The next day soon came. Leila sat on a chair in the hotel where her engagement party was going to be held. A makeup artist helped her with her makeup.

For some reason, she didn't feel as excited as she'd imagined.

Marrying Connor was something she'd once dreamed of. In the past, he'd only ever thought of her as the older girl-next-door. However, that had changed when he'd come to her two years ago, his eyes red as he'd complained about someone bullying him.

The blood had rushed to her head, and she'd volunteered to help him get revenge. However, he'd said that he wanted the guy to experience what it was like to descend from heaven to hell.

Leila hadn't understood that. Connor had given her a detailed breakdown of his fake salvation plan, and her first reaction had been to object.

He was the one she liked. How could she be someone else's girlfriend?

Unfortunately, she'd caved when h

The rest of the people in the room didn't understand what was going on. Leila had never gotten mad when they'd mocked Ian in the past.

"Get the fuck out of here! Don't even think about touching a hair on his head!" she shrieked.

Connor, who was getting ready in the room next door, heard the ruckus. He went to Leila's room but had yet to enter when he saw her girlfriends leaving, looking bemused.

He went in and wrapped an arm around Leila's waist, caressing it to calm her down. "It's our big day today, Lili. We're getting engaged! Why bother arguing with them?"

She turned to look at him. He wore a black suit and had her favorite flower, the lily of the valley, in his buttonhole.

This was a scene she'd imagined countless times, but that was beside the point now.

She asked, "Why did you ask me to be Ian's girlfriend back then, Connor? Do you have feelings for me?"

He didn't understan

When Ian next opened his eyes, he found himself wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

A doctor was with him and gave him a pitying look when he saw he was awake. "You had so many glass shards embedded in your skin that we had to operate for five hours to get them all out. The wounds on your body are relatively superficial—you'll be fine once they heal.

"The only issue is that you have quite a deep laceration on your face. The flesh was already exposed when you were brought here, so there will be a scar even after proper suturing. You'll need to get reconstructive surgery for it, which will cost ten thousand dollars. Please pay for that before we proceed."

Ian had only had two thousand dollars left after paying for everything he needed, and he currently only had less than half of that left. That was far from enough to pay for the surgery.

He said, "Doctor… I'm not doing the surgery."

The doctor frowned. "Think this through, young man. If you don't do it, you'll have a scar on your face."

There wasn't anyone in this world who didn't care about their appearance, but Ian just didn't have the money for the surgery. After a brief silence, he nodded.

The doctor said, "You can start the discharge procedures, then. Remember to keep your wounds away from water."

Just then, Ian's phone pinged. He checked it to see a message from Leila. "Ian, my boss's son is injured, so I have to stay at the hospital with him. You can head home first."

It seemed she hadn't even noticed he'd been injured after landing in the glass. Well, it made sense. All her attention had been on Connor—how could she have spared him even a glance?

Ian got out of bed and endured the pain as he went to handle his discharge. He'd only just gotten to a staircase when he saw Connor clutching his face and roaring, "I don't want to be disfigured! I can't have any scars on my face—not even the smallest one! We're getting engaged tomorrow!"

Leila patiently coaxed him. "Don't worry, Connor. I won't let any scars mar your face, okay? I'll get you the best doctor and the best medication available."

A doctor said, "There's an ointment to get rid of scars that works like magic, but it's on the expensive side. One tube costs eight thousand dollars."

Leila pulled out her black card. "Connor's face is what's important here. What does money matter? Buy me ten tubes—I want to make sure he doesn't have anything on his face!"

Connor finally smiled and pulled her into his arms. "It's wonderful having you by my side, Lili."

He'd taken his hands away from his face, so Ian finally saw the wound that threatened to "disfigure" him. It was a minuscule scratch that had the slightest bit of blood oozing from it. They were almost invisible.

The wound was negligible, yet Leila had acted like it was a huge deal. She'd spent 80 thousand dollars on ointments to remove scars without even batting an eye.

Ian couldn't help touching his face. Even with the gauze and bandage over his wound, he could still feel the sutures beneath. He could imagine how deep and twisted the wound was.

80 thousand dollars, huh? That was even more than the money he'd saved over four years and the fee required for his reconstructive surgery.

Some people really did come from different worlds.

…

Ian returned to his rented apartment after being discharged. There were less than four hours to his flight, which was due to leave at 3:00 pm.

He'd already packed most of his things, so it was time to prepare Leila and Connor's engagement gift—the party was tomorrow, after all.

Ian packed everything that had to do with Leila into a box—the free tie she'd given him, cheap earphones she'd bought to celebrate their 100th day of being together, a T-shirt she'd given him for his 21st birthday, a silver-plated ring she'd gotten him for their first anniversary…

He didn't forget about the most expensive gift she'd given him—a watch that was just over a hundred dollars for their second anniversary.

Everything Leila had given him over the past two years filled the box and weighed quite a bit, but their total value was probably less than 300 dollars.

To her and her friends, Ian was just a plaything. She probably thought these cheap things were all he was worthy of.

Last but not least, he wrote a simple message on the back of the invitation to her engagement party.

"I wish you two all the happiness in the world. May we never see each other again."

He placed the invitation on top of the box before hiring a courier service. He instructed the guy to deliver the box to the address on the invitation at noon the next day.

Ian's phone pinged with a reminder. He had three hours before his flight started boarding.

He grabbed his luggage and looked around one last time at the cage he'd once thought of as home. Then, he turned and headed to the airport without another look back.

The moment the plane soared into the sky and broke through the clouds, Ian left everything in Jerica City behind. From then on, everyone's lives would go back to normal.

Leila would continue being her high and mighty heiress, and he would further his studies abroad.

They would no longer have anything to do with each other.

The next day soon came. Leila sat on a chair in the hotel where her engagement party was going to be held. A makeup artist helped her with her makeup.

For some reason, she didn't feel as excited as she'd imagined.

Marrying Connor was something she'd once dreamed of. In the past, he'd only ever thought of her as the older girl-next-door. However, that had changed when he'd come to her two years ago, his eyes red as he'd complained about someone bullying him.

The blood had rushed to her head, and she'd volunteered to help him get revenge. However, he'd said that he wanted the guy to experience what it was like to descend from heaven to hell.

Leila hadn't understood that. Connor had given her a detailed breakdown of his fake salvation plan, and her first reaction had been to object.

He was the one she liked. How could she be someone else's girlfriend?

Unfortunately, she'd caved when he'd pleaded with her and promised to get engaged to her once he was happy. She'd agreed to help.

Sh

Chapter 9