Chapter 2

That thin sheet of medical report felt like a resounding slap across my face before it drifted slowly onto the expensive Persian carpet.

The once-bustling, luxurious banquet hall fell into a dead silence.

Hundreds of eyes pinned onto me like blinding spotlights.

On the big screen, the slideshow of our romantic memories had been forcefully replaced by a glaring medical document.

HPV Test Result: High-Risk Positive.

The words, highlighted in blood-red, were magnified a hundred times, burning straight into my retinas like a red-hot iron.

Christine stood in front of me. Her exquisite, high-society face, which she usually took so much pride in, was now distorted with disgust and rage.

Holding the microphone, her voice echoed through the high-end sound system to every corner of the hall.

"Ethan, do you have no shame?"

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was dripping with venom, each word aiming to pin me to the wall of shame.

"I trusted you so much, and this is how you repay me?"

"Carrying a disease like that and still dreaming of marrying me? Do you take me for a trash bin?!"

The crowd erupted.

"Oh my god, he looks like such a decent guy. I can't believe he has an STD..."

"How messy must his private life be? That's disgusting!"

"Poor Christine. She almost married a liar."

Countless looks of disdain, ridicule, and malice pierced my back, locking me onto this stage of humiliation.

I clenched my fists, my knuckles turning white. I humiliatedly bent down to pick up the paper.

I didn’t understand. I had barely even held another woman's hand. How could I have this disease? There had to be a mistake!

Just as my fingers were about to touch the paper, a hand gripped my shoulder.

It was Caleb.

My college roommate, my best friend, and the man who was supposed to be my best man today.

He shielded me, turning around to yell at Christine:

"Christine, have you lost your mind? You know what kind of guy Ethan is!"

"This report must be fake! How dare you humiliate him like this in public!"

The scent of my newly opened designer cologne wafted off him. Usually, I found the smell refreshing, but right now, it made my chest feel incredibly tight.

"Ethan, don't worry. The hospital must have messed up!"

He turned back and whispered to me. His voice sounded anxious, but beneath it lay a faint, almost imperceptible trace of smugness.

I gripped his shoulder, grinding my teeth in what I thought was gratitude.

Then, a warm breath brushed past my ear.

A wicked, cheerful voice—one that only I could hear—exploded in my head.

[What a loser. Look at that pale face.]

[Of course the hospital didn’t mess up. I paid a fortune to have my name swapped with yours on that report.]

[Everything that belonged to you, I've already used.]

[Your razor, your glass, and... your high-and-mighty fiancée.]

[You'll never get to experience how wild she was in my bed last night.]

[The spot of the Miller family's son-in-law belongs only to me.]

In that single second, my blood froze into solid ice.

I stared daggers at Caleb's hand on my shoulder.

On his wrist was a brand-new mechanical watch.

It was a limited-edition piece Christine had gifted me for my birthday last month.

I had been too careful to even wear it, keeping it locked in my drawer. Caleb had asked to borrow it "just to show off at a party," and he had never returned it.

The engagement ring on my finger pressed hard against my bone, sending a sharp, stinging pain through my hand.

I shoved Caleb away with all my might.

The force caught him completely off guard, and he tumbled onto the stage with a sharp gasp.

"Ethan... what are you doing?" He looked up at me, his face a perfect picture of shock and hurt.

[What is this psycho doing? That hurt like hell!]

The voice in my head chimed in again, crystal clear and brutally sharp.

I wasn’t crazy. I had just, finally, woken up.

I coldly swept my gaze across the whispering crowd, before letting my eyes rest on Christine's hypocritical face.

"The wedding is off. Christine, you disgust me."

With that, I ripped the boutonniere off my suit, turned around, and walked out of the hall without looking back.