Chapter 1

1

My fiancé kept a little bird in a gilded cage at his private estate.

She looked eighty percent like I did when I was a girl.

He bought her the most expensive diamonds and flew her around the world on private jets.

Yet, he never permitted her to cross my path.

Everyone in our social circle knew I was his untouchable treasure.

He once hired four bodyguards just for my cat because I said I was afraid of it getting lost.

But this time, the little bird grew bold under his favor.

She learned how to peck.

She swapped our wedding slideshow for a video of her and my fiancé in bed.

"Miss Sterling, I know I am just a plaything," she whispered in the video.

"But to see me, Silas swapped your vitamins for sedatives."

"While you were busy planning this wedding, Silas increased the dosage just to keep you asleep."

"He did it all so he could linger in my bed a little longer."

At that moment, I realized the boy who once promised me the moon had rotted away.

I wiped my tears and dialed a number I hadn't touched in years.

"In seven days, I want to turn our wedding into a funeral," I said.

"I want to make sure he never finds me again."

...

The moment I hung up, Silas Sinclair burst into the room.

His footsteps were hurried.

"Shay, did I do something wrong? Why did you sell the gown I designed for you?"

His voice trembled with a manufactured hurt.

He held up several dresses he had apparently bought back at a premium.

I didn't answer.

I just looked at him quietly.

Every time Silas cheated, he would personally design a gown for me.

Counting the one he started for our anniversary three days ago, there were twelve in total.

I let out a soft, cold laugh.

Once, I treated these dresses like sacred treasures.

I thought this was his way of expressing love as a world-class designer.

Now I knew they were just his way of paying off his guilt.

"I just felt they were out of style," I said calmly.

I didn't let a single crack show in my voice.

Silas frowned, pulling me into a tight embrace.

"Shay, is everything really okay?"

I shook my head, and he finally let out a sigh of relief.

He whispered a tender vow into my ear.

"Don't worry. No matter how the world changes, my love for you will stay the same."

I curled my lips into a smile but gave no reply.

Silas dropped the subject and put on an apron.

He started acting like the devoted husband he always pretended to be.

But before the first dish even hit the pan, his phone rang.

I watched him through the kitchen doorway and raised my voice.

"Silas, someone is calling you."

"Answer it for me, babe," he called back instinctively.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the caller ID labeled "Client."

I slid the screen to answer.

"Silas, when are you coming to see me? I miss you~"

A sweet, cloying voice dripped from the speaker.

Silas came charging out of the kitchen, spatula in hand.

He realized his reaction was too extreme and forced a guilty smile.

"I just wanted to see if it was a work emergency," he stammered.

I handed him the phone with an indifferent expression.

"I just picked up. She hasn't said much yet."

He grabbed the phone, his face pale with panic when he saw the screen.

He killed the call immediately.

"Shay, you really didn't hear anything?"

I nodded slowly.

"If you're busy with work, go ahead. I'll just grab a bite on my own."

This was exactly what he wanted to hear.

He nodded and gave me a quick, distracted hug.

"There's a crisis at the studio. I'll handle it and be right back. Eat something good."

I didn't call out his lie.

The moment the door closed, rain began to pour outside.

My phone buzzed with a new message.

"Miss Sterling, even though you're getting married, Silas will still leave you for one word from me."

"He's driving through a storm just to find me."

At that moment, my heart finally turned to ash.

Silas's choice had already given me his answer.

I stood up and pulled up my contacts.

I sent the final message.

"In seven days, help me stage a disappearance. I've decided how I want to die."

Seven days later would be my wedding.

It would also be the day I left him forever.