Chapter 2

His phone suddenly rang.

It was Paula's cover of "Let's Get Married," and her voice drowned out what I was saying.

Winston shoved me away impatiently and strode to the balcony to answer.

I heard Paula's voice, choked with tears.

"Winston, Edward and the others said you left. Don't you want to see me off at my wedding? Are you angry that I married someone else, and you won't forgive me?"

Winston softened completely. He turned around and pulled an old tin box off the bookshelf in the living room.

"Do you still remember the promise we made? You said that on the day you got married, I'd give you back the ninety-nine love letters I wrote you. But there are a hundred letters in here—one of them is the one you wrote to me."

"Paula, I hope you can always be happy from now on. And even when you're not, remember that I'm here for you."

That tin box had a passcode. Winston had guarded it carefully for three years and never once let me touch it.

So it turned out what he'd hidden inside were their memories.

And yet in our three years of marriage, I was even the one who filled out the report for our marriage certificate.

The consent form for my cesarean, I signed that myself too.

Winston explained that his handwriting was ugly.

I foolishly believed him.

The baby lay quietly on the bed, and a faint, rotten smell hung in the stuffy room.

Winston came over and glanced at the tightly bundled baby, frowning in displeasure.

"The baby's obviously soiled herself. Can't you even wipe her clean?"

"Adeline, even if you're fighting with me, you can't neglect the baby!"

"Paula's getting married. There's never going to be anything between us again, so stop making a scene!

She's unstable right now. I'm going to go comfort her first. You calm yourself down and take good care of the baby at home!"

I couldn't stop myself from hurling the cup at him; the broken glass cut open my palm.

"Winston! If you walk out that door today, then we're getting divorced!"

He had just opened the door when his hand froze. He turned his head slightly, without so much as a glance at me.

"Divorce? Adeline Henson, you forced me to marry you, and now you want a divorce? And you're trying to guilt-trip me on top of it? You think I'm scared?"

"Bang!"

The door slammed so hard it was like a thunderclap that blew my hopes completely to pieces.

I stared in the direction he'd gone for a long time.

My eyes stung, and the wedding photo on the wall slowly blurred.

On my phone, Paula's messages kept buzzing, one after another.

And all I looked at was the last thing she sent.

"Adeline, I regret giving up Winston, so I broke off my engagement with someone else and decided to marry him. I didn't tell him today's wedding was prepared for him."

"Don't you think he'll be so moved?"

I moved my stiff fingers and replied with a single word.

"Congratulations!"