After chasing Julian Blackwood for ten years, I finally got tired. I gave up on him and got together with Asher Vance, who liked me. Asher set off fireworks all night across the city and bought a private island to propose to me. But on the eve of our wedding, he disappeared. When I found him, I heard him sneer to his friends: "I only chased Harper to spite Julian." "Now that I have her, it's actually pretty boring." "But I'm not satisfied yet. So, wouldn't it be fun to leave her at the altar and humiliate her?" So, I ran away first, making him the laughingstock of the city. Later, I heard that the proud heir of the Vance family turned New York upside down, but couldn't find his missing bride. 01 A month before the wedding, Asher Vance disappeared. I searched the entire city but couldn't find him. On the seventh day of his disappearance, I received news that he was in Miami. I flew there overnight. On a yacht, I finally saw him. Just as I was about to knock on the door, I heard his sneer: "I only chased Harper to spite Julian." "Now that I have her, it's actually pretty boring." I stopped in my tracks. He didn't sound drunk; on the contrary, he sounded very sober. So, very cruel words came out of his mouth: "And after tasting her, I realized she's quite dull." Ambiguous laughter erupted around him. "As expected of Lord Vance, taking down the Ice Queen." Asher seemed to enjoy this compliment and continued: "Don't look at how desperate she was chasing Julian before, she's actually frustratingly pure. It's a pity..." "Pity what?" Asher slowly exhaled a puff of smoke: "Pity that although I was her first man, I wasn't the first man she loved." "She loved Julian for ten years. Who knows if she's cleared her heart out yet?" "If it weren't for my deadly rivalry with Julian, thinking of chasing Harper to disgust him, I wouldn't bother playing the role of the silently guarding devoted man." Someone teased: "You've been dating for three years now. Why is Lord Vance getting sentimental?" Asher looked annoyed, his voice cold: "Just because I chased her for so long, I feel unsatisfied." Someone in the crowd continued: "I heard she's looking for you everywhere, going crazy. You've been gone for so many days, is it okay?" Asher took a drag of his cigarette, exhaling smoke with a scoff: "Running away at the altar to embarrass her, wouldn't that be fun?" I saw no guilt, pity, or love in his expression. Only the satisfaction of revenge. Only the feeling of finally reaching this day. My fingernails dug into my palms, my heart felt like it was being pricked by needles, suffocatingly painful. I always thought Asher was my salvation and my destination. I only agreed to him after ensuring my feelings were not just gratitude, but like. That day, he was so happy he set off fireworks across the city. After three years together, he bought an island in my name to propose, filling the sky with sky lanterns. I thought this was love, romance. I didn't expect it to be a play he put on to take revenge on Julian. So, those ten years of deep affection and help, were they all an act? 02 In a trance, I recalled some past events. At twelve, I was brought back to the Sutton family from a small southern town, uneasy, inferior, and timid. Back then, Julian only blocked bullying for me once, and I fell hopelessly in love with him. I chased him until everyone knew. But he was disgusted with me to the extreme. Later, I finally found it utterly meaningless, and I gave up on him. I saw Asher, who had been silently guarding me. That night, it was raining heavily, and he held an umbrella for me the whole time. He said: "Harper, I don't ask you to see me. I only ask that you be free and follow your heart from now on." How ridiculous. I swept my heart clean to welcome Asher's arrival. When I fell step by step into his tenderness. When I started fantasizing about a sweet future with him. I didn't expect to give him a chance to execute a lingering death on my heart. Cut by cut. Blood dripping. My nose stung, and uncontrollable pain filled my eyes. A tear fell, quickly wiped away by me. The voices inside continued, all giving him ideas: "To take revenge on a woman, naturally, you should make her fall from the height of happiness into the abyss. Isn't that more interesting?" "Right, so Lord Vance, you should go back. Go back and accompany her to choose wedding dresses, send out invitations together. Act like nothing happened, then on the wedding day, leave her alone in humiliation. I bet Harper will go crazy." All disgusting laughter. I suppressed the nausea, waiting for Asher's reply. How I wanted to hear him say, "Stop joking, I love Harper." Or, "That's going too far for a girl." But after a long silence. I heard Asher agree in a deep voice: "Mm, that's a good idea. Let's do that." Boundless anger crushed me, almost suffocating me. I forced a pale smile, but tears fell recklessly. Asher, you want to play, right? Then I'll play along. I also really want to see your expression on the wedding day when you find out I ran away. 03 I erased the traces of my trip to Miami and returned to the apartment I shared with Asher. I took out the gifts he gave me over the years and destroyed them one by one. Strange. I wasn't thinking about anything, so why were there so many tears? I once heard a saying. Heartbreak is like rheumatism; on sunny days, it's fine. But on rainy nights, it hurts to the bone. Maybe this is just my withdrawal reaction. I got up and laid the custom-made wedding dress flat on the floor. Expressionless, I used scissors to make a tear. I needed to remind myself. Feelings are like this. Once there is a crack, no matter how you mend it, it can never go back to the beginning. After cleaning everything up, I put these things in the study, which Asher rarely entered. Lying in bed sleepless, scrolling through short videos, I saw a push notification from someone I might know. The name was [The One Who Loves Ah-Yan]. Like a ghost possessing me, I clicked in. It was a record of a girl's secret crush on a man. The latest one, her location was in Miami. Caption: [The man I've liked for ten years is getting married next month. I want to summon the courage to confess. Cheer for me.] In her picture, I saw a familiar hand. Wearing a wedding ring on the ring finger. That was Asher. 04 I didn't wait for news from Asher, but received a call from Julian. "Guess who I met in Miami?" "Julian, I'm not in the mood. Stop changing numbers to call me." Just as I was about to hang up, I heard the suppressed gloating in his voice: "Harper, why do you think Asher disappeared for so long? Don't you know? He doesn't want to marry you. He minds that you chased me." "He only approached you to take revenge on me. He's not worth entrusting your life to." "What exactly are you trying to say?" I was getting impatient. "Harper, at least besides you liking me for ten years, there haven't been other girls around me..." I sat up, raising my voice: "Julian, you're doing this on purpose, right?" "Five years have passed, and you're still so keen on sowing discord between him and me." "But let me tell you, no matter what, this is my choice. I accept the bet and the loss, and I will never turn back." Julian was silent for a moment, answering irrelevantly: "I sent you something. You'll be interested." After hanging up, I received a video. Under dim lights, a girl and Asher stood face to face. He exhaled a smoke ring, his expression as lazy as ever. Amidst cheers, the girl stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips. And he did not dodge. The video ended there. I opened the girl's social media account. The status had been updated: [How can this not count as success?] The picture was of the two kissing. I felt nauseous, ran to the bathroom, and hugged the toilet, retching for a long time. Only then did I remember I hadn't eaten all day. What could I throw up? At this moment, my stomach cramped with pain. I forced myself to sleep on the bed, curled up in a ball. Suddenly, I remembered when I first started dating Asher, I wanted to see the stars from the mountain top at midnight. He didn't ask a single question, indulging my little whim, driving me to the mountain top overnight. In the cool midnight air, he held me gently, his warmth transferring to me. He leaned down and asked carefully: "The moonlight is so beautiful, Harper, can I kiss you?" We can never go back. Sleeping groggily until midnight, I heard movement in the living room. Cold sweat broke out, and I had no strength to get up. The next second, the bedroom light turned on. The blinding light made it impossible to open my eyes. I heard Asher's anxious voice: "Harper, what's wrong?"
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