Scalding tears landed on my shoulder, seeping through my clothes.
“Promise me you won’t vanish again, alright? I’m begging you, Avery.”
“I can’t afford to lose you a second time.”
His voice trembled with such sincerity that it almost made me believe him.
Ever since I came back to the country, he had messaged me every hour whenever he left for work.
Checking if I was still at home, making sure the man from abroad hadn’t appeared again.
Last month, I went to the supermarket and didn’t see my phone in time.
He abandoned a hundred-billion project just to rush home.
The moment he saw I was safe, his eyes welled up with tears.
His hands trembled as he clutched me, just like now.
“Avery, thank goodness you’re alright...”
From that day on, five bodyguards followed me wherever I went.
Only when I finally complained about the inconvenience did he pull them away.
I used to believe that was love.
But now I understood that it was never about protection.
Those men were likely stationed not to shield me from danger but to prevent me from crossing paths with Addison to keep the truth hidden from me.
The love had once been real.
But now, the absence of it felt just as real.
I forced a faint smile and gently pried his hands off me.
“Sorry, I went out shopping. My phone died. I didn’t see your messages.”
A moment later, the living room lights flickered on.
Soft light poured over the rose petals scattered across the floor. The three-tiered cake on the table, and the wedding ring clutched tightly in his palm.
Just as three years ago, he got down on one knee; his expression was solemn and reverent.
“Avery, marry me, will you?”
“The wedding I promised is three years late. Before, I was afraid you hadn’t healed. Now, I want to make it up to you properly.”
I was just about to ask, ‘Are you really ready to marry me?’
When his phone vibrated violently.
“President Carter, something’s wrong. Addison had a bleeding ulcer and was rushed to the hospital. The surgery needs a family member to sign…”
The voice didn’t even finish.
All that remained was the sight of his back as he rushed out.
He didn’t even bother checking the ring size; he just shoved it roughly onto my finger.
Then he threw on a coat and left without so much as a glance back.
“Avery, something urgent came up at the company. Wait for me to come back.”
I looked down at the diamond ring digging into my skin, the metal slicing open my flesh. Blood slowly seeped out, staining the stone.
Tears slipped silently down my cheeks.
As if under a spell, I grabbed my still-damp coat and ran after him.
At the hospital’s emergency entrance, I saw a side of him I had never seen before: frenzied, furious, completely out of control.
“Didn’t I tell you to watch her? How could you let her drink herself into a stomach bleed?”
“What the hell were you doing?”
His friend looked like a scolded child, head hung low in guilt.
“There was nothing I could do! I can’t control your wife, can I? She was upset and insisted on drinking with me. What was I supposed to do, leave her there alone?”
“Anyway, they’re still waiting for someone to sign the surgery papers. Stop yelling at me and go sign already.”
Easton scribbled his signature with a fury that nearly tore through the paper, his voice sharp and ice-cold.
“Remember this: Addison is my legal wife. Her surgeries don’t need my approval. Next time, all of you are fired.”
The surgery lasted for an hour. He remained outside the whole time, motionless.
His friend, not wanting to get dragged any deeper, muttered some excuse and slipped out of the hospital.
When Addison was wheeled into the room, Easton’s eyes reddened.
“How could you be so reckless? Don’t you know your own limit?”
Addison burst into tears, her voice trembling with grievance as she collapsed into his arms like a wounded rabbit.
“But I missed you. Today is our anniversary. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t be like this, but I really can’t share you with Sister Avery.”
