Chapter 1

On the night of my third anniversary with my boyfriend Adrian, he brought his first love, Lily, along.

Someone suggested playing Never Have I Ever.

A few rounds in, Lily's cheeks were flushed pink from drinking.

She laughed and said, "I've been pregnant with Adrian's children."

The laughter in the private room died instantly.

Lily's tone carried a note of pride. "More than once. And every single time, he personally took me to the procedure."

Every pair of eyes in the room landed on me.

I looked at Adrian.

His face went white. His lips moved, but he didn't say a single word to deny it.

My phone screen was still lit up.

In the chat window sat the message I'd been about to send him.

"After tonight, what do you say we change what we are to each other?"

That was my planned proposal hint.

My finger hovered over the screen for a long time.

In the end, I calmly deleted the message.

I made an excuse about the restroom and booked the nearest flight to Paris from inside the stall.

Adrian texted me.

"Lily's drunk. Come help her up. Don't throw a tantrum."

I didn't reply.

At dawn, the plane took off.

This time, I only bought myself a one-way ticket.

After the plane landed, I turned on my phone. Adrian's messages popped up one after another.

"Emma, where are you?"

"Lily threw up. You didn't actually leave her alone in the bathroom, did you?"

"It's just a third anniversary. We can celebrate again next year. Don't make a scene over something like this."

The last one was from three in the morning.

"Where the hell did you go?"

I stood in the terminal at Charles de Gaulle, dragging my suitcase, staring at those words for a few seconds. Then I typed two words back.

"Work trip."

The moment the message sent, a call came through.

I didn't answer.

He called again.

On the third try, I picked up.

Adrian's voice was rough from a sleepless night.

"Emma, where are you?"

"Paris."

Silence on the other end for two seconds.

"Are you out of your mind? Just because Lily said a few things while drunk, you fly to Paris in the middle of the night?"

"That wasn't drunk talk, was it."

His breathing stopped for a beat.

I heard a lighter click, then quickly snap shut.

"That was all in the past."

"Does being in the past mean it doesn't count?"

He seemed to lose patience. His tone went cold.

"Emma, I'm not obligated to tell you every single thing that happened before I met you."

"Then I'm not obligated to stay."

Adrian was quiet for a moment, as if he'd finally reined in his temper.

"Don't say things you don't mean. Send me your address, I'll have my driver take you to a hotel. Get some rest. I'll fly over tomorrow."

"No need."

"Emma. It's been three years. You should know my boundaries by now. I don't like people using disappearance as a threat."

I thought of how, in that private room last night, when Lily said those words, everyone had been staring at me.

And Adrian hadn't denied a thing. He just stayed silent.

I gripped the handle of my suitcase.

"Adrian, I'm not threatening you."

From the other end came Lily's groggy voice.

"Adrian, my head hurts..."

Adrian immediately murmured to her, "Drink some water first."

When he spoke again, his tone held a layer of impatience.

"You heard her. She drank too much last night. She's still not feeling well. Can you not make things harder right now?"

I let out a small laugh.

"So me leaving counts as making things harder."

"Emma, you know that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

He faltered.

I didn't wait for his answer.

"Take care of her. I'm going to check in."

"Emma, don't you dare hang up on me."

I hung up.

The phone buzzed a few more times. I switched it to silent.

My advisor's assistant stood at the exit holding a name card. When she spotted me, she called my name in English.

I walked over. She smiled and took my luggage.

"Ms. Ward, welcome back. The gallery space is all set up. Professor Laurent says that if you're willing to stay this time, the lead creative position will always be held for you."

I clutched the ring box inside my bag.

Before last night, I'd planned to propose to Adrian on our third anniversary.

That ring—I designed it myself.

On the inside of the band, a tiny line of text was engraved.

"Only You."

Now it sat at the bottom of my bag.

"I'd like to stay."

The assistant beamed. "That's wonderful."

My phone screen lit up again.

Adrian.

"Come back when you're done throwing your fit. Lily has a follow-up appointment tomorrow. I don't have time to coddle you."

I set the phone face down.

This time, I didn't look back.