Part 1The Runaway Bride's Awakening

I was tangled up with Arthur for seven years, only for him to fall in love with my adopted sister.

Exhausted, I finally gave up and decided to be with Liam, the man who had been relentlessly pursuing me.

Liam loved me to the bone. He got into fights for me, street raced for me, crawled up the steps of a holy mountain on his knees to pray for my health, and even won the world's only "Heart of the Ocean" necklace at auction just to give it to me.

But, seven days before our wedding, I overheard someone ask him:

"Liam, you don't even love Chloe. Why put on this fake act? Why sacrifice your whole life to marry her?"

Liam's face was hidden in the shadows. He toyed with the ring in his hand, his tone freezing cold:

"As long as I'm alive, I will never allow Chloe to hurt Mia."

Mia. The name of my adopted sister.

With a trembling hand, I answered the call from my professor and finally agreed to go abroad for further studies.

Later, I heard the wedding was a complete disaster. Arthur and Liam got into a vicious brawl, all just to find the whereabouts of the runaway bride.

* * *

When I stood outside the doors of that bar, it felt like all the air had been sucked from my lungs.

If I hadn't heard Liam say those words with my own two ears...

I would never have believed that his love for me was nothing but a massive, elaborate lie.

"But Liam, you've loved Mia silently for so long. Are you really content just being her secret knight in shining armor?"

"My feelings for Mia have nothing to do with her."

"You insisted on getting married on the exact same day as Arthur... is it because you're afraid Chloe will try to steal her sister's man?"

"Every time I look at Mia, my heart skips a beat. I'm terrified Chloe hasn't let go of her past with him either.

"She and Arthur were tangled up for years. Even though she gave me her first time and gave up her career for me, it's far from enough.

"The only way to truly protect Mia is to keep Chloe tied to my side forever, like a dog."

Not long ago, Liam rented an entire luxury cruise ship just to propose to me.

He knelt on the deck, kissed my hand, and cried uncontrollably.

He almost passed out from the overwhelming emotion.

I thought he loved me so deeply that he was overcome with gratitude that our five-year relationship was finally resulting in marriage.

I was wrong.

He was celebrating the fact that he had finally locked me in a cage, ensuring I could never hurt Mia ever again.

It's hard to describe exactly how I felt in that moment.

After what felt like an eternity, I clutched my agonizingly painful chest and stumbled out into the torrential rain.