Chapter 2

“What?”

“I said, ‘Good.’ I’ll find a new groom.”

Everyone immediately burst into laughter.

“Aubrey Miller, everyone knows you’ve been so obsessed with Jaxson, you haven’t even had a male mosquito buzz near you! And you think now you’ll find a new groom? What, do you think this will make Jaxson regret it?”

“I think she’s been reading too many romance novels, her brain’s fried. Seriously, you think if you just marry some random guy, Jaxson will suddenly regret it and chase you down like in those ‘chase-the-wife-to-the-crematorium’ plots? Is that it? You actually believe there are that many ‘gonna-regret-it-and-grovel’ storylines in real life?”

“Seriously! You think this will threaten Jaxson? Aubrey, don’t flatter yourself.”

Jaxson paused for a second, then, hearing everyone’s comments, he too started laughing. “Aubrey Miller, you actually said that fake nonsense? Fine, go find a groom. I’d like to see who in high society would dare marry you. Or are you planning to hire some actor to put on a show so your family doesn’t look too bad? No way, no way, the supposedly most brilliant socialite of the city, Aubrey Miller, can’t even find a man willing to marry her?”

Amidst their rising tide of mockery, Willow Jenkins lightly coughed twice and walked to Jaxson’s side. “Jaxson, how can you talk to a girl like that? Aubrey is still a girl, after all. Aubrey, I’m so sorry, Jaxson just isn’t very good with words. Please don’t hold it against him. Your families’ engagement was decided by your parents, so no matter how upset you are, you can’t joke about something like this.”

“Aubrey, honestly, what happened today… it’s partly my fault too. I didn’t know you had a fever. I thought you just didn’t want to see me, and Jaxson and the others were just trying to defend me. I’m so sorry. Can you please not blame them?”

I watched Willow’s eyes well up before I’d even said a word, and I just found her hypocrisy utterly laughable.

She was the one who orchestrated this entire scene, yet now she was pretending to apologize to me.

Before Willow Jenkins came back, I was still Jaxson’s fiancée, someone he needed to cherish and protect.

He used to brave three hours in a freezing winter storm to buy me that artisanal pastry I’d casually mentioned wanting.

He used to drive five hours, exhausted, just to be by my side and meticulously care for me when he knew I was sick.

He used to unwaveringly stand in front of me, declaring to everyone that hurting me meant hurting him.

It was his consistent kindness, day after day, that made me accept his proposal.

Yes, our marriage wasn’t some arranged alliance, as the rumors claimed. Jaxson actually had to work hard to earn my parents’ approval before he even dared to propose.

But ever since Willow Jenkins returned, everything changed.

Honestly, at first, I even wanted to get along with Willow. I even rushed around, getting her appointments with the best doctors when I heard she was sickly.

But all my good intentions were shattered by one of Willow’s dramatic outbursts: “Just because I’m not strong, does that mean I don’t deserve to hang out with you all?”

After that, Jaxson and I somehow reached a point of mutual disgust.

I can’t even count how many times we argued over Willow this past year, or how many times I watched Jaxson’s retreating back, filled with absolute resolve.

At first, I even thought Jaxson had suddenly gotten amnesia, like some cheap plot twist in a bad romance novel, which was why his attitude towards me had plummeted.

So, I had indulged his every whim during this time, just to keep our shaky relationship afloat.

But then, yesterday, I overheard Jaxson complaining to his friends:

“Aubrey Miller’s fine, I guess, but constantly doting on her? It’s exhausting. And we’re engaged, but she still won’t let me touch her, like I was from the 18th century. What if she’s a dead fish in bed once we’re married?”

“Besides, I’ve been spoiling her for so long, it’s about time I broke her a little, taught her who wears the pants in this relationship. Wouldn’t want her walking all over me once we’re married.”

I don’t remember how I left the Hayes’ mansion that day. All I remember is regaining consciousness to find myself getting an IV drip.

Coming to the bar with the insulated container was purely out of habit, pure instinct.

But that bucket of water just now splashed my dazed brain awake.

Jaxson can already openly use my humiliation as entertainment for Willow Jenkins. What about the future?

Maybe when you hurt enough, the pain just goes numb.

My hand drifted to my slowly beating heart. The water dripping from my dress, like my love for Jaxson, slowly pooled on the floor, then vanished completely.