"Bianca, why couldn't it be me marrying into the DeLuca family?"
I stared ahead, my expression unmoving.
Of course it could be her.
If she had the ability to take that place, then she could have it.
"Well then," I replied coolly, "let me wish you two a happy marriage in advance."
Then I hung up.
For a moment, I was tempted to block her number completely. Maybe then she would stop calling me just to flaunt how thoroughly she had invaded my life.
But just as I was about to do it, my finger slipped, and I accidentally opened her social media feed.
The next second, my entire body went cold.
Viviana had stolen my commission sketch.
And she had submitted it to a competition under her own name.
That sketch was not just any design. It was the piece I had created as a birthday gift for Adrian, a hand-drawn original that had taken me weeks of late nights at the atelier.
My hands trembled with anger.
There was only one explanation.
Adrian had given it to her behind my back.
I forced myself to breathe. Again and again, I tried to calm the violent pounding in my chest. My thumb pressed hard against the inside of my sleeve, worrying the fabric until the stitching bit into skin.
Then I took out my copyright certificate, logged onto the competition website, and filed a plagiarism report against Viviana's entry.
After everything was submitted, Gia called.
She was my atelier partner, and her voice was full of confusion the moment the call connected.
"Bianca, what's going on? Why are you suddenly pulling your money out?"
Gia had always been a mutual friend of mine and Viviana's, but unlike me, she had never liked Viviana much.
This time, I did not hide anything from her.
I told her everything.
The secret wedding.
Adrian's lies.
Viviana stealing my design.
And the fact that I was leaving soon to get married.
By the time I finished, Gia was furious.
"This Viviana is unbelievable!" she snapped. "Using her illness as an excuse to steal someone else's man? How shameless can she be?"
Then she added angrily, "I'm telling you, she's probably faking it!"
"I'm so angry right now. I'm going to call her later and tear her apart."
Hearing her defend me so fiercely, I felt a faint warmth spread through my chest.
But I only sighed.
"Forget it," I said. "It's not worth it. My wedding is happening soon. I just want to move on."
The words had barely left my mouth when I heard footsteps behind me.
Then Adrian's voice rang out, cold and sharp.
"Wedding?"
He stood there, staring at me.
"What wedding?"
I ended the call and turned around.
Adrian was standing not far behind me.
For some reason, there was a faint trace of nervousness in his eyes, as if he had heard something he was not supposed to hear.
A thought suddenly flashed through my mind.
I looked at him and said casually, "I just heard some gossip."
Adrian's gaze tightened slightly.
I continued, my tone light, as if I were only talking about someone else's story. "A man secretly married another woman behind his girlfriend's back. My friend said he was pathetic. His girlfriend had always believed she was the one he loved most."
The moment I finished speaking, Adrian's expression changed.
To my surprise, he reacted almost instantly, his voice rising with rare agitation.
"What does your friend know? How can she judge him like that?"
He frowned, as if he were defending himself rather than some stranger.
"What if that wedding was only to fulfill the final wish of someone who was terminally ill? What if there was nothing else behind it?"
I stared at him quietly.
So that was how he saw it.
A secret wedding. Church papers signed behind my back. Ten years of love trampled into dust.
And in his eyes, it was nothing more than a noble act of kindness.
Suddenly, I found it all absurd.
So absurd that I almost wanted to laugh.
Ten years.
I had spent ten whole years loving him, waiting for him, believing in him.
And in the end, all of it was worth less than Viviana's so-called final wish.
Perhaps Adrian sensed the shift in my mood. His expression softened, and he stepped forward, pulling me tightly into his arms.
"Bianca," he murmured, his voice low and anxious, "what's been going on with you lately?"
His arms tightened around me.
"We've been together for so many years. Don't you know how much I love you?"
Love.
That word sounded so ridiculous coming from his mouth.
He continued, almost coaxing me, "Once Viviana's situation is settled, we'll get married, okay?"
As he spoke, his hand slowly slid toward the hem of my shirt.
