To punish my stubborn behavior, he even relied on his contacts in Louisiana.
He tied me firmly to Eulalie.
No separation, no divorce.
In this lifetime, whether affection or hatred, we can only stay beside one another.
At that time, Eulalie knelt in front of me.
She promised she would love me for her whole life and said I would never regret my decision.
Yet in the second year after we married, she broke our vows.
Holding her lover in her arms, she faced me boldly and said, “Yes, I was cheating. What can you do about it?”
“Valerian, you have nowhere else to go.”
“In this life, you can only stay bound to me!”
I called my family, crying and saying I was sorry for my choice.
My father ended the call without warmth. My mother watched and stayed silent.
They said this was the path I chose, and even if I cried, I had to walk it until the end.
Because of that, knowing I would not leave, Eulalie grew prouder and more reckless.
Lovers came and left, and rumors spread everywhere.
Now, she even openly brought people to the house.
But what she did not know was that when I left before, my father and I set a ten-year agreement.
We made a wager about how long our love could last.
If I won, he would try his best to support our marriage.
If I lost, then I would return and accept a family-arranged wedding.
Because of Eulalie, this marriage, this wager, I lost everything, fully and completely.
While Eulalie was driving, I called that familiar number.
“Dad, I lost.”
“A deal is a deal. In three days, I will go back to Vermont for the arranged wedding.”
My father had never failed at a betting table.
Facing this expected result, he showed no surprise at all.
He only replied calmly and gave a few simple orders. “Valerian, you are my oldest son. This family business will still be inherited by you.”
“What is over is over. I will not argue with you about it, but there is one thing you must keep in mind.”
“What should not be taken, do not take. What should not be left, do not leave.”
What must not be taken was the baby growing inside Eulalie.
What must not be left behind was the wealth I had made for Eulalie.
These ten years of hurt were the warning he wanted me to keep in mind.
“I get it, Dad.”
After the call ended, Eulalie was already honking downstairs to rush me.
I climbed into the front seat marked with another man’s name.
The whole ride, neither of us said a word.
She acted like she did not notice the space on my face.
I acted like I did not notice the strong perfume inside the car.
When we stepped out, Eulalie reached out by habit to steady me.
Her pushed-up sleeve showed a long blade mark.
For a short moment, I let out a quiet breath.
To stay with me, Eulalie had been stabbed eighteen times across her body, barely staying alive.
The person who once cared for me so deeply that she would risk her life, how did she turn into this person now?
Before I could think any more, a man suddenly walked up and hooked his arm around Eulalie’s.
“Sister Eulalie, you haven’t come to see me for such a long while.”
“So why do you have time to show up today?”
“Did you argue with the man you keep at home, or is the new one no longer good enough for you?”
It was Percy Craig.
The most spoiled one among Eulalie’s many lovers and also the one who had stayed with her for the longest time.
Percy acted sweet and clingy toward Eulalie, leaning against her and rubbing close again and again.
Eulalie’s face was full of smiles.
She ignored me standing nearby and, as if performing a trick, pulled out an old watch to amuse Percy.
