Chapter 3

Denys didn't come back.

I went to the cemetery alone.

Denys had always come with me before.

He would order the flowers ahead of time, hold my hand, and speak to the photo:

"Ma'am, I'll take good care of Celine."

But today, he hadn't even given me a proper explanation.

I sat at the cemetery for a long time before I got up to leave.

I went to a restaurant my mother had taken me to before she died.

That was the day my father took another woman down to the marriage registry.

And my mother took me here, where we had our last birthday dinner together.

The moment I pushed open the glass door, I saw Denys sitting there, patiently peeling shrimp for Wallis.

Wallis was smiling sweetly.

"Denys, that's too much."

Denys set the peeled shrimp into her bowl.

"Don't you like them? I remembered."

The middle-aged woman sitting across from them looked deeply pleased.

"Denys, our Wallis has been pampered since she was little, so you'll have to take good care of her from now on."

"Don't worry, ma'am. As long as Wallis is willing, I'll take care of her for the rest of my life."

My steps stopped where I stood.

The woman in the elegant dress—I recognized her at a single glance.

Back then she had smiled just like this.

Smiling as she tore my family apart, smiling as she drove my mother to her death, smiling as she threw me out.

But Denys knew all about my past.

He knew my mother had been driven sick, knew I had been thrown out of my home, knew I had lived on the streets, and knew how much I hated the woman in front of me.

Yet he still sat there.

Sharing a meal with them.

Making a lifelong promise to her daughter.

I walked over, one step at a time.

"Denys, you know perfectly well who they are, so why are you still sitting here with them!"

When Denys saw me, he stood up and tried to take my hand.

"Celine, I'll explain this to you."

I flung him off hard.

"Answer me!"

Denys's face darkened.

"What happened in the older generation has nothing to do with Wallis."

"Nothing to do with her?"

I laughed, but the tears fell first.

I looked at the cake on the table.

There was a line written across it.

Wishing Wallis happiness forever.

How ridiculous.

After I lost my mother, I never dared to celebrate a birthday again.

Yet Denys, who understood my pain better than anyone, sat here peeling shrimp for her, promising her a lifetime.

As if all the tears I'd shed and the bitterness I'd swallowed over the years had never existed.

Wallis slowly stood up.

"Celine, you can't accept it, can you?"

She came closer and lowered her voice.

"My mother stole your father back then, drove your mother to her death, and left you with nothing but the streets."

"And now I've taken away the person you love most."

"You and your mother—you both deserve it!"

The last thread in my mind snapped completely.

I raised my hand and slapped her hard across the face.

But before I could touch her, Denys seized my wrist.

He yanked me back hard and pulled Wallis into his arms.

"Celine, are you insane?!"

The back of my hand grazed his shoulder and came down heavily.

Wallis cried so hard her shoulders trembled.

Denys soothed her in a low voice:

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

Wallis's mother suddenly rose to her feet and slapped me hard across the face.

"Who do you think you are, daring to raise a hand in front of my daughter?"

A buzzing filled my ears, and my face snapped to the side.

My stomach twisted with a sudden cramp, and I collapsed onto the cold floor.

Wallis sobbed softly in his arms.

"Denys, let's go."

He glanced at me, then held Wallis tightly.

"You can't take all your anger out on Wallis just because of what happened in the past."

I heard the footsteps growing farther and farther away.

He once said he would protect me for the rest of his life.

But in the end, the one who left me behind was him too.