After Marrying My Younger Brother

Wesley Montgomery once told me that my gentle, water-like personality was what he loved most about me.

He said I had no temper, always calm, with emotions that stayed steady.

No matter how angry or upset he got, just seeing me would calm him down.

But then, he cheated on me.

"Beatrice is great, but after spending so much time together, things start to feel as bland as plain water," he told his friend. "Penelope, on the other hand, is interesting—she even throws tantrums in such a lively and cute way."

...

I first noticed something was off with Wesley when I casually saw a pink monster doll keychain hanging from his phone.

That evening, Wesley walked in, talking on the phone.

I looked up at the sound of his voice and caught him winking at me as he entered.

I froze for a moment.

Because hanging just below the phone pressed against his ear was that pink monster doll keychain.

From what I knew about Wesley, he would never hang a charm on his phone.

To him, that was frivolous—something only women would do.

I remembered once buying matching couple T-shirts.

He hated his because it had an embroidered rose on it.

He complained about it for ages, even saying he only wore it for my sake.

That shirt was totally not his style.

Yet now, this completely un-Wesley-like pink keychain was dangling from his phone.

And since we’d known each other, he’d never hung anything on his phone before.

After finishing his call, Wesley came over to hug me, but then he noticed me staring at the phone in his hand.

"What’s this?" I asked, unable to hide the suspicion in my voice.

"Oh, I was having lunch with a client at a restaurant, and the server asked me to leave a review. They gave me this little trinket and just tied it onto my phone. I’ve been so busy this afternoon, I totally forgot to take it off," he said, sounding casual.

There was nothing off about his tone.

He even took the little charm off and tossed it into the trash can without a second thought.

But I knew he was lying.

Wesley’s phone didn’t have apps like Groupon or anything similar. He thought they were a hassle and was too lazy to use them.

As he once put it, "I’m not so bored that I’ll bother saving a few bucks!"

Whenever he ate out, he always paid the bill directly.

Plus, he had taken a client out for lunch.

The chances of him using Groupon to place an order were zero.

I had already eaten out.

Wesley had called his favorite restaurant and had them deliver three dishes and a soup.

While he was eating, I got up. "I’m going downstairs to get some fruit."

"Hmm, get some oranges, I’m in the mood for them," he said, still glued to his phone, not even looking up.

"Okay," I replied, grabbing the trash bag from the bin.

"Wait," he called out, "Leave the trash there, I’ll take it down when I’m done eating."

"It’s fine, it’ll just take a second."

I took the trash outside.

Once downstairs, I threw the bag into the large trash bin.

I walked a few steps and found a spot behind a thick bush, standing quietly, waiting.

In a moment, I saw Wesley.

He walked out of the front door, looking around first, then hurriedly made his way to the trash can.

He stood by the bin, immediately spotting the bag I had just thrown in.

He visibly sighed in relief, reached for the bag, and pulled it out.

Opening it up, he quickly searched through it before delicately picking up the pink monster keychain with his fingertips.

He stared at it for a moment, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips as if he were thinking of someone amusing.

After a moment, he slipped the keychain into his pocket and, in a good mood, walked back the way he came.

I couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly. Women’s intuition really is spot on.

At that moment, all my suspicions were confirmed.

Wesley—the man who had chased me for so many years.

The one who had sworn he would always love me.