Three Steps from Having Nothing

The giant letters shimmered in dazzling colors across the night sky.

I had to admit, Victor had put a lot of thought into this. These fireworks must have cost at least 100 thousand dollars.

What a lavish spender he was.

Beside me, Victor's assistant, Gary Roth, turned pale. He secretly observed my reaction, afraid I might flip the table at any moment.

But I just rested my chin on my hands and quietly admired the fireworks outside the window.

How beautiful.

I remembered back when we first got together, Victor had prepared a fireworks show for me too. From the production of the fireworks to their final launch, he had personally overseen every step.

What a pity, though, that just like the fireworks before me now, the person he used to be had vanished into the night sky after a brief, brilliant display.

I thought I'd feel sad. But strangely, I was exceptionally calm at this moment. Or rather, the only emotion I felt was relief—relief that I'd been given the chance to do it all over again.

My phone buzzed at an inopportune moment.

It was a message from Victor.

"Lilian, Carol is overcome with grief right now, so I had them temporarily change the fireworks display just to cheer her up. You understand, don't you?"

I let out a disdainful laugh and shook my head. I couldn't even be bothered to reply.

After all…

I took out my phone and got down to work again.

Soon, the balance in my bank account skyrocketed.

Victor, busy at the hospital caring for the innocent and fragile Carol, knew nothing about any of this.

To cheer her up, he even spent a fortune hiring a bunch of celebrities and performers to sing and dance at the hospital, all under the guise of a charity event.

For an entire week, Victor hardly came home at all. We became strangers who occasionally ran into each other in our enormous villa.

Unlike my previous life, I didn't confront him. Instead, I offered polite pleasantries and never so much as mentioned Carol's name.

But the more low-key I acted, the more cocky Carol became.

These past few days, I saw her Instagram updates almost every single day. Every post was accompanied by photos of Victor bustling about, taking care of her.

And I liked and commented on every single one of them with concern or with blessings.

Everyone in our social circle were all very surprised. They all praised Victor for his skill in managing me and for being able to turn a woman so full of thorns into someone so docile.

Naturally, Victor was quite pleased with himself as well. But beneath his smugness, there was also a hint of something strange in the way he looked at me.

Perhaps I was too well-behaved, so much so that I no longer resembled my former self, who used to love and hate with such clarity.

He reassured himself that this must be the power of true love, believing I was being forbearing because I loved him so deeply.

And perhaps it was precisely because of my forbearance that he felt even more justified in his actions.

We spent two peaceful weeks together.

Until one morning, Victor woke me from my sleep.

"Lilian, get up and wash up. Carol says she needs your help with something."

As surprised as I was, I didn't ask any questions.

After a quick tidy-up, I went out with him.

When we arrived, I spotted Carol wearing a wedding dress right away. That wedding dress was all too familiar to me, for it was the very dress that Victor had specially commissioned from a top Italdor designer for our wedding.

There was only one of its kind in the whole world. But now, it no longer belonged to me.

Our eyes met. Carol lowered her head and revealed a shy smile. Then, she lifted her gown and gracefully made her way to Victor's side.

"Lilian, Victor said that you completely understand our situation and are willing to help us put on this act for the sake of appearances. Don't worry—there's nothing going on between him and me. We're just doing this to fulfill my grandfather's dying wish."

She paused. Biting her lip sadly, she looked so fragile and pitiful.

"After all, you've always been the one Victor loved the most."

Victor suddenly tightened his grip on my hand, a flicker of pain flashing across his face.

What a wonderful performance from a pair of star-crossed lovers.

I couldn't help but feel speechless.

Were these two treating me like part of their little drama?

Just as I was about to turn and leave, Carol suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Lilian, this is your wedding dress. So, even though I'm the one wearing it now, I still want to ask for your permission. Would you be willing to give this dress to me?"