He's Not Worth It

I used to care deeply for Luke. As long as he asked, I was willing to give him anything and do anything for him.

However, he had opened my eyes.

Ever since Mandy returned to the country, everything Luke had done was for her. He had already forgotten that I was supposed to be the one spending the rest of his life with him.

My response angered Luke.

"What do you mean by that? You're not willing to? You'd better get this straight. Mandy is my best friend. You'd better make her happy, or I won't marry you!"

With that, he slammed the door and left.

Frustrated, I went downstairs to jog in the park.

After just one lap, my phone rang. It was Ethan.

Thinking of Ethan's perpetually grim face, I hesitated briefly before answering. The moment I picked up, he hit me with a verbal punch.

"Since you've already said yes, you're mine now. Try running away, and I'll drag you back myself!"

I stayed silent, and he continued, "Send me your ID. Let's get the marriage license. I don't want you backing out."

'Ethan, something is seriously wrong with you,' I thought.

In my mind, I pictured countless scenarios of how he might use our marriage to torment me.

In the end, all I could muster was, "See you at the wedding, Mr. Shaw."

The moment the words left my mouth, Luke's voice came from behind me. "You're inviting Ethan Shaw to our wedding? I won't allow it!"

He stared at me like I was the enemy.

"Anna, didn't I tell you to stay away from Ethan? His intentions toward you aren't pure. If you insist on inviting him to our wedding, we're done!"

Before I could respond, Luke had already issued his ultimatum.

Luke had always disliked Ethan and harbored some inexplicable hostility toward him. Early in our relationship, he even got jealous because Ethan and I used to exchange sharp remarks on social media. Eventually, I cut off contact with Ethan.

However, Luke suddenly claimed that Ethan had ulterior motives toward me.

I was about to press further when Mandy suddenly leaned against Luke's shoulder.

"Luke, you're hurting me..."

Only then did I notice their fingers intertwined as they strolled together. Luke coughed awkwardly but made no move to withdraw his hand.

Mandy looked at Luke affectionately before turning to me with a feigned apology.

"Anna, I'm so sorry. Luke and I were just practicing the wedding process. Please don't pay us any mind. I won't bring up how you had me beaten up or how you desecrated my mother's grave, but please don't hurt Luke. True love can't withstand such tests."

I did not want to watch her act any longer and turned to leave.

"If you're so eager, I'll make sure you're beaten up again tonight and have your mother's grave dug up again!"

Slap!

Luke struck me hard across the face and yelled, "Anna, how can you be so vicious?!"

His face was dark. His chest was heaving with anger.

'Vicious?'

One word from Mandy and he believed her, yet five years of my loyalty meant nothing.

A surge of fury rose in me, and I was about to confront Luke when Mandy stepped between us.

"Anna, please, I'll return Luke to you once the wedding is over. Please spare the people around me, and don't hurt Luke anymore."

She spoke as if she were about to kneel before me.

Luke quickly wrapped his arm around Mandy's waist, stopping her from kneeling. He glared at me and said, "Anna, stop using your privileged status to step on others! You know how much I hate that. If you still want to marry me, stop causing trouble!"

With that, he warned me to stay away from them until the wedding.

The next day, unexpectedly, Luke reached out to me first.

He started with harsh accusations.

"Anna, did you really dig up Mandy's mother's grave? I didn't think you could stoop so low!"

Confused, I immediately called my assistant to investigate. What they found shocked me deeply.

Mandy's mother was not dead.