Blurb：
I grew up with Leo Sinclair, the prince of New York’s elite. For years, he was my protector, my knight, the man who tattooed my name over his heart and swore to marry only me. But eight years passed with no proposal, only rumors of his new assistant Lina. On our anniversary, I discovered he secretly married her, dismissing it as a mission to save her life. Now, with a terminal diagnosis in hand and custom engagement rings meant for him, I stand alone in the snow, realizing my love story has turned into a tragedy. Will Leo ever see the pain he’s caused, or is it too late for us both?
Content：
I grew up with Leo Sinclair, the so-called prince of New York’s elite.
At the peak of our love, he tattooed my name over his heart, put in my name most of his assets, and swore in public that he would marry no one but me.
But eight years had passed. He never brought up marrying me again after that.
Lately, rumors had been flying about Leo and his new assistant.
It was said Leo took her to all sorts of events, punched a reporter for accidentally brushing against her, and had my tattoo lasered off his chest…
He even secretly married her on our eight-year anniversary.
I got his casual explanation:
“Lina said she had a mission. If I don’t marry her, she’ll die in the most painful way possible.”
“Don’t worry, it was just a ceremony.”
“Your name will still be on the marriage certificate.”
I smiled like it was nothing, but my heart was being torn to shreds.
I left New York on a rainy night, deleting every contact of Leo.
Soon after, he showed up furious.
“Sylvia, you’re breaking up with me over something this trivial?”
“Or are you playing hard to get to force me to marry you?”
So in Leo’s mind, marrying me had become a form of pressure.
I didn’t care if Lina would die painfully death when she failed her “mission”.
All I knew was that I was dying…
A light snow began to fall as I walked out the hospital.
The diagnosis in hand said my life was ending.
I lost in thought for a long time before I finally called Leo.
The ringtone rang mechanically, almost going to voicemail before he finally picked up.
“Leo, what are you up to?”
“Today’s our eight-year anniversary, and there’s something I want to talk to you about —”
“Sylvia, are you serious?” He cut me off. “Can’t you live without me?”
“Is an eight-year anniversary so important to interrupt me?”
All my words stuck in my throat. A sour ache spread through my chest.
Just as I gathered my thoughts to speak again, a sweet voice came through the receiver.
“Leo~ aren’t you done yet?”
“They’re all bullying me, making me drink. Come back and get revenge for me.”
Leo’s voice turned gentle,
“Who’s bullying you? Just wait, I’ll deal with them.”
“Be good, go back inside. It’s cold out.”
The next second, it was like another personality took over.
“Stop calling, Sylvia. It’s annoying!”
Without a hint of hesitation, he hung up.
I stood frozen in the snow, staring at the ended call screen for a long time.
Leo and I grew up together.
He was a perfect guy, with great looks, a sweet personality, and an elite background.
I was always quiet and withdrawn. Not many people wanted to hang out with me.
Leo treated me differently.
Not only did he spend time with me, he’d chase off anyone who picked on me.
He’d been my knight for years.
My parents died in a car accident on a business trip eight years ago.
Back then, we were only eighteen. Yet he had handled everything for my parents’ funeral.
At Mom and Dad’s graves, he swore he’d take care of me for life.
He was like a beam of light, cutting through the darkness which threatened to swallow me.
At the peak of our love, he tattooed my name over his heart.
And to make me feel secure, he put most of what he owned in my name.
On my twentieth birthday, in front of everyone, he said,
“I will only ever have one wife: Sylvia.”
“If I ever fail her, I hope I die a miserable death.”
Then he turned to me, his eyes full of undeniable emotion.
“Sylvia, I love you.”
“I will give you a family. I will never let you cry from sadness again.”
Eight years had passed. He never mentioned marrying me again.
But I kept loving him, like I had been for the past eight years.
At the jewelry store, I picked up the pair of rings I’d custom ordered a year ago, which were originally planned to give to Leo when he proposed.
But it looked like I wouldn’t live to see that day.
So I decided I would propose to him instead.
I wanted to tell Leo, “Marry me. Otherwise, I won’t be around for it.”
Looking down at the pair of rings worth seven figures, that sickly-sweet voice from the phone echoed in my head.
I knew who it was: Lina, the new secretary Leo hired a few months ago.
In the past eight years, countless charming women had popped up around him. Leo was an iceberg to all of them.
Lina was the only exception.
Leo took her to all kinds of events, which had been only for our dates.
He punched a reporter for accidentally bumping into her.
And the tattoo of my name on his chest had been removed for her…
Right then, my phone buzzed in my purse.
An unknown number sent me a photo.
Leo in an expensive, perfectly tailored custom suit, his hair impeccably styled.
Lina in a wedding dress, smiling radiantly with her arm hooked through his.
Instantly, it felt like all the blood in my body froze.
The words that followed made my heart ache so much I could barely breathe.
“Leo married his secretary behind your back. I’ll send you the address.”
“I’m curious to see what you’ll do about it.”
Leo’s vows were the first thing I heard when I rushed to the venue. The guests were cheering for them to kiss.
Lina, in her wedding dress, blushed.
Staring at his wife with an easy smile, Leo took a step forward, cupped the back of Lina’s head with one hand and wrapped the other around her waist.
Then he kissed her without any hesitation.
Amid the noise and celebration, I stood frozen, looking blankly at the man I’d loved for eight years, the man I saw as my salvation, until finally I couldn’t hold back the tears.
Just then, one of Leo’s friends noticed me, his face going pale.
Flustered, he blocked my path. “Sylvia, Leo didn’t mean to hide this from you —”
I pushed past him and walked straight toward the altar.
The crowd fell silent. The joyful atmosphere vanished instantly.
Leo’s eyes met mine. There wasn’t any trace of guilt or panic on his face.
When I stood right in front of him and Lina, seeing how furious I was, Leo instinctively stepped in front of her, frowning.
“Sylvia? What are you doing here?”
How ridiculous.
My boyfriend of eight years married another woman behind my back, and when I found out, all he said was “What are you doing here?”
It felt like my heart was being sliced apart. Tears fell uncontrollably again.
I asked him, my voice choked with pain,
“Leo… why did you marry her behind my back?”
“And why… why did it have to be on our eight-year anniversary?”
Leo looked at me, silently and impassively.
Lina stepped forward. A smug smile touched her lips as she looked at me with disdain.
“You’re Leo’s girlfriend of eight years?”
“Don’t worry, all I wanted was a wedding ceremony. The title of Mrs. Sinclair still belongs to you.”
She said it like she was granting me a favor.
I suddenly laughed, looking at her coldly. “Am I supposed to thank you?”
“Enough! Don’t talk to her like that!” Before Lina could respond, Leo jumped in to defend her.
His frown deepened.
“Sylvia, there are a lot of people here. I’m trying to save you some face, not argue with you.”
“Lina and I didn’t get a marriage license. You’re still going to be Mrs. Sinclair.”
“You should leave now.”
His words felt like daggers twisting in my heart.
Both of them “granted” the title to me.
Did they think after eight years with Leo, all I wanted was an title?
I opened my mouth, but not a single word came out.
Finally, I pulled the ring box from my purse, and hurled it hard at Leo’s face.
The box hit his forehead, then fell to the floor and slid a few feet.
The rings inside spilled out, rolling into a crack in the floor. No one paid them any attention.
Without saying anything more, I turned and left.
The moment my back was to them, tears fell like broken strings, nonstop.
I got back to my car, shut the door, and collapsed over the steering wheel, crying uncontrollably.
I couldn’t accept that Leo didn’t love me anymore.
I couldn’t accept that he married someone else on our anniversary behind my back.
And I really couldn’t accept… that I was dying. Especially dying without anyone caring about me.
I don’t know how long I cried before my phone on the passenger seat buzzed twice.
Through my red, swollen eyes, I read another text from that unknown number.
“That was brave. But I hope you can be brave enough to break free completely.”
“Sylvia, live the rest of your life for yourself.”
I texted back with trembling fingers: “Who is this?”
“Someone you hate.” It responded.
I saw Leo again two days later to deal with the assets he’d put in my name.
“Sylvia, are you really going to make a big deal over something so small?”
The moment he walked in, he started in on me, clearly annoyed.
I placed the documents my lawyer had prepared on the table.
“You put a lot of assets in my name before. I never touched any of them. They’re all yours again.”
“But since you cheated first, I’m keeping the apartment we live in now. I don’t want anything else.”
“Sign here, and you can have someone come get your things.”
Leo frowned, “Are you really doing this? Sylvia, you have no one else in this world to depend on but me!”
Old memories flashed through my mind.
On the day of my parents’ funeral, it was Leo standing by my side, supporting me through the entire process.
When it was all over, he held me and said,
“Sylvia, from today on, I’m your only family.”
“I will always protect you.”
That was the first time I ever saw Leo’s eyes redden.
But now, he was ruthlessly tearing open my deepest wound.
My heart ached, but my voice was firm.
“Maybe I never needed to depend on anyone else.”
“Leo, even after all these years, I’m still grateful you supported me in my hardest time. But that doesn’t give you the right to hurt me with it.”
“Sign the papers.”
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