Nothing Lasts for Eternity

The next day.

Halfway through the birthday party, Nelson and Irene announced the date for their wedding. Only then did Sinead realize that today was not just Nelson's birthday, but it was also their engagement party.

Thunderous applause filled the hall as everyone offered their congratulations.

Sinead sat alone in a corner as she watched them kiss with faces glowing with happiness, and she felt nothing at all.

When it was time for the toasts, Irene walked over with her arm around Nelson's, smiling as she raised her glass. "Ms. Green, since you and Nelson are so close, will you be my bridesmaid on the day of our marriage?"

"Sorry, I already have plans for that day. I can't make it to the wedding," Sinead said.

Sinead's clean refusal made Nelson's expression change on the spot. He gave her a cold look, his tone especially stiff. "Doesn't matter if she comes or not, as long as the gift shows up."

Sinead gave a small nod, her voice light. "Don't worry. With our history, I'll definitely send a big gift."

Her tone was sincere, almost as if she were truly giving them her blessing.

Thinking of what he had heard in the store a few days earlier, something complicated flickered through Nelson's eyes.

Just then, a joyful tune played by the piano began, and Nelson led Irene onto the dance floor since he didn't know what else to say.

The spotlight followed their graceful figures as they danced, light as butterflies dancing through the crowd.

Watching how affectionate they were, the guests around them murmured in envy and praised them endlessly.

"They really are a perfect match for each other, but getting engaged after just over a month... Isn't that a little rushed?"

"What do you know? Nelson has liked Irene for years. Now that he has finally won her over, of course, he wants to make it official as soon as he can."

Sinead leaned back against the sofa and watched in silence, her thoughts in chaos.

Nelson had been the one to teach her ballroom dancing. Back then, they had no rhythm together as she kept stepping on his feet in high heels.

He never got mad. Instead, he had simply leaned in with a wicked grin and murmured in her ear, "Every time you step on me, you owe me a kiss."

That day, Sinead had learned how to dance.

By the end, his feet were painted in bruises, and her lips were swollen from his kisses.

She had thought he liked her too, that she already stood where a girlfriend should be in his heart. But after Irene came back, Sinead finally saw how ridiculous her assumptions had been as she watched with her own eyes how he had bent over backward to please another woman.

Just as she was lost in her thoughts, someone came over and bowed with his hand extended, asking her for a dance. She didn't want to, but the man kept insisting. With everyone else already on the floor, coupled with the fact that she did not want to spoil the mood, she agreed in the end.

The two strangers matched each other surprisingly well, their steps slow and smooth to the gentle music. The warmth of the man's palm seemed to carry a quiet spell, and she relaxed and let herself enjoy the dance little by little.

It was the first time Nelson had seen Sinead smile that night.

His expression darkened at once.

His eyes, filled with clear displeasure, drifted to her repeatedly to the point he missed several beats during the dance. Noticing his distraction, Irene glanced sideways at him, something flickering in her gaze.

When the music shifted, everyone on the floor switched partners.

Sinead froze for a moment when she suddenly realized that the hand taking hers belonged to Nelson, and she lowered her eyes. They had only just completed a spin when everything went wrong.

The crystal chandelier overhead came loose and crashed down with a sharp snap.

Nelson instinctively let go of Sinead's hand and lunged toward Irene, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her out of the danger zone.

Sinead barely managed to steady herself as she was left where she stood, and the falling chandelier barely skimmed past her shoulder and sliced a long gash across her hand.

Blood flowed out immediately, soaking her white dress a vivid, scarlet red.

It felt like fire in her every nerve. She could not help but let out a cry as her face grew paler.

In just a few steps away, Nelson held Irene close, comforting her as he escorted her out.

He did not even look at Sinead even once…