I turned to see my childhood friend of ten years, Caleb Blackwood. He’d strategically moved to Europe to expand his family’s business for the five years I was married, only reappearing now that it was all over.
"Did that bastard Nolan mess with you again? Did he lay a hand on you?" Dressed in a black trench coat, his tall, lean frame radiated a comforting strength.
"Caleb." My eyes welled up again, but I forced a smile and waved the divorce decree. "Look. I'm free." I took a deep, shuddering breath. "I should have listened to you from the start. Nolan was never right for me. If I'd just listened, I wouldn't have wasted the last five years."
Seeing the tears glistening in my eyes, Caleb pulled me into a hug, his voice thick with emotion. "Juliet, do you have any idea what these last five years have been like for me? I wanted you to be happy, but I also selfishly prayed you would lose our bet."
My gaze softened. The fight went out of me. I closed my eyes, sinking into the warmth of his embrace. Five years. I’d bet five years of my life, and I had lost spectacularly.
Nolan had no clue how much I’d fought with Caleb five years ago over my decision to marry him. Caleb had tried everything to stop me, insisting Nolan wasn’t a good man, but I was hell-bent on breaking free from what I saw as his overbearing control. Finally, an exhausted Caleb had proposed a bet.
"You say he's your true love? Fine. Let's make a bet." He'd made a pact with me: for five years after our wedding, I would wear no makeup, dress plainly, and deliberately present myself as unadorned and ordinary. It was a test to see if Nolan’s love was more than skin-deep. If, after five years, Nolan's love remained unchanged, Caleb would let me go and offer us his wholehearted blessing.
Unfortunately, we never made it. The first year, I dressed like a frumpy student. The second, I gave up my career as an illustrator to become a housewife. The third, I started living in old sweatsuits, my face always bare. As I became more ordinary each year, Nolan's affection withered.
First, he stopped calling me "baby." Then the flowers and gifts on Valentine's Day vanished. When I asked, he'd snap, "We're married. Do we really need to do all that exhausting stuff?" Soon after, he fell silent. He'd come home from work, take one look at my plain appearance, and his mood would sour. He spent most evenings shut away in his study. And finally, all he had left for me was raw impatience. He’d lie about working overtime to go to parties with friends.
I once overheard a voicemail from his friend, teasing, "Nolan, you used to be so whipped. Right after you got married, we could never drag you out. You'd brag that Juliet was a one-in-a-million goddess and that you'd found your soulmate. It's only been three years, what happened? Why are you avoiding her now?"
Nolan’s reply was laced with venom. "The way Juliet is now... I was crazy about her at first because she was gorgeous. Who knew that in just three years, she'd completely let herself go? I get sick just looking at her. And she still clings to me, begging for gifts and kisses. It makes me want to puke. And don't even get me started on sleeping with her. I haven't touched her in six months. I feel nothing."
His words were like ice in my veins. Nolan had whispered it in my ear a thousand times: "Juliet, I love your soul. It has nothing to do with your looks. Even if you get old or ugly, I'll love you forever." But the truth was, I’d only become ordinary, and he'd already shown his true colors.
But I was still a fool, thinking it was just a phase. Until the company's annual gala, when Nolan and his assistant, Skylar, vanished together. When I burst into the hotel room and found them half-undressed, I saw red and hurled a wine glass at them. Nolan’s first instinct was to shield Skylar. Then he glared at me with pure disgust. "Juliet, have you lost your mind? Just looking at your face makes me sick. And now you're acting like a lunatic. What man would want this?"
His sharp words and icy gaze were knives in my heart. The great love I thought would last a lifetime couldn't even make it five years. The final blow came when I discovered he’d secretly altered the artistic rose tattoo on his arm—the one that symbolized me—into the letter 'S' for Skylar.
"It's okay, it's over now," Caleb's voice pulled me from the painful memories. "Juliet, leave it in the past. It's time to look forward." He gently cupped my cheek, a soft smile on his face as he led me into City Hall.
When we emerged, his face was radiant, so overcome with joy he could barely speak. "Juliet, I feel like I'm dreaming. I've imagined this moment a thousand times, and now it's real. I'm not Nolan. I will always love you and protect you."
I smiled and scrolled through the photos on my phone. "You're right. To celebrate a new beginning, we should post something." I looked up at him. "Let everyone know I have a new husband."
