Chapter 1
Rachel took a leisurely sip of coffee before looking up at me.
“Are you sure? If you take the money, I’ll never allow Lucas to marry you.”
The scene before me was similar to five years ago. But back then, I had unhesitatingly refused Rachel’s check.
I had declared confidently: “Lucas and I love each other, so my grandfather and I won’t charge for treating him!”
Lost in thought for a few seconds, I came back to the present:
“Don’t worry, once I get the money, I plan to break up with Lucas.”
Hearing this, Rachel didn’t waste any more words.
“Give me your account details. I’ll transfer the money to you shortly.”
As I was leaving, Rachel added one more reminder:
“You know Lucas’s personality. If you suddenly bring up breaking up, he definitely won’t agree.”
I paused for a moment, nodded, and left without another word.
When I got home, Lucas was busy in the kitchen.
Seeing this scene, I suddenly remembered how clumsy he had been in the kitchen a few years ago.
Back then, I never could have imagined that the famous heir to the Wilson family would one day learn hundreds of different dishes just for me.
Of course, I also couldn’t have imagined that this man who seemed to only have eyes for me had never actually thought about having a future with me.
“Where did you go so early? Are you still mad at me?” Lucas put the food on the table and came over to hug me.
“I was in a bad mood last night. Let’s eat first, and then we’ll go try on wedding dresses this afternoon.”
If I hadn’t overheard his conversation with his friend, I would have happily given Lucas a kiss right now.
After hesitating for a few seconds between refusing and agreeing, I decided to give myself one last dream.
So I softly replied, “Okay.”
However, my dream was shattered halfway through.
As soon as I put on the wedding dress, Lucas barely glanced at it before saying he had an urgent matter at the company and had to leave.
Just after he left, Rachel sent me an address with a message:
“In case you don’t know what reason to use for breaking up, I’ll help you out.”
In all the years I’ve been with Lucas, I haven’t met his mother Rachel very often.
But I’ve always known that if Lucas and I got married, she would be a pretty good mother-in-law.
Now that she knows Lucas and I won’t have a future together, she’s efficiently stepped in to start arranging blind dates for him.
Unfortunately, I failed to catch Lucas in the act of going on a blind date.
Because on the way there, I stopped to help a pedestrian who suddenly fell ill.
After taking them to the hospital, I no longer had the energy to confront Lucas.
So I went back to the place Lucas and I had lived for several years.
When Lucas returned, he saw me packing my things.
“Ivy, I’m sorry. Let’s try on wedding dresses in a couple of days, okay?”
Rachel, probably afraid I’d change my mind, had been sending me photos of Lucas with his blind date all afternoon.
They looked perfectly matched, smiling and chatting away.
I was calmer than I expected. While packing our couple items into a bag, I replied noncommittally:
“We’ll see.”
Lucas wanted to say something, but his phone chimed, distracting him.
When he looked back, he had changed the subject:
“Adam invited us over for a bit. Let’s go, and when we get back, I’ll help you pack.”
Now wasn’t the right time to have it out with him. I had no choice but to go along.
As soon as we entered the private room, I sensed something was off about the atmosphere.
Adam, who usually joked around and called me “little sister-in-law” as soon as he saw me, kept glancing at a woman sitting in the corner.
Following his gaze, in the flickering light, the woman’s face perfectly matched Lucas’s blind date from that afternoon.