When Love Affair Withered Away

For the past eight years, I had been in a secret relationship with my best friend's sister. In public, Crystal Lancaster threatened me as her dutiful personal assistant, but behind the closed door, she would shower me with affection and whispered words of love every single night.

One day, I accidentally discovered she had purchased a DR engagement ring. A ring that could only ever be customized once in a lifetime. My heart raced with excitement as I secretly followed her to the beautifully arranged venue.

However, what I saw shattered me because I saw her kneeling on one knee in front of a man who bore an uncanny resemblance to me. Tears streamed down her face as she declared, “You’re the only one I’ll ever marry in this life.”

When he accepted, her friends congratulated and teased her, "Finally, the real man came back. It was not easy to wait for the one who got away to come back. So tell us, when are you going to let your stand-in toy boy go?"

Crystal exhaled a ring of smoke and with a distant gaze she said, "The boy love me to death. He can’t live without me. I’ll deal with it later.”

I swallowed hard, fighting back the sting in my eyes and turned away to type a message to my family, "Mom, I agree to go back to the arranged marriage."

Ironically, the date Crystal had her wedding was the same date as the day I chose to register my marriage.

When she saw the photo of me announcing my engagement, the color drained from her face.

——

After finalizing the details with my mother, I immediately booked a flight. I forced myself to block out the earlier scene, returned home and started packing my bags as quickly as possible.

As I was entering the living room to grab my thing, Crystal returned. She immediately wrapped her hands around me. Her face glowed with happiness.

"Tom," she said. "I love you so much. Let’s stay together forever, okay?"

She leaned in to kiss me. There was a smell of alcohol on her breath and an overwhelming scent of cologne clung to her body. The smell was so strong that I choked.

It was the same classic cologne she had always insisted on giving me as a gift, even though I repeatedly told her I preferred the woody scent of cedar and she kept sending me one. Sometimes, when I forgot to wear it, she would get furious and make a big deal out of it.

Only now I realized that the one who liked the perfume was the one Cristal loved. I was just his substitute. A wave of nausea rose within me and I dodged her touch.

The desire in her expression did not disappear. Instead, she pinned me against the door and her cold hand slipped beneath my shirt.

"Crystal! Release me!"

Her eyes widened with shock because I had never threatened her this way.

Before she could not say anything, the doorbell rang.

When I opened the door, a man burst in and wrapped his arms around Crystal. He then planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

Then he turned around and gave a bright and almost blinding smile.

"You must be Crystal's male assistant, Tom Davis, who has been serving her for the past eight years, right?" he asked.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Thomas Gordon, Crystal's fiancé. Thank you for taking care of her all this time!” he added.

The aroma of the cologne entered my nose as he moved. It was the same aroma that was on Crystal's body.

I stood still but my eyes locked on Crystal.

She hesitated for only a moment then she avoided my eyes and nodded. "That's right. He is the assistant I told you about."

“He doesn’t make much, so I let him stay in the guest room. It’s more convenient for him to handle small errands for me," Crystal stated.

Thomas waved it off casually, "Crystal, why are you explaining this to me again? I’m not some jealous guy who can’t tell business from personal matters.”

"In addition, Mr. Davis and I have similar look. It's no wonder you'd feel comfortable and familiar with him around. It’s natural. Honestly, I owe him a thank-you for being there for you," he said.

“Oh, by the way,” he added and clapped his hands together, “Since Mr. Davis knows the place so well, why don’t you help me move my stuff into Crystal's room? We’re getting married soon, so it’s time we start living together!”