Sweetheart Scheme

Dahlia's Point of View

After ending the call, I switched on all the lights in the house and started packing my belongings. I only placed the things that were truly mine in the suitcases.

I threw the necklaces, bracelets, bags, and dolls that Felix and Leon had given to me into the trash. Not even the couple figurines I had once cherished like a priceless treasure were spared. Just as I threw our last photo together into the bin, Felix—or rather, Leon—returned.

He behaved as he always did, pulling me in for a kiss the moment he stepped through the door. In the past, I used to believe that was his way of proving his love to me. Now, it was nothing more than a preposterous joke.

I shoved Leon away, putting distance between myself and his handsome face that was identical to Felix's. My heart felt like it was being repeatedly pierced by a thousand needles. The overwhelming pain made it impossible to breathe, and I couldn't stop my eyes from turning red.

"Babe, why are you crying?"

Leon pulled me into his embrace as if it was second nature. His voice was low and laced with temptation.

"It's alright. I know about your photos being spread online. I'll take care of it. As for the Bridal Queen Tournament, it doesn't matter if you can or can't participate, right? Why don't you focus on being Mrs. Evans instead?"

He was an expert at steering the conversation in a different direction and tried to distract me from the fact that he was the only one who had those explicit photos of me.

Grief festered in my chest. I had so many questions. I was just about to voice them out when he pressed his lips to my neck, his hot breath fanning across my skin.

"Babe, do you have any idea how turned on I am because of the way you look right now?"

In the past, I would have allowed myself to drown in his sweet words. Even if I didn't like it, I would always shyly respond. But now, I felt nothing but disgust.

Before I could push him away, I heard him murmuring, "Syl…"

I felt like I had been struck by lightning. It turned out that Felix wasn't the only one using me for his own gain. Even Leon, who spent every night tangled in bed with me, thought of me as Sylvia Yate when he was lost in the throes of passion.

A bone-deep chill began to spread from the soles of my feet to the crown of my head. I felt as if the blood in my veins had turned to ice.

A massive wave of humiliation and repulsion crashed over me, and I could no longer control the disgust roiling in my gut.

I gagged as I rushed into the bathroom.

"Babe, what's wrong? Are you feeling ill? Shall I call the doctor?"

Leon sounded worried and anxious as if I truly were the person he cared about the most. I used to believe that was the case before everything that happened today.

But in reality, those two had used my love to trap me and strip everything I had away from me.

I lowered my head as I opened the door, doing my best to hide the fact that I was shaking. "I'm just feeling a little under the weather. You should sleep in the study tonight."

I swiftly escaped to my room after saying my piece, closing the door behind me. I only allowed myself to collapse to the floor when I heard Leon leaving the house and driving away. Tears streamed down my face as I sucked in deep breaths.

Leon didn't return for the rest of the night. In the past, I would lose sleep worrying about whether he had gone out drinking. Now, I only wanted to leave.

I didn't expect to see Felix standing outside when I opened the door the next morning. He had brought breakfast with him.

"Weren't you always whining about wanting me to eat breakfast with you? Here, I bought it for you."

Felix had suddenly transformed back to the gentle man I knew before we got together.

For a moment, I was dazed. I couldn't help but wonder if the terrible things that had happened to me yesterday were just a dream. The person I loved couldn't be such a despicable person, right?

However, his next words immediately snapped me back to reality.

"Syl accidentally lost her competition draft. You should let her use yours."

So, this was the reason why Felix was uncharacteristically showing me affection during the day. It made sense—he had only gotten together with me because of Sylvia, after all. So it wasn't surprising that he was also willing to coax me for her sake.

I stared at the man I had once dedicated my heart and soul to. I thought my heart had turned numb, but I could still feel a subtle ache.

Felix frowned when I didn't respond. His voice was cold and cruel when he said, "You've already been disqualified anyway. Instead of just throwing your draft into the trash, you might as well give it to Syl. At least your design will still have a chance to shine on stage that way."

Didn't Felix know that I had specifically designed the dress for our wedding?

He had to know, but he just didn't care. Or more accurately, this had been his true goal all along when he started dating me.

I thought I heard something shattering when my heartache reached its peak. An overwhelming sense of relief flooded me. The rose-tinted glasses I used to see Felix and this farce of a relationship through had finally shattered.

I forced myself to smile and nodded. "Sure."