There were 20 days left.
Lawrence started leaving earlier and coming home later than before.
The wedding he once promised felt like it had never existed at all.
Sometimes, I would see posts from his childhood friends. In the corner of their photos, there was always him, walking beside a woman.
That face was one I had already seen in the photo album on his phone.
That day, my company partner, Daphne Bishop, stopped me.
"Bring the design drafts later. We're going to sign a contract with the client. I heard this client is Mr. Schwartz's rumored lover."
I nodded, a little distracted.
Even though he was my partner, none of my colleagues were aware that I knew Lawrence, much less that we were secretly married.
The client's office was right downstairs from Lawrence's company.
I knew this was the new company Kayla had set up after returning, funded by Schwartz Corporation.
Lately, financial news had been full of stories hyping up their past romance.
When we entered the CEO's office, unsurprisingly, I saw Lawrence.
He was holding an exquisitely wrapped gift box and handing it to the woman sitting in the executive chair.
Kayla.
The moment Lawrence saw me, his expression froze.
Everyone in the room sensed something was off.
Kayla looked at me with a hint of amusement, asking, "And who is this?"
Lawrence fell silent, clearly weighing how to explain.
I smiled and introduced myself to everyone. "My name's Rebecca Neel. I'm the designer for this project. Mr. Schwartz and I are…"
Lawrence and I spoke at the same time.
"College friends."
As the words fell, my fingers tightened around the design drafts until my knuckles turned pale.
My fingertips pressed a deep crease into the paper.
This wasn't the first time I had covered for Lawrence, and it wasn't the first time he didn't want my identity made public.
A secret marriage hid the truth of who we were to each other. It also sealed the fact that there would be no future for us.
The rest of the business meeting went badly.
Lawrence slipped back into his elite business persona, representing Kayla as he pressed relentlessly during negotiations.
"Lower the price by another 10%."
He pushed our profit margin and bottom line to the absolute limit.
Daphne hesitated, then clenched her teeth and agreed. "Fine. You really live up to your reputation, Mr. Schwartz. You read our bottom line perfectly."
The man lowered his eyes and didn't dare look at me.
He really was as ruthless as the rumors said.
It was just that now, that ruthlessness was aimed at me, his legal wife.
Kayla hadn't said a word the whole time. She just smiled softly, without a trace of warmth.
There was a bit of provocation in that smile, and even more pride.
She had won so completely. She deserved to be proud.
Kayla reached out to open the gift box on the table.
"Let's all have some cake."
Unexpectedly, Lawrence, who had been calm throughout the negotiations, rushed to stop her.
"Don't. You're allergic to peanut butter. Let me check it first."
At that moment, the scene in front of me turned into sharp blades, tearing straight through me.
In five years of marriage, this man had forgotten our anniversary and mixed up my birthday. Everything I ever reminded him about was brushed aside without a second thought.
However, he always remembered that I was allergic to peanut butter.
I once secretly felt glad.
Maybe all those details proved he didn't love me, but there was still one thing that showed a hint of his care for me.
But it turned out that even that hint was fake.
-
The project moved along quickly.
However, Lawrence thought it was too slow. Hence, he reminded Harlan more than once.
