A month before the wedding, Vivienne Hartwell found out that her fiancé, Sebastian Langley, had brought a little side piece back to the country.

She had been there to drop off some documents. Through the half-open door, Sebastian was chatting with his buddy. He had an unlit cigarette between his fingers, and the smile in his voice was impossible to miss.

"Keep it quiet. Amber doesn’t like the smell of smoke on me, so now I can only satisfy the craving in my head."

Sebastian had always been a heavy smoker. It wasn’t like Vivienne had never told him to cut back before, but he’d always brushed it off, totally unconcerned, like he had nothing to worry about. Because of him, she’d been forced to breathe in plenty of secondhand smoke too.

And now, for another woman, he was actually starting to care whether he smelled like cigarettes.

Inside, Owen Davenport said something else.

"Next month is your wedding with your fiancée. Take it easy, man."

The voices inside kept going. Then Vivienne heard Sebastian’s confident, calm reply.

"Relax. She won’t make trouble in front of Xiaxia."

"In this life, being loved by someone with that kind of heat—real, wholehearted love—that’s rare in itself. Suddenly, I just couldn’t bring myself to push something that beautiful away."

"To me, Amber is like a rose in full bloom—burning, vivid, all heat and passion. But she’s not the kind of woman you marry."

"Xiaxia is different. Xiaxia is a gentle magnolia."

"All these years, she’s taken great care of my parents. My grandmother likes her a lot too. She’s the perfect kind of woman to marry, a good wife, a good mother. With her around, I never have to worry about anything at home."

Vivienne stood there in a daze, hearing every word. Tears slid silently down from the corners of her eyes. Her right hand started shaking so badly it was almost out of control. She frowned, turned around, and strode away.

Over the years, Sebastian’s position in the Langley family had only risen higher and higher.

There had never been a shortage of women chasing after him, trying to get close, throwing themselves at him.

Vivienne had thought about it before—thought that one day, maybe Sebastian might not be able to resist the temptations outside.

But she had never imagined that woman would be Amber Colton.

Vivienne reached the elevator. Just as she lifted her trembling hand to press the button, someone behind her leaned in first and pressed it for her.

"Thank you," she said on instinct.

A crisp, sugary voice rang out right beside her.

"No need to thank me, Sister Vivienne."

Vivienne Hartwell jerked her head up.

Amber Colton was standing behind her, lips slightly curved, smiling with that same pure, harmless look. "Sister Vivienne, is your hand okay?"

Vivienne stared at her. Her chest rose and fell hard. A few ugly memories flashed through her mind, sharp and fast. In the next second, she lifted her hand and slapped Amber hard across the face.

"Not really. But hitting you? Yeah, I’ve got plenty of strength for that."

She had put almost all her force into that slap. Amber’s face swelled up right away.

After the hit, Vivienne stood there tense from head to toe, fully on guard, waiting for Amber to rush at her and claw at her like she had two years ago.

But Amber didn’t move.

"I’m sorry, Sister Vivienne. I know I was wrong. I won’t dare do it again. Please forgive me."

Amber dropped to her knees and kept bowing her head, apologizing over and over.

Just then, the office door opened.

Sebastian Langley saw the commotion, his expression instantly darkening. He strode over in a few quick steps.

"Are you okay?" He stopped at Vivienne’s side, his voice carrying concern.

Vivienne said nothing. She only looked at his face in silence, and a wave of nausea churned in her stomach.

Amber was still crying as she apologized. "Mr. Langley, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have shown up in front of Sister Vivienne. Even if she hit me, I deserve it. I can take it."

The way Vivienne looked at him made Sebastian feel guilty for no reason. He avoided her gaze and turned to Amber instead.

Amber started knocking her head even harder against the floor. It didn’t take long before the skin on her forehead split.

Irritation flashed through Sebastian’s eyes. He snapped coldly, "Enough. Get out."

Amber seemed terrified of him. She scrambled to her feet and ran off in a clumsy panic.

Vivienne stayed where she was.

She saw Sebastian’s gaze sweep across that small smear of red on the floor.

After ten years together, she knew him too well.

He was worried.

She lowered her eyes and let the stabbing ache in her chest spread, bit by bit.

"Why is she here?"

Sebastian Langley reached out, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her into his arms.

"Owen brought her in. Said she could learn at the company."

Owen Davenport—the same buddy who had been laughing and chatting with Sebastian in the office just now.

The moment he heard Sebastian say that, he walked over at once and jumped in smoothly.

"Sis-in-law, she's my distant cousin. I really did bring her here to learn the ropes. I had no idea you two had bad blood before this. Don't worry, when I get back, I'll definitely give her a proper talking-to."

A trace of mockery flashed through Vivienne Hartwell's eyes.

Sure enough. Cheating men all came with the same standard package—brothers around them who were absolute pros at covering things up.

"Then take her away."

Owen looked awkward for a second.

Sebastian's hand around her waist tightened without him even seeming to realize it.

"Owen and I still have a very important project to work on. We can't mess up our relationship over something like this."

Vivienne said nothing. The only thing left in her eyes was disappointment.

Owen clearly had zero interest in getting dragged any deeper into this mess, so he casually made up an excuse and slipped away.

Very soon, the hallway was left with only Vivienne Hartwell and Sebastian Langley.

Vivienne still didn't speak. She just kept looking at him, that gaze so sharp it was like she wanted to see straight through him.

Sebastian's patience finally hit bottom.

"Xiaxia, stop making a scene for no reason. People need to move on. You can't keep clinging to what happened in the past."

Vivienne slowly lifted her right hand and revealed the scar in her palm.

"It was her, two years ago. She was the one who wouldn’t let me go."

Sebastian Langley suddenly swung his hand up and smacked away Vivienne Hartwell’s raised hand.

"Enough." His voice was cold and sharp. "Back then, she cut your hand. Then she spent two years suffering overseas. Just now she even hit her head. You two are even now. I’ve got a project meeting later, so you should head back first."

Vivienne’s hand, hanging by her side, trembled slightly.

It felt like some invisible hand had grabbed her heart and squeezed hard, the pain spreading through her whole body, thread by thread, along every vein.

The man who used to care so much about every little shift in her mood now acted like he saw nothing at all. His face was dark, his expression flat, and he turned around and strode off without another glance.

Vivienne braced herself against the wall, forcing herself to stay on her feet.

Then her phone rang.

She took it out and answered. A stern male voice came through the receiver.

"Have you thought it through? About returning to the Hartwell family."

Vivienne tightened her grip on the phone and said quietly, "Next month."

The other end didn’t let that slide. The voice turned even firmer.

"I need an exact date."

Vivienne paused for a second before answering, "May twentieth."

The day she and Sebastian were supposed to get married.