Chapter 1

A month before I was supposed to marry my boyfriend, he said to me he needed to have a baby with his old flame.

I didn’t agree, then he brought it up every single day.

Two weeks before our wedding, I received a copy of a pregnancy test.

That’s when I found out his precious sweetheart Sasha was already nearly a month pregnant.

So it turned out that he never intended to get my permission.

In that single moment, all those years of love vanished into thin air.

I called off the wedding, shredded every memory of us. On what was supposed to be our wedding day, I walked into a secure research lab.

From that day on, he and I were done.

“I’ve explained this to you a million times, Nina. Sasha has cancer, and she only has about a year left. My biggest wish is to give her a child. She saved my life once, and now I have to help her fulfill this dream!”

I’d heard that excuse, or something like it, at least a thousand times this past month.

The first time Julian Fordham brought up this insane idea, I told him, flat out, no way.

But he didn’t give up. He mentioned it almost every day.

Julian’s attitude shifted from tentatively asking for my approval to now, arguing with me like he was completely right.

It was like I was the bad guy for not agreeing.

But even if Sasha did save his life, how does having a baby with someone repay that kind of debt?

A month of fighting had left me exhausted, mentally and physically. I didn’t have the energy to try and change Julian’s mind anymore. I just looked at the man I’d loved for five years, my voice trembling.

“Julian, we’re getting married next month, and now you want to have a baby with another woman? What about me? What do you think I am in all of this?”

It was the first time Julian had seen me so utterly dejected, like a dark cloud was hanging right over me.

His tone softened, but just a little.

“Nina, I know this is hard to accept, but I’m the only one who can help Sasha. I can’t just watch her pass away with regrets.”

“Besides, it’s just artificial insemination. Nothing physical will happen between us.”

“If you love me, you’ll understand, right?”

Hearing those words, my heart sank.

It was crystal clear: Julian had already made his decision. He was going to have a baby with Sasha Bellweather, no matter what.

My opinion? It was obviously irrelevant.

Julian was about to say something more, but his phone started ringing.

He glanced at the screen and took the call out on the balcony.

I watched his back, a bitter smile playing on my lips.

Julian and I were practically childhood sweethearts. We were in the same class since elementary school. We even went to the same university.

I knew I liked him from way back, always quietly there for him, but he never seemed to notice.

It wasn’t until graduation that he finally saw how much I cared about him, and he agreed to be my boyfriend.

You’d think after knowing each other for over twenty years, and then becoming a couple, we’d be the closest, most trusting couple.

But in five years together, I’d never once touched Julian’s phone. He even took his calls privately, away from me.

I remember once he had a high fever and was resting in bed, but his phone kept buzzing with notifications.

I was worried the phone would disturb him, so I just meant to put it on silent.

However, the second my finger touched the phone, he opened his eyes. Seeing what I was doing, he immediately accused me, regardless of any of my explanations.

No matter how I explained, he wouldn’t accept.

I spent that whole night curled up alone on the sofa.

I just thought it was his personality, and I believed that one day, I’d truly reach his heart.

But five years had passed, and nothing had changed.

And now, he was going to have a child with another woman, without a single thought for how I, his actual girlfriend, would feel.

When Julian came back in, he was clearly happy about something. He grabbed his jacket, putting it on as he headed for the door.

“I’ve got to run out for a bit. You think about it some more, okay?”

I listened to his hurried footsteps fade away, a cold stillness in my heart.

The only person who could make him rush like that was definitely Sasha.

Sure enough, a little while later, Sasha sent me a picture.

When I zoomed in and saw what it was, my knees nearly buckled.

It was a pregnancy test report, and the patient’s name was Sasha Bellweather!

The gestation period made my head spin.

It clearly stated: three weeks pregnant!

That meant Julian and Sasha had already gone through with the artificial insemination a month ago.

He never, ever intended to discuss it with me or get my consent.

If that was the case, why had Julian relentlessly bothered me about it for the past month?

To make himself feel better? What did he really think of me?

Suddenly, I felt like all my strength had been drained away, and I collapsed onto the floor.

My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand. I was nearly out of breath.

No wonder Julian was so visibly happy earlier, rushing off right after that phone call. He’d found out the insemination was successful, and that Sasha was pregnant.

He was probably at the hospital with Sasha right now, celebrating.

I closed my eyes in pain, an endless wave of desolation washing over me.

I couldn’t believe the man I’d loved for so many years was now the father of another woman’s child.

It was only two months ago that I’d proposed, and he’d said yes! We planned the wedding for next month; I’d even booked the venue and picked out my dress.

I’d been so excited for our wedding day, dreaming of walking down the aisle with Julian.

But now, all those hopes were just bubbles, vanishing into thin air.

Just then, my phone buzzed, jolting me back to reality.

I answered it without thinking.

It was Chloe, my senior from the lab who had bright voice.

“Nina, I know you’re getting married, but I just wanted to ask one more time: are you really sure you don’t want to reconsider joining our lab?”

“You’re Professor Albright’s most talented student. He’s always hoped you’d come and help him.”

“Considering you’re about to start a family, the professor said he’d make a special exception. You could work in the lab for two months, then take a two-week break, so you’d have time to spend with your husband.”

I’d known for six months that Professor Albright was setting up a new lab in Boston.

He’d called me personally to invite me to join his research team.

But once you were in that lab, you couldn’t have any contact with the outside world until a research cycle was complete.

That could be as short as a month or two, or as long as a year or two.

I didn’t want to be separated from Julian for that long, and I especially couldn’t bear not being in touch with him.

So, I had turned down the professor’s offer.

But now, that pregnancy report flashed in my mind.

Julian was already someone else’s baby daddy.

Since he never cared about our love or our upcoming marriage, then this wedding… there was no point.

My hand tightened around the phone.

“Chloe, I’ll come to the lab and I don’t need that two-week break. I’ll follow the normal project schedule.”

Chloe’s voice was full of surprise and delight.

“That’s fantastic! Professor Albright will be so happy.”

“When are you planning to come over? How about a week after the wedding? That way you can still go on your honeymoon.”

I replied softly, “No need to delay. I will come at the day of the wedding.”

My gaze fell on the calendar on my desk.

The tenth of next month was circled heavily in red marker.

Originally, I’d done it to remind myself how close the wedding was, to help with planning.

Now, it was a countdown to leaving Julian.

Fifteen days left.

Let it be a cooling-off period for over twenty years of feelings.

After fifteen days, I would never see Julian Fordham again.

Julian didn’t come home that night, and I didn’t use any way to ask where he was.

I’d already seen it on Sasha’s social media feed.

After leaving the hospital that afternoon, they went straight to Sasha’s place to tell her family about the pregnancy.

In the photo, Sasha’s grandmother was warmly holding one of Julian’s hands, saying something to him. The other hand of Julian gently rested on Sasha’s stomach, a soft smile on his face.

During the five years we’d been together, Julian had only come home with me once, right after he accepted my proposal.

Even though our families lived less than a thirty-minute drive apart, he’d never visited on his own before that.

He said he didn’t like being around older relatives; it made him uncomfortable.

Even that one time he came, he was just polite, nothing like the warmth he showed Sasha’s family in the picture.

I lowered my eyes, feeling a kind of bitter taste in my mouth. I turned off my phone.

The next day, I met up with a few friends and told them the wedding was off.

Julian had initially said he didn’t like weddings, thought they were just meaningless formalities.

It was only because I insisted that he reluctantly agreed to a small ceremony, inviting only our closest friends and family.

Everyone around us knew how I felt about Julian, so my friends were shocked to hear the wedding was canceled.

“Haven’t you been in love with Julian for, like, forever? You’re so close to finally landing that untouchable guy, and now you’re letting him go?”

A dense wave of bitterness washed over me.

Letting go? Of course, it wasn’t easy.

I’d chased after Julian for twenty years, day in and day out, before he finally agreed to marry me.

How could letting go of a twenty-year-long attachment be easy?

But the truth was, this relationship had been unbalanced from the very beginning.

Because from start to finish, it was always me chasing after Julian.

And he never once paused for me.

I didn’t used to care. I thought, if I could spend twenty years getting him to agree to marry me, then I could definitely win his heart eventually. It was just a matter of time.

Our life together after marriage would be long. So I could wait for the moment he completely opened up to me.

But everything changed six months ago when Sasha, his so-called lifesaver, appeared.

That’s when I realized Julian wasn’t cold to everyone.

He was always gentle with Sasha, yet he barely cracked a smile for me.

Back then, I consoled myself, thinking Sasha had saved his life. He was just repaying a debt of gratitude.

But I never imagined that after learning Sasha had cancer, he would actually agree to have a child with her to carry on her line!

Worse, he pretended to seek my approval while secretly already going through with the artificial insemination and getting Sasha pregnant.

In that moment, I knew clearly that Julian and I were over.

Even if a twenty-year love was hard to let go of, I had to be ruthless and cut it out.

I didn’t tell them the reason, just saying I was going to the lab soon and would only be able to contact the outside world very infrequently.

To apologize, I stayed out with my friends until midnight before heading home.

When I got home, Julian had just arrived too.

He frowned at the smell of alcohol on me. He took a few steps back, covering his nose and mouth. I could nearly see his disgust with eyes.

“Stay away from me. Don’t get that alcohol smell on me.”

I laughed at myself. How pathetic I was.

He was probably worried about the smell clinging to him and affecting Sasha. She was pregnant, after all.

I didn’t say anything more. I just turned and went to take a shower.

When I came out, Julian was tapping away on his phone, smiling.

I glanced at him once and was about to go to bed.

But then he suddenly called out to me.

“I need to discuss something with you.”

My steps halted.

The last time I heard that phrase was a month ago, when he first proposed his plan of having a child with Sasha. What followed was a month of quarrels.

Now that Sasha was successfully pregnant, what else could there be?

“Let’s not do the wedding photoshoot tomorrow.”

I glanced at the calendar on the table; under tomorrow’s date, “Wedding Photoshoot” was written in big marker letters.

I didn’t know why Julian wanted to cancel the photoshoot, but since I wasn’t planning on going through with the wedding anyway, even if Julian hadn’t said this, I would have found an excuse to cancel it. Him bringing it up actually saved me some trouble.

I nodded. “Okay, I’ll call the photographer and cancel.”

The moment I said it, Julian was taken aback. He hadn’t expected me to agree so readily.

He thought I would press him for reasons, especially since I had meticulously planned every detail of the wedding.

I’d even paid a premium to get this specific photographer to squeeze us in, all for making perfect wedding photos.

But he hadn’t anticipated me calmly agreeing after he said it out.

Julian looked at me with complicated facial expression.

“No need to cancel.”

“Sasha said she’ll never have the chance to get married in her lifetime. She wants to take wedding photos with me, just so she can feel like she’s been married, and I won’t have any regrets either.”

“Let Sasha and I take them tomorrow. We can retake ours later.”

Julian’s tone was as casual as if he were discussing what to eat for dinner, just like when he told me a month ago about the artificial insemination with Sasha.

It was presented as a discussion, but every word reeked of a decision already made, merely informing me.

My downcast eyes hid the sarcasm I felt.

Retake ours later?

Julian didn’t know that I only had 13 days before I left this city.

He didn’t know they had no ‘later’.

I softly agreed, then went to the bedroom to get some rest.

Since this wedding wasn’t happening anyway, who Julian took wedding photos with had nothing to do with me.

Julian watched my retreating back, a strange unease settling in his heart.

I was too calm, not even a single question, rendering all his prepared explanations useless.

Just then, Sasha called. He pushed aside that flicker of doubt and went to the balcony to answer his phone.

I woke up just as Julian was about to leave.

He was putting on his shoes and instructing me.

“After the photoshoot, Sasha and I are planning a trip for a few days. She’s always wanted to go to Hokkaido, so I’m going with her.”

“Let’s keep the wedding simple. I won’t have time for rehearsals or setup. You can decide everything; no need to ask me.”

I swallowed the toast in my mouth and replied, “Okay.”

Keep it simple.

This wedding wouldn’t have photos, no guests, no officiant.

And no bride.

Julian saw me just quietly eating breakfast, so calm, and a strange feeling crept into his heart. After thinking for a moment, He added:

“After the wedding, let’s go to Europe for our honeymoon. I remember you always wanted to go there.”

If I’d heard Julian suggest a honeymoon before, I would have immediately started planning everything.

After all, whenever I’d asked Julian to travel with me before, he’d never agreed. He just said he didn’t like it and found traveling tiring.

Now, I just focused on eating my bread, not responding.

There wouldn’t even be a wedding, so how could there be a honeymoon?

Julian glanced at me, a little surprised, wanting to say something more, but then his eyes caught the clock on the wall. He hurriedly opened the door and left, just leaving behind a “We’ll talk when I get back.”

I picked up the calendar from the table and drew a large X over the words “Wedding Photoshoot” with a marker.

Twelve days left.

After breakfast, I started to pack my things and clear out unnecessary items from the apartment.

A photo album with no more than five pictures, a dusty projector, a pair of matching pajamas never worn…

In five years together, every single item in this apartment was something I had carefully selected and added, bit by bit, gradually turning an empty space into the warm home it was now.

But looking closely, Julian had never used many of these things.

He said that even if we were dating, he was still an individual and didn’t like couple-themed items; it made him feel constantly tied down.

I snapped out of my thoughts and continued cleaning.

Leaving these things behind after I left would just be an eyesore for him anyway. Better to clear them out now.

And destroy all the memories between us along with them. 5

Julian didn’t come back for a whole week.

But I knew what he was doing every moment, thanks to Sasha, who loved to post everything on her social media. It was hard not to know.

The two of them went to hot springs, saw the ocean, took selfies against the sunrise…

On my feed, I saw a different Julian again.

So, he could act like a normal guy in love.

Just not with me.

I didn’t pay much attention to where they went or what they did each day, just glanced and quickly scrolled past.

I hadn’t been idle these past few days either. There were too many things in the apartment; it took me several days to completely pack and clean.

I also took some time to go home and tell my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fields, that I was going to the lab soon and would only be able to contact the outside world very infrequently.

Mr. Fields was a bit surprised.

“You and Julian are about to get married. Won’t you two be living apart then?”

Mrs. Fields’ eyes also held concern. She held my hand and advised,

“Think about it carefully, Nina. You and Julian have come so far. I’m worried that if you go to the lab, Julian won’t agree, and then your wedding…”

I understood what my parents meant.

They had seen my devotion to Julian over the years, and they were also aware of Julian’s attitude towards me.

Before I decided to propose, they had gently tried to persuade me, thinking I didn’t hold much weight in Julian’s heart, and suggested I reconsider.

But back then, I was confident I could change Julian, make him fully accept me.

So, Mr. and Mrs. Fields had agreed.

Now, with the wedding so close, my parents were worried that if I went to the lab, Julian wouldn’t agree, and might even cancel the wedding and break up with me.

They were afraid I’d get hurt, so they wanted me to think it through.

But now, the one deciding to cancel the wedding was me.

After I told Mr. and Mrs. Fields about canceling the wedding, they were silent for a long time.

But I didn’t tell them about Julian having a child with another woman. I was worried they couldn’t handle such a blow, so I just said I wanted to continue contributing to scientific research.

Mr. and Mrs. Fields looked at each other. Since their daughter had made a decision, they would fully support her.

In the end, Mr. Fields just sighed, patted my shoulder, and said as long as I didn’t regret it, that was all that mattered.

Back home, I asked my best friend, Tiana Wells, to help me throw out all the packed-up stuff. Boxes piled up in the living room, taking up a lot of space.

The two of us went up and down several times before finally getting rid of all the boxes. The room suddenly felt empty.

Tiana looked at it with a bit mawkishness.

She remembered how, two months ago, when I told her Julian had accepted my proposal, I’d excitedly dragged her out for drinks all night, constantly babbling about how my wish had finally come true.

She never thought that in just two short months, I’d decide to cancel the wedding.

“Girl, you’re actually serious? I thought you were just kidding that day when you said you were canceling the wedding.”

“I’ve watched you follow Julian around for so many years. Tell me, what on earth happened?”

Maybe it was because I was about to leave, but I suddenly felt the urge to confide in someone.

I told Tiana everything that had happened over the past month, Including the fact that Julian was the father of Sasha’s child.

Tiana had witnessed everything between Julian and me. After hearing it all, she let out a curse.

“After you’ve been so good to him, he goes and becomes some other woman’s baby daddy right before your wedding, and he even wanted you to agree? What was he thinking?!”

I shook my head, swallowing the bitterness that filled my heart.

“Who knows? He said Sasha was his lifesaver, and he had to fulfill all her wishes.”

Tiana was indignant.

“Well, you also saved my life plenty of times! What gives him the right to treat you like this!”

I didn’t say anything more. Maybe the reason was just he didn’t love me.

But it didn’t matter. Soon, I’d be leaving him.

Five days left on the countdown, and I submitted my resignation from the university.

Back then, to be with Julian, I had turned down my professor’s invitation to continue doing research with him, choosing instead to follow Julian’s path and become a teacher at the university in our city.

My colleagues were surprised when I handed in my resignation.

“Why are you resigning, Ms. Fields?”

“You just gave us wedding candies a few days ago. Are you planning to become a full-time housewife? Mr. Fordham is so lucky,” one colleague teased.

I held my box of things and smiled.

“No, the wedding’s canceled.”

When I got home and opened the door, I saw Julian, whom I hadn’t seen for a week, sitting on the sofa with Sasha.

Julian saw me holding the box and instinctively asked.

“What are you doing with all that stuff?”

I made up a random excuse. “It’s just some things I don’t use anymore, so I brought them back.”

Julian nodded, glanced around the room, and then asked with some confusion.

“I’ve only been gone a week, how come the apartment feels like it’s missing a lot of things?”

I took the box to the bedroom, put it down, and replied calmly.

“I just cleared out some unnecessary junk.”

Julian was about to say something else, but Sasha interrupted him.

“Nina, Julian has been working so hard accompanying me on my trip these past few days. I also want to thank you for agreeing to let him take wedding photos with me to fulfill my dream.”

“How about this, I’ll treat you both to dinner as a thank you for your care. I might have to trouble you for a while longer in the future, I hope you won’t mind me, Nina.”

Looking at Sasha’s smug gaze, I could guess she thought I was about to lose it.

After all, since I received that pregnancy report, I hadn’t shown any reaction, not even questioning Julian once.

But I didn’t want to engage in any more meaningless fights with her. In five days, I would disappear from Julian’s life. Right now, I just wanted to handle everything here so I could leave smoothly.

Seeing my lack of response, Sasha’s eyes instantly reddened.

“Julian, is Nina upset? After all, you two are about to get married, but…”

Hearing Sasha, Julian’s brow furrowed immediately, and he chided me unhappily.

“Sasha sincerely wants to thank us, why are you giving her an attitude? It’s just dinner, it’s not like she’s going to poison you. You have to come!”

I hadn’t even said a word, but in Julian’s mouth, I was already the villain.

In the end, Julian dragged me along.

At the restaurant, the waiter came to ask what they wanted to order.

I had just opened the menu when I heard Julian speak.

“Nothing too oily or spicy, and no cilantro in any of the dishes.”

After the food arrived, Julian thoughtfully served Sasha, putting food into her bowl.

Then he pushed a plate of large shrimp towards me.

“Sasha can’t eat seafood right now. This is specially for you.”

Looking at that plate of shrimp, I instantly lost all appetite and put down my chopsticks. “I’m allergic to seafood.”

How ridiculous.

After five years of being in love, Julian didn’t know that I, his girlfriend, was allergic to seafood, yet he knew all of Sasha’s dietary restrictions, even remembering details like her not eating cilantro.

Julian’s expression flickered with a moment of bewilderment.

When he looked at me again, his eyes showed a rare trace of guilt, and he then ordered a few more dishes.

But I didn’t touch my chopsticks again during that meal, just silently sipping the water in my glass.

Just as we were leaving the restaurant, stepping down the stairs, I received another call from Chloe.

“Nina, Professor Albright asked me to confirm again, you’re sure you want to follow the normal experiment schedule? The first experiment in the lab involves a confidential project, and it’s very likely you won’t be able to contact the outside world for one or two years.”

My gaze fell on Julian and Sasha ahead of me.

They were walking side by side, and when going down the stairs, Julian would carefully hold Sasha’s waist.

My voice was perfectly calm. “Confirmed.”

Chloe let out a sigh of relief after getting the affirmative answer.

“That’s good. The professor was so afraid you wouldn’t be able to leave your husband.”

I withdrew my gaze and turned to walk in the other direction.

“The wedding’s canceled, and I’m ready to leave.”

As soon as I finished speaking, a questioning voice came from behind me.

“Who’s leaving?”

Julian had just put Sasha in a cab when he heard my last few words.

I realized he hadn’t heard the earlier part of the conversation and just made up an excuse.

“A friend of mine is leaving soon.”

Julian nodded and didn’t press further.

On the fourth-to-last day, Julian brought back his and Sasha’s wedding photos.

He was holding his phone, video-chatting with Sasha with one hand, and holding a photo frame towards me with the other, his eyes full of tenderness.

“Sasha, our wedding photos are developed. When I went to pick them up, the staff said they turned out really well.”

I happened to come out to get some water just as he said this.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Julian’s eyes; he looked at me, wanting to say something.

I glanced at the photo and commented seriously, “They do look very nice.”

I had paid a high price for this photographer, wanting to capture the most loving moments between Julian and me.

I thought, when I saw the final pictures, I would feel an unprecedented happiness.

Julian in a suit was indeed as handsome as I had imagined. The only difference was, the bride by his side wasn’t me.

But my heart wouldn’t stir even a ripple because of it anymore.

From the day I learned Sasha was pregnant, my feelings for Julian had been completely withdrawn.

Julian, however, was stunned.

He suddenly realized I hadn’t really spoken to him properly for a long time. Even during the week he was away traveling with Sasha, I hadn’t sent a single message.

This made him a little uneasy.

In the video call, Sasha was still chattering away. He shook his head, suppressing that unsettling thought, just assuming I was tired from wedding preparations.

On the second-to-last day, I was planning to go to the clinic to get some medication to have on hand.

Unexpectedly, I ran into Julian and Sasha. They had just finished a prenatal check-up.

A rare hint of panic flickered in Julian’s eyes. He opened his mouth to say something, but Sasha beat him to it.

She walked up to me, grabbed my hand, and looked like she was about to kneel, her voice choked with sobs.

“Nina, I know you still haven’t agreed to Julian and me having a baby, but I really can’t wait any longer. The doctor said I have at most a year left. I really want to see my baby born.”

“Once the baby is born, I’ll immediately stay far away from Julian. I absolutely won’t affect your relationship.”

Before I could even speak, Julian pulled her up, his eyes full of concern.

“You’re not well, how can you do this?”

Then he looked at me.

“Since you know, I won’t hide it anymore.”

“Don’t worry, this won’t affect our wedding.”

If this had been me a month ago, I might have been angry, devastated, desperate, and fallen into self-doubt.

Wondering if I, as his girlfriend, had done something wrong to make Julian willingly have a child with another woman.

But after this period, I’d thought it through.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t done enough; it was that Julian didn’t love me.

Because he didn’t love me, he could disregard my feelings and do such a thing.

I had already known about Sasha’s pregnancy for a while now, and I had let go of all my feelings for Julian. So, there was no need for them to act as if I were trying to break them up.

I glanced at them silently and then looked away. “I know.”

With that, I took my medication and prepared to leave. The day of my departure was approaching, and I still needed to organize my luggage.

The two opposite me clearly hadn’t expected me to be so calm, especially Julian. He watched my retreating back with a complicated expression.

I had clearly made a fuss about the pregnancy for a month, but now, upon learning about it for “real,” I had no reaction at all.

An inexplicable unease crept into Julian’s heart, as if something had quietly changed without his knowledge.

I had just reached the stairs when Sasha, who had caught up, grabbed my sleeve.

Julian was still far behind, and Sasha finally showed her true colors.

“Nina Fields, how does it feel to watch your fiancé have a baby with another woman?”

I didn’t want to get into a pointless argument with her. I just shook off her hand and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I pulled away, Sasha’s body tilted and she started to fall.

I instinctively grabbed her hand, preventing her from falling.

But before I could let go, a furious reprimand came from behind.

“What are you doing!”

Julian had been wondering why I was so calm. Now, seeing this scene, he instantly understood. I was just pretending to be calm; deep down, I still couldn’t accept it.

Seeing Julian arrive, Sasha immediately put on a wronged expression, her eyes red as she clutched her stomach.

“Julian, I just wanted to thank Nina for being so understanding, but I didn’t expect her to…”

Hearing Sasha’s words, Julian’s face immediately darkened.

“Nina Fields, I never thought you were this kind of person!”

“Apologize to Sasha right now!”

Hearing his indiscriminate accusation, I couldn’t help but laugh out of anger.

“Me, apologize? Why don’t you check the security footage yourself and see if I should be the one apologizing!”

I never thought Julian would decide I tried to push Sasha down the stairs without even checking the cameras.

“Sasha is a patient, and she’s pregnant. Would she intentionally harm herself?”

A flicker of panic crossed Sasha’s eyes. “Forget it, Julian. It’s normal for Nina to be angry and treat me like this. Let’s go.”

But Julian wouldn’t budge. “No, she must apologize to you today!”

I stood my ground too.

I wouldn’t admit to something I didn’t do.

Sasha, worried that if they argued further, Julian might actually check the surveillance footage and expose her, clutched her stomach and said she wasn’t feeling well.

Julian’s furious face instantly changed to one of concern. He quickly scooped Sasha into his arms and rushed to find a doctor.

Watching them leave, an endless bitterness welled up in my heart.

Twenty years of companionship, five years of living together day and night, yet it couldn’t earn me even a tiny bit of Julian’s trust.

Fortunately, I was awake now and could still get out in time.

Julian didn’t come back that day.

I figured he was busy taking care of the unwell Sasha.

On the last day before I left, I mailed my packed luggage to the lab, leaving only one suitcase.

That evening, Julian returned.

His face still carried a hint of anger.

“Sasha is still lying in the hospital. She’s a patient, and the baby in her belly isn’t stable. Even if you really didn’t do it on purpose, can’t you be a little more magnanimous and let it go? Why do you have to be so petty?”

Magnanimous?

I thought I’d been plenty magnanimous.

I gave up my wedding dress and photographer for Sasha to use. I let the man who was about to be my husband have a child with Sasha.

Now, I was about to give up my place by Julian’s side to Sasha too.

Julian’s peripheral vision caught the large red circle on the calendar, and his expression softened considerably.

“Alright, we’re getting married tomorrow. I won’t argue with you.”

“After the wedding, you can go apologize to Sasha. Then we’ll go on our honeymoon.”

“Have you planned the honeymoon itinerary yet?”

I didn’t respond.

If Julian had paid even a little attention, he would have noticed there wasn’t a single wedding decoration in the apartment.

“We…”

Before I could get the words out, Julian’s phone rang.

Sasha’s voice came from the other end, and Julian’s expression tensed.

“Wait there, I’ll be right over.”

After hanging up, Julian immediately got up and headed for the door.

“Sasha’s not feeling well. I’m going to check on her. I’ll be back before the wedding. Just remember to go to the hotel and wait for me in the morning tomorrow.”

After the sound of the door closing, the words that had been on the tip of my tongue finally came out.

“Let’s break up, Julian. The wedding is canceled.”

The sound dissipated in the empty room. Only the tick-tock of the clock on the wall echoed.

I sat in the living room from evening until dawn, watching the sky change from dark to light.

My phone buzzed with a notification.

Two hours until boarding time.

I got up, went into the bedroom, took out my already packed suitcase, then picked up the marker. On the heavily circled number ten on the calendar, I drew a large X.

Then I wrote a sentence.

“Julian Fordham, let’s break up.”

I placed the calendar in the most conspicuous spot, grabbed my suitcase, took one last look at the place I had lived in for five years. After all of these, I went out and hailed a cab to the airport.

Goodbye, Julian.