Until last month, Winona had believed she was living a happy life ... with a loving husband and a perfect marriage.
But everything changed when Linnea got divorced and returned to the country; that was when Jonathan’s behavior suddenly shifted and she finally uncovered his secret.
That was when Winona realized Jonathan had never let go of Linnea and had always been deeply in love with her.
That day, Winona had just finished signing a contract for Jonathan and had only just stepped out of the company’s front door when a car suddenly sped straight toward her. She couldn’t dodge in time and could only watch as it slammed into her, sending her flying.
As she lay in a pool of blood, memories from her past started flashing before her eyes. With all the strength she had left, Winona called Jonathan’s number, but he hung up.
On the third try, the call finally connected. A soft, seductive female voice came from the other end,
"Jonathan, you're already married. Even if I was divorced then, that didn’t change anything. I could only be loved by one man in this lifetime ... and that man was you."
"I never loved her and you knew that. I've only ever loved you. Back then, you wanted me to prove I wouldn't have fallen for someone just because of their looks or family background. I chose Winona because she looked like you. It’s been five years ... don’t you see how sincere I’ve always been?"
The phone slipped from Winona's hand and her consciousness slowly faded away.
When she woke up in the hospital, Winona found out she had lost her two-month-old baby and right then, she made up her mind to walk away from that ridiculous relationship.
She had just been a stepping stone forJonathan in his pursuit of true love.
Back when Linnea was about to get married, Jonathan couldn’t accept it. He showed up and tried to stop the wedding. But Linnea didn’t feel the same about him ... she only saw him as a younger brother and left him without hesitation to go through with her marriage.
The very next day, Jonathan approached Winona and asked her to marry him.
No one had any idea how overjoyed Winona had been at that time. She said yes to Jonathan’s proposal almost instantly.
She tilted her head to look up at Jonathan’s gentle smile, but deep down, she hadn’t felt any excitement about stepping into marriage.
Winona felt a little uneasy and asked, a bit nervously,
"Jonathan, we barely know each other. Why did you choose me?"
She hesitated for a second, but still ended up asking that question.
"Was it because Linnea and I looked alike?"
The words dropped like a stone, freezing the atmosphere between them.
After a long silence, Jonathan finally smiled and spoke, gently running a hand over her head as he said casually,
"Linnea only ever saw me as her younger brother. I tried to crash her wedding because I was afraid she'd end up with the wrong person and live a hard life, that’s all."
"Winona, from the very first time I met you, I felt like we had a special kind of connection."
Looking into Jonathan’s smiling eyes, Winona blushed and buried herself into his arms.
Thinking about that moment, Winona felt a sharp pain in her heart. Jonathan hadn’t lied back then ... Linnea really had treated him like a little brother.
But Jonathan had loved his sister deeply ever since he first learned what love was, enough to give his life for her.
Winona looked at Jonathan. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit and was seriously studying the menu.
Sensing Winona’s gaze, he smiled without even looking up and said, "Hungry?"
As he said that, he handed the menu to the waiter and then looked up at Winona.
"Make sure to eat more later … you’ll need the energy for overtime tonight."
His voice was low and husky, charming and his eyes were full of tender affection.
The meaning of "work overtime" was clear. Winona kept her head down without replying. Jonathan assumed she was just being shy and didn’t think much of it.
During the meal, Winona barely touched her food; she had already gone out to eat before she saw Jonathan in the dark room.
Winona looked around the whole table, which was covered with both salty and sweet dishes.
She didn’t like them but had been holding back her feelings for Jonathan’s sake.
She wouldn’t have to hold back anymore.
A little while ago, Winona found out that Jonathan didn’t like sweet flavors; the only one who truly loved sweets was Linnea.
Linnea had left, but Jonathan ended up living like her, pretending she had never left.
She had been daydreaming for too long, so she didn’t notice when Jonathan looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"Why aren’t you eating? Weren’t you hungry for a long time?"
"I didn’t feel like eating today, you go ahead."
Jonathan put down his cutlery and glanced at Winona with concern.
"Winona, did something happen? You seem a little off today."
Winona’s hand froze, the hand under the table slowly clenched, but her face stayed calm and composed. She spoke slowly, "I’m just a bit tired, I’ll rest once we get back."
After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant. Just as she was about to get into the car, Jonathan called out to her and Winona stopped, a bit confused.
He took a pair of flat shoes from the trunk of the car, walked over and placed them in front of Winona. He naturally squatted down before her, gently lifted her foot, took off her painful high heels and put on the comfortable flats.
Winona said nothing and silently watched him finish all this.
"I noticed earlier, you were acting kind of off today. It was because of these shoes, right?"
"If the shoes were uncomfortable, you shouldn’t keep them. I would buy you new ones."
Jonathan smiled as he casually tossed the high heels into the trash bin.
"If uncomfortable shoes should be thrown away, then what about people who aren’t the right fit?"
Winona whispered under her breath. Jonathan didn’t catch it clearly and asked,
"What did you say?"
"Nothing, just throw them out."
She murmured softly, then walked past the man and got into the car.
She already threw away the person who wasn’t right for her. Just one more month and she could leave everything behind and start a brand-new life!
