1 The Pain of a Replacement On what was supposed to be our second anniversary, Sienna married someone else behind my back. The groom was my uncle, Greyson—the one who had vanished two years ago. When I demanded to know why, she looked at me with a face full of pity and said, “Your uncle has ALS. Marrying me is his last wish.” “He doesn’t have long,” she added softly. “Just… let him have this.” It was only then that I understood. For the past two years, I had been nothing but his substitute. Sienna’s first love, the one she could never have, had returned. The moment he reappeared, her affection swerved back to him without a moment’s hesitation. And me? I was just a convenient option, easily discarded. Later, just as Sienna wished, I disappeared from her life. But then, ignoring her husband’s worsening condition, she came back, begging me to love her one more time. … The wedding candy in my hand felt like a wad of cotton choking the air from my lungs. I couldn’t breathe. When reality finally crashed back in, I grabbed the arm of the nurse who had just handed me the small, ribboned box. “Who did you say is getting married?” The young nurse turned back, her face beaming. “Dr. Jiang! The groom’s name is Greyson Thorne. I heard it was love at first sight. I can’t believe they got married so quickly!” She bustled off to share the news with others, leaving me frozen in a cloud of cheerful gossip. I couldn’t hear a thing. Those two names—Sienna and Greyson—struck me like a bolt of lightning, rooting me to the spot. Sienna was the woman I had been secretly dating for two years. Greyson was my bastard of an uncle who had been missing for the last two. I never imagined their names would ever appear together, let alone linked by the word marriage. I don’t know how I made it home. The coffee table was covered with the gifts I had so carefully chosen. A cake, a bouquet of her favorite flowers, and the designer necklace she’d been wanting for months. Today was our anniversary. I was going to propose tonight. But before I even got home, I heard the news at the hospital. Staring at the symbols of my devotion, a pain like a thousand tiny cuts sliced through my heart, leaving me breathless. I’d called Sienna dozens of times since I found out. Every call went to voicemail. Finally, as dusk settled over the city, she answered. She used to hate it when I called her repeatedly, but this time her voice was bright, bubbling with excitement. “What’s up? You’ve called so many times.” So happy. Was it because she was getting married? A bitter laugh escaped my lips. I forced my voice to remain steady. “Sienna, what are you doing?” There was a pause. She sensed the shift in my tone. Because she was older, I usually called her by a pet name, never her full name unless something was wrong. After a few seconds of silence, she answered, her voice cool and composed. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m at work, of course.” “And do you know what today is?” The lie, so casual and clean over the phone, made my hand clench around my phone. A sob caught in my throat, but I forced it down. “What day is it? I’ve been so busy, I must have forgotten.” Her tone relaxed, as if she assumed I was just being clingy and pouty because she wasn’t home yet. Her attitude was the final blow. My heart turned to ice. “Sienna, do you remember that today is our second anniversary?” “Of course, of course, I remember. But I told you, I’m busy at work. Is that why you’ve been calling so much…?” Her voice held a note of smug certainty, as if she’d figured me out. But I cut her off, closing my eyes against a wave of despair. “So, even though you remembered, you still chose today to marry someone else? And not just anyone—Greyson!” “You found out already?” There was a flicker of disbelief in her voice, but she quickly regained her composure. “I’ll explain everything when I get home.” “No need. I can explain it to Kian myself.” A smooth, gentle voice drifted through the receiver. I recognized it instantly. Greyson. The sound of his voice brought back a flood of memories of everything he’d done, and my head began to pound with rage. “Kian, it’s me. It’s your uncle.” “Go to hell. You’re no uncle of mine.” The words exploded out of me, raw and unfiltered. “Wasn’t it enough that you killed Grandpa two years ago? Now you’ve come back to ruin my life too?” Silence. Then, I heard Greyson’s voice, thick with emotion. “I’m sorry, Kian. I never meant for any of this to happen.” “I’m sick,” he said, his voice cracking. “It’s ALS.” The words hit me like a physical blow. A diagnosis of ALS was a death sentence. But just as quickly, my suspicion returned. My uncle was a pathological liar. How could I know if this was just another one of his games? “I’ve reached the end of my life,” he continued, his voice heavy with pathos. “I’m alone, abandoned by everyone. And then I realized… Sienna was still waiting for me. She was the one woman I always wanted to marry. For my sake, since I’m dying… please, don’t blame her.” I wanted to laugh. “Did I cause you to be abandoned? You killed Grandpa with your bullshit, and then you just disappeared. Now you come back, steal my girlfriend, and act like you’re the victim? Isn’t this all your own damn fault?” “I’m sorry, Kian. I was wrong. I deserve this…” His voice was a perfect symphony of weakness and remorse, laced with just the right amount of tears. It was enough to make Sienna’s heart break. She snatched the phone from him. “Kian!” she yelled, her voice sharp with fury. “He’s a sick man! How can you say things like that to him? Don’t you see he’s already broken?” I nodded slowly to myself on the other end of the line. Greyson was broken. And what about me? The man who had stood by her side for two years? What the hell was I? My gaze fell on the table in front of me. The perfect cake, the vibrant flowers—all testaments to how much I cherished our relationship. And for what? For her to run straight into the arms of her first love, marrying him in secret on a day I was off work, while I was at home like a fool, planning a surprise. If I hadn’t decided to stop by the hospital to see her today, how much longer would she have kept me in the dark? Fine. It’s over. “Sienna,” I said, my voice hollow. “Congratulations on your wedding. We’re done.” 2 The Truth is a Thunderbolt I hung up and collapsed onto the sofa, but my heart refused to be still. Sienna was three years older than me. When I started my internship at the hospital two years ago, she was my supervising physician. The first time she saw me, her eyes filled with tears. At the time, she’d blamed it on the dry hospital air. Now I finally understood. It wasn't the air. It was because she was seeing Greyson’s ghost in my face. A tear traced a path down my cheek as I remembered the afternoon she’d told me it was love at first sight. “Kian, you have beautiful eyes. I think I’m falling for you. Will you go out with me?” Her words had stunned me. No girl had ever been so bold, so direct. Especially not my mentor. Without thinking, I turned and ran. A few steps later, guilt hit me. I walked back and apologized. “I’m sorry, Dr. Jiang. You just… caught me off guard.” Sienna had smiled and said she’d been too forward. Then she added, out of nowhere, “You’re very different from him.” All those little details I’d ignored came flooding back, and her reasons for pursuing me became painfully clear. All this time, I’d been a fool, a placeholder. Her passionate pursuit, her gentle affection—it was all because I had a face that looked like his. And yet, despite it all, she’d still had the nerve to have her wedding candy delivered to me. While I was at home, naively planning our anniversary. She was the one who chased me, but in the end, I was the one who fell in love, and I was the one who got hurt. Hours passed. Moonlight streamed through the window, bathing me in its cold light. I forced myself to get up. I gathered everything on the table—the cake, the flowers, the necklace, and the ring I was going to propose with—and threw it all into the dumpster downstairs. Afterward, I wandered the streets with no destination in mind. They say the lonelier you are, the more you seek out crowds. I found myself on a street lined with bars. Staring at the wall of liquor bottles, only one thought crossed my mind: drink until I forget. Under the dim lights, I downed glass after glass. A flush crept up my face, and the emotions I’d been suppressing finally broke free, spilling out as tears. As I reached for my thirteenth drink, a slender hand intercepted mine, plucking the glass from the bar. I looked up, my vision blurry. The figure in front of me swayed. I couldn’t make out her face. “Kian? What are you doing, drinking like this?” Her voice was soft, like a distant breeze. I stared at her for a long time, but my head was still spinning. “Who are you? Do I know you?” I mumbled, trying to grab the glass back, but she moved it out of my reach. Annoyed, I slid off the barstool, determined to reclaim my drink. “You’re already wasted, and you want more?” There was an edge to her voice. I didn’t understand why she cared how much I drank. I squinted, trying to focus on her face. A spark of recognition flashed in my mind. Helena. Two years ago, before Sienna and I got together, my father had forced me to go on a date with her. It was after that disastrous setup that I realized I had feelings for Sienna and finally accepted her confession. I never thought I’d run into Helena like this. My pathetic pride kicked in. The last thing I wanted was for my former blind date to see me in such a miserable state. I tried to leave, but the world was spinning too fast. Helena grabbed my shoulder to steady me. I stumbled, losing my balance, and fell backward. As I landed on a soft couch, the room tilted violently. The only thing that came into focus was Helena’s beautiful, bewitching face, leaning closer. “What’s wrong? Did your true love break up with you?” Her voice echoed in the fog of my mind. The alcohol was at its peak. Helena’s cool fingertips traced a line along my jaw, and I flinched, turning my head away. But she cupped my chin, forcing me to look at her. “Since your true love doesn’t want you,” she purred, a wicked smile playing on her lips, “why not give this arrangement a try?” Under the hazy, intimate lighting, her smile was intoxicating. I don’t know if it was the alcohol or the pheromones, but I was mesmerized. Sienna had betrayed me so completely. Why shouldn’t I be bold and try something new? Before I could answer, Helena’s lips were on mine. My eyes shot open. I meant to push her away, but she only deepened the kiss. What happened next felt inevitable. We spent the night in a suite above the bar. When I woke up the next morning, Helena was gone. I checked my phone and saw a flood of messages and missed calls from Sienna. My head was already throbbing from the hangover, and her long-winded essays made it even worse. In them, she poured out her feelings for Greyson. 【I just feel sorry for him now. He has this incurable disease, he doesn’t have much time left. But you’re different, Kian. What I feel for you is love. Real love. You have your whole life ahead of you. I’m just marrying him to be with him at the end, but you’re the one I truly love.】
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