgotten my existence.

Yet the moment I opened my phone, I could see their radiant smiles.

While I struggled alone in pain at the hospital, they took Leanne on a trip.

The photos were taken in the Maldivesa place I had always wanted to visit. Golden sunlight bathed their faces, making their smiles dazzlingly bright.

The caption read: [Seven years later, our family is finally reunited. May our little sister stay with us forever.]

I tried my best to hold back my tearsbut they still streamed down my face.

Whether it was family or love, I was never the one who was chosen.

The moment I pushed open the villa's front door, Leanne's shrill laughter greeted me.

My entrance shattered the cozy atmosphere in the living room. Everyone frowned at once, as if I were an uninvited stranger who had suddenly intruded.

My husband, my brothers, my sister... Not a single one of them remembered that I had just been discharged from the hospital.

To this family, I was less than a stranger.

Emmett stood up, hesitation flashing across his face.

"Camille, I'm sorry I didn't pick you up from the hospital. There's been too much going on at the company."

I looked at him indifferently and stepped aside, avoiding the hand he reached out to me.

His expression stiffened. Before he could say anything else, Leanne clung to him and walked over.

She wore that familiar smilesweet on the surface, but a hint of provocation gleamed in her eyes.

"Sister, you're back," she said softly. "I'm sorry we didn't go pick you up. I really wanted to go to the Maldives ever since I saw the travel guide you made."

The smug glint in her eyes told me everything.

This was just another one of her plunders.

Taking what I cherished had always been Leanne's favorite thing to do.

"If you like it, then take it," I replied calmly.

She clearly hadn't expected that reaction. The smile on her face faltered for a split second.

She reached out toward me, malice flickering in her gaze.

"I heard you wanted to take the baby traveling too. Maybe next time," she whispered, leaning close to my ear.

"As long as he isn't already a pile of rotten flesh..."

I shoved her hand away violently, fury surging through my eyes.

"Get lost!"

Leanne curled her lips smugly and, following the force of my push, staggered back and fell to the floor.

Jace shot to his feet, rage exploding across his face.

"Camille! Have you lost your mind? Leanne's body is so weakhow could you lay hands on her?!"

Antonio was even more furious.

"You just caused her to get into a car accident, and now you're hurting her right in front of us! I should've sent you to the police station to clear your head!"

"The one who was in the accident was me!" I shouted. "If anyone should be reported, it's Leanne!"

I thought I could stay calm. But when everyone stood firmly on Leanne's side, I finally broke.

Emmett looked at me with disappointment and bent down to help Leanne up.

"Camille, even now you're still lying," he said firmly. "Leanne has cancer. How could she possibly have the strength to push you?"

"Don't say that about my sister," Leanne said tearfully. "I know she can't accept my return so easily. I'm willing to apologize properly."

I ignored her performance and stared straight at Emmett.

"Whether Leanne has cancer or not, I don't know," I said quietly. "But that day, I lost our child."

Before I could finish, Leanne's expression changed drastically. She suddenly clutched her head and screamed.

"Damn it!" Jace shouted. "Leanne is having an episode! Give her the medicinenow!"

Emmett shoved me aside without hesitation and rushed to Leanne.

In an instant, everyone crowded around her.

No one listened to me anymore.

The familiar scene made me want to scream, but days of torment had already drained every ounce of strength from me.

In the end, I didn't even glance at the farce unfolding behind me. I turned and went upstairs.

The moment I opened the bedroom door, I froze.

My clothes, my wedding photos with Emmett, everything I had carefully added to this room over the past seven yearsall of it was gone.

In their place were luxury handbags, high heels, and revealing dresses.

They were tangled together with Emmett's suits, exuding blatant intimacy.

I even saw used contraceptives in the trash can.

While I was hospitalized, Emmett and Leanne had been entwinedin the master bedroom that belonged to me.

My body trembled violently.

Just then, Emmett's voice sounded behind me.

"I let Leanne move into the master bedroom."

He spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"She's sick and needs the best room to recover. You're the older sisterbe more accommodating. Your room is over there now."

He casually pointed toward the guest room.

"Why did you change the moment Leanne came back?" I asked softly, despair thick in my eyes.

A trace of hesitation appeared in Emmett's gaze, but after glancing downstairs at Leanne, his expression hardened once more.

"Camille," he said coldly, "everything you had originally belonged to Leanne seven years ago."

"I'm just returning what was hers to begin with."

I didn't cry anymore.

I turned numbly toward the guest room.

If all of this had always belonged to Leanne, then I would give it backand disappear from their lives completely.

That night, Leanne's moans echoed endlessly from the master bedroom, piercing and cruel.

I wiped all my tears onto the sleeping puppy beside me. Feeling the warmth of its small body, the tearing pain in my chest finally easedjust a little.

The next morning, I packed the luggage that had been thrown into the guest room.

Many of the mementos Emmett and I once shared were gone.

I no longer cared where they had ended up.

Even if they were still here, I wouldn't take them with me anymore.

Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Emmett's bodyguards grabbed my arm respectfully yet firmly. Ignoring my struggle, they dragged me straight onto a cruise ship.

The moment I saw the ship before me, my breathing stopped.

For seven years of marriage, I had carried a single dream.

I wanted to hold my wedding with Emmett on a cruise ship.

For that dream, I had designed my own wedding dress and wedding ring. But until now, those design drafts had been sealed away in my room, gathering dust.

Suddenly, the thought of the missing designs flashed through my mind, and my breath quickened.

I stepped onto the deck with trembling legsand in that instant, my breath froze.

The pure white wedding dress that had existed only in my dreams, and the wedding ring entwined with thorn flowersthey were right there before my eyes.

My vision blurred as the past seven years flooded my mind, filled with Emmett's gentle smiles.

Even though I knew it was impossible, a sliver of hope rose within me.

This was prepared for me.

He had learned of my wishes, found my designs, and created the wedding I had only ever dreamed of.

With trembling hands, I slipped on the thorn-ring and picked up the wedding dress, heading into the room to change.

Just as I finished undressing, the door was kicked open violently.

"Camille, what do you think you're doing?!"

I froze in shock.

Emmett stood there, fury written across his face. When he saw the thorn-ring on my finger, he strode forward and yanked it off.

"What are you doing?!"

His rough movement caused the thorns to slice into my finger. I cried out in pain.

But Emmett ignored me completely, wiping the ring over and over, as if my touch had left some invisible stain on it.

He looked at me coldly and sneered. "Camille, are you so desperate that you'd steal Leanne's wedding?"

"What are you talking about?" My voice trembled as realization dawned on me. "Wasn't this prepared for me? You took my designsthe ring, the dress, the cruise wedding. I designed all of it."

He let out a mocking laugh. "Camille, how old are you? Still indulging in childish fantasies?"

"This has nothing to do with you. If Leanne hadn't liked your designs, none of this would exist. I brought you here only to see what still needs fixing."

"Leanne's wedding cannot have a single flaw. This is her only wish after falling ill."

His words poured over me like ice water, jolting me awake.

I finally understoodthis was yet another plunder by Leanne.

And I had been foolish enough to fall for it.

"Emmett, there's no need to explain anything to her," Jace said coldly as he stepped forward. "Just throw her off the ship. She's useless anyway."

He carefully lifted the wedding dress, never sparing a glance at me, standing there in nothing but my underwear.

Antonio sneered.

"We just borrowed your designs. You were never going to have a wedding like this anyway. Leanne was kind enough to let you see ityou should be thanking her."

I stared blankly at them. "She stole my husband. She stole my wedding. And I'm supposed to thank her?!"

"Sister, if you mind so much, I can give this wedding to you," Leanne said tearfully, her eyes brimming with pity. "I just want to be Emmett's bride once before I die..."

"If my sister is unhappy, I can give up this wish," she said softly, reaching out toward me.

I looked at her with pure hatred. "Ever since childhood, no matter what I had, you took it. I endured all of that. Why did you have to come back after leaving?"

"I only wanted one wedding that belonged to me. Why did you have to steal even that?"

Pain engulfed me completely. My body trembled violently with rage.

As I suffered, Leanne revealed a smile so faint it was almost invisible.

She was savoring my pain.

"Because I like the way you look when you're suffering," she whispered.

"All of this was originally minemy brothers, my husband, my wedding. You only stole them for seven years."

I couldn't hold back any longer. I lunged forward and shoved her hard.

"Camille!"

The next second, my furious brothers joined forces and threw me off the cruise ship.

"You've attacked Leanne again and again. You need to be taught a lesson. Go back dressed like that."

"If you ever lay a hand on Leanne again, you won't be our sister anymore!"

They tossed me off the ship without hesitation, despite the fact that I was wearing nothing but my underwear, exposing me to everyone's gaze.

And my husbandhe was too busy feeding Leanne her medicine to look at me even once.

In that instant, it felt as if ten thousand needles pierced straight through my heart.

Shivering, I wrapped my arms around my bare shoulders. The mocking stares and lewd laughter of strangers made me wish I could die on the spot.

I didn't even have a single cent on me.

I could only walk back.

By the time night fell, I finally reached the villa.

My legs were numbbut my heart was still bleeding.

Everything around me felt as though it were separated by a thin, invisible film.

In the second year after marrying Emmett, I adopted a puppy.

If there was anything I absolutely had to take with me when I left, it was my dog.

I staggered toward the room and pushed the door openthen froze.

Leanne was inside my room, holding black cookies and stuffing them into my dog's mouth over and over again.

My heart pounded violently. I snatched the cookies from her hand and immediately caught the scent of chocolate.

"You fed it chocolate?" I screamed. "Don't you know dogs can't eat chocolate?!"

My shrill voice startled the puppy. It spun anxiously at my feet.

I scooped it up at once, intending to rush it to the hospital.

At that moment, Leanne stepped in front of me.

"I fed it on purpose," she said smugly. "Sister, this dog is such an eyesore. Just let it die here."

She spoke with the same malicious delight she'd had every time she pulled a cruel prank when we were children.

"Get out of my way, you monster!" I shoved her aside, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

The next second, the door burst open.

Emmett and my two brothers appeared in the doorway.

"Camille, you've attacked Leanne again!" Jace roared. "She even brought food for your dog to apologize to you!"

"I told you long ago she should be sent to detention to clear her head," Antonio snapped. "She's completely insane. We should just send her to a mental institution!"

As he spoke, he grabbed my arm roughly.

Emmett looked at me with icy indifference. I saw nothing but hatred in his eyes.

"She fed my dog chocolate!" My voice trembled violently. The suffocating pain rose from my chest to my throat, making it hard to breathe.

Seeing my pale face, Emmett hesitated for a moment. He knew how much I loved my dog.

"Sister..." Leanne began to cry again. "I really didn't do it on purpose. I didn't know there was chocolate in the cookie."

"I can apologize," she said pitifully. "But I really don't want to kneel to a dog."

She was still pretending.

My vision darkened with rage. I wanted nothing more than to tear Leanne apart. But just then, the puppy vomited a mouthful of blood.

The bright red stained my eyes.

Its weak whimper shattered my heart.

I could no longer care about anything else. I only wanted to get my dog to the hospitalbut Emmett grabbed my arm.

He looked at me coldly, as if I were a criminal.

"You should apologize to Leanne."

My brothers blocked my path as well.

"She fed my dog chocolate!" I clenched my teeth, refusing to back down.

Jace's expression darkened.

"Camille, it's just a dog. Leanne already said she didn't know there was chocolate in the cookie. How could you make her kneel to a dog? She's sickdon't you have any sympathy at all?"

"She took everything from me!" I screamed hoarsely. "Leanne isn't sick at allshe's pretending"

Before I could finish, Antonio slapped me hard across the face.

He looked at me with pure disgust.

"Camille, you've completely lost your mind. No one would joke about their own health. If you don't kneel down and apologize to Leanne, I won't let you take this dog to the hospital."

The pain on my cheek left me stunned.

Before I could react, several hands forced me down, trying to make me kneel.

I struggled desperately. Even if my ankle broke, I wanted to leave.

But the miscarriage and two car accidents had already destroyed my body.

As I looked at the puppy in my arms, its breathing growing weaker and weaker, my knees finally gave way.

I knelt.

"I'm sorry," I said calmly. "Is that enough?"

At the moment my knees hit the ground, something inside me died completely.

Satisfied expressions appeared on their faces.

Only then did they allow me to rush toward the hospital with the puppy in my arms.

But it was already too late.

The doctor sighed and placed a small urn of ashes into my hands.

My bodyand my heartfelt utterly hollow.

I accepted the ashes numbly, like an empty shell.

It had been a clumsy little stray, only three months old when I picked it up. I raised it for five years, and all it ever learned was how to fetch slippers.

Back then, I thought that I would be able to stay with it for a very long time.

I returned to the villa numb all over, like a wandering ghost, and began packing up the things in my room.

The anniversary gifts Emmett had given me. The birthday presents my brothers had given me when we were children. Their handwritten letters. Photographs from every stage of my life.

I threw everything I had once cherished without reservation into the fireplace.

As the roaring flames devoured them, the bone-deep chill in my body slowly began to thaw.

I had craved their love so desperately that I lost myself in the process.

Only after paying such a painful price did I finally wake up.

When the fire burned down to ashes, a pair of familiar arms wrapped around me from behind.

"Camille, I know this is hard for you right now," he said softly, his voice low and gentlethe very voice I once loved most.

"But Leanne is sick. All she wants is a wedding. You've always been strong. Once the wedding is over, I promise everything will return to how it was."

He swore it like an oath.

I was too tired to respond. I just stared blankly at the ashes before me.

Emmett didn't notice my silence and continued, "During the wedding preparations, I'll send you to stay at the hospital for a while. Think of it as recuperating."

As he spoke, he pressed a kiss to my hair.

From behind us came Antonio's voice, sharp with impatience.

"Why are you explaining so much to her? From the day Leanne came back, you should've listened to me and sent her to a mental institution. Then Leanne wouldn't have been hurt by her so many times."

I turned around abruptly, my heart pounding wildly as I stared at them.

"You're... sending me to a mental institution?"

Emmett grabbed my arm and tried to soothe me. "Camille, it's only temporary. Once the wedding is over, I'll bring you back."

Jace looked at me coldly. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourself. Why did you hurt Leanne? If we leave you outside, you'll definitely go and ruin the wedding."

"This is Leanne's only wish," he said flatly. "I won't let you destroy it."

I heard my own voice, eerily calm.

"No. I won't go to a mental institution. If you're afraid I'll disrupt the wedding, I can leave"

Before I could finish, Emmett's expression darkened instantly.

"That's enough! Camille, I said I'd bring you back. It's just one week. Can't you endure that much?"

"Why should I have to go to a mental institution for Leanne's wish?" I clenched my teeth.

"I've already given up my husband. I've already given up my wedding. Is that still not enough?"

Without another word, Antonio pinned me down brutally, his face twisted with fury.

"You selfish, vicious bitch! Leanne has treated you so well, and all she asks is for you to stay in a mental institution for a few days. Emmett is far too softI wish I could lock you up for life!"

I struggled desperately, trying to break free, but Antonio held me down with ruthless force.

"Let go of me! I won't go! I can leaveI'll leave!"

No one listened.

They looked at me as if I were already insane.

My hands scraped against the floor, leaving streaks of blood, yet no one spared them a glance.

Ten minutes later, I was tied to a bed.

No one asked for my consent.

I cried and screamed for every passerby to call the policebut no one came to my aid.

A cold needle pierced my vein.

Leanne's face appeared before my eyes.

She looked at me with feigned pity and leaned close to whisper in my ear, "I bribed the staff here. I'm sure this week will be unforgettable for youconsider it my wedding gift to myself."

I stared at her, biting down hard on my tongue, using pain to fight the creeping drowsiness.

"You... were never sick," I said hoarsely.

Leanne smiled, a triumphant, childish grin.

"Of course, I wasn't. But no one will ever believe you."

I widened my eyes, thrashing against the restraints until the entire bed shook.

But the world before me still slowly sank into darkness.

The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was Emmett walking away, his arm wrapped around Leanne.

The following week was a torment beyond words.

I was cursed at, beaten, left with not a single inch of unbroken skin on my body.

No one treated my wounds. Whenever I resisted, they shocked me with electricity, then injected me with sedatives.

Day after day passed, and my mind slowly dulled, sinking into a fog.

Only after a full week was I finally released.

Emmett did not come to pick me up, just as he had promised.

But I still saw his face.

On the massive LED screen of the building outside the mental institution, his wedding with Leanne was playing live.

She wore the wedding dress I had designed.

The thorn-flower ring was on her finger.

Emmett's smile was impossibly gentle.

My brothers stood beside them, offering their sincere blessings.

Everything was exactly the same as the wedding I had once dreamed of.

I thought I would cry.

But I didn't.

The torture in the mental institution had already drained me of pain, of exhaustionof emotion itself. I had nothing left to give them.

"Camille, I'm sorry. I'm late."

A voice filled with tenderness and regret sounded behind me.

For the first time in a long while, I smiled sincerely.

"Wait for me a moment," I said softly. "I'll leave something here."

I placed a prepared document envelope in the security office of the institution.

Inside were three things: My miscarriage report, the cheap silver ring Emmett had placed on my finger when he proposed. And an official certificate proving that I was single.

"Tell him," I said calmly, "that I've given everything to Leanne."

Leaving behind those final words, I turned and walked away.

At the entrance, a Rolls-Royce was already waiting for me.

I didn't know when Emmett and my brothers would finally realize that I was gone.

But I knew one thing for certain, I would never come back.

The wedding on the cruise ship made Leanne radiant with happiness.

Emmett should have felt the same.

Yet for some reason, as he stared at the calm, endless sea, his heart suddenly jolted.

It was as if something immensely important had vanished forever at that very moment.

He pressed a hand to his chest, but before he could think further, Leanne smiled and linked her arm through his.

The next second, Emmett cast aside that strange feeling without hesitation and continued indulging Leanne.

By the time they returned to the villa, three days had already passed.

The house was eerily quiet.

When Emmett turned on the lights, he saw a thin layer of dust covering the coffee table.

Everything was exactly as it had been when they leftmessy, untouched.

Only then did it occur to him.

Today was the day Camille was supposed to be released from the mental institution.

He had forgotten his promise to pick her up.

A tight pain seized his chest.

Antonio glanced around irritably and frowned. "What is Camille doing? Wasn't she discharged today? Why hasn't she cleaned the house?"

Jace's expression was cold. "I bet she's still sulking. She's always been like thisimmature. Tomorrow, when she realizes this little trick doesn't work, she'll clean everything up herself."

Emmett frowned.

He used to think Camille was childish too. But after seven years together, he had come to realize how many misunderstandings he had about her.

She wasn't someone who threw tantrums like this.

With that thought, he turned to go to the mental institution.

Behind him, Leanne grabbed his arm and said gently, "Emmett, my sister just likes playing these little games. If you go looking for her now, she'll only push her luck."

"Just like Jace saidonce she realizes no one cares, she'll come back on her own."

Emmett lowered his eyes.

He still didn't believe Camille was that kind of person. But in the end, he didn't pull his arm free.

...

The next morning, Emmett went downstairs early.

He found himself unconsciously expecting Camille to appear againjust like every morning over the past seven years.

Warm breakfast.

Her gentle smile.

Instead, he was met with the same dead, filthy silence as the day before.

He could no longer endure it.

Grabbing his car keys, he rushed straight to the mental institution.

"Where is Camille?" he demanded urgently. "The woman I sent here seven days ago."

The receptionist glanced at him impatiently.

"She was taken away yesterday. But she left something in the security office. Go look for it yourself."

Emmett rushed to the security room, his breathing unsteady.

There, he was handed an envelope.

Inside lay a silver ring, a certificate of no marriage, and a miscarriage report.

With a deafening crash, Emmett's world collapsed.

His pupils shook violently.

The guard hesitated, then added, "She also left a message."

"She said... she gave everything to Leanne."

Emmett froze in place like a lifeless statue.