Chapter 2

With the wedding called off, our relationship was officially over.

Because Alyssa still held a torch for Julian back then, she had suggested holding the ceremony first and signing the marriage certificate later. I had agreed.

Looking back, that was the smartest thing that could have happened.

There was one other person heartbroken over this breakup: Alyssa's mother.

Before the wedding, to convince her mother that her daughter was in good hands, I had prepared an extravagant bridal gift.

Fifty thousand dollars in cash, gold bars, and high-end jewelry.

Now that the wedding was canceled, the jackpot slipped right through her fingers.

The very next day after I walked out of the venue, Alyssa's mother showed up on my doorstep.

She held a lavish fruit basket and a bottle of top-shelf bourbon, my dad's favorite.

Nothing screams hidden agenda quite like sudden flattery.

When I opened the door, I didn't invite her in. "Mrs. Vance, what brings you here?"

She gave a polite, eager half-bow.

"I just wanted to drop by and apologize."

"I saw what happened yesterday. It really was my daughter's fault."

"She shouldn't have run out so many times, but she was just overwhelmed! A young woman getting ready to leave home and get married is bound to get nervous, you know?"

Seeing right through her, I cut in. "So you still want me to marry Alyssa?"

Her mother nodded eagerly.

My face went cold. "Where is she, then?"

"Uh..." Her mother froze. "She's, um, busy right now, so she asked me to come apologize on her behalf."

Hearing that blatant lie, I almost laughed.

Oh, she was busy all right. Busy hooking up with her ex.

Just a moment ago, my phone had buzzed with a photo from Julian.

They were in bed together on crisp white sheets.

Julian's neck was dotted with dark red marks, and his chest was covered in scratch marks.

And Alyssa, my supposed fiancée, was sound asleep in his arms.

Even in her sleep, she clung tightly to Julian.

She looked as clingy as a pampered kitten—something she had never once shown me.

I had received dozens of photos like this.

Every time Alyssa ran out on a wedding and didn't come home that night, Julian would send me a photo.

Maybe it was a taunt. Maybe it was a dare.

What really cut deep, though, was the pendant around Julian's neck.

I still remembered that brutal winter when Alyssa kept getting burning fevers.

Each round would drag on for two weeks straight.

I drove her to the clinic every single day for IV drips.

Watching her pale face and shivering lips made my heart ache.

I reached out to an antique dealer I knew and found a beautiful, translucent piece of jade. Then I spent hours hand-carving it into a tiny rabbit.

Alyssa was born in the Year of the Rabbit.

I slipped the finished pendant around her neck and whispered, "Alyssa, may this keep you safe and free from pain."

Tears welled in her eyes, and she threw her arms around me. "Thank you, Ethan. I'll never take it off!"

After putting it on, she recovered quickly and stopped getting fevers.

Walking out of the clinic, she squeezed my hand, her eyes sparkling.

"Then I'll carve a little carrot for you, okay? A bunny can't be without her carrot."

"We're going to be safe and sound together, Ethan."

I ruffled her hair affectionately. "Sounds good."

Alyssa was never one to stick with anything for long.

She quickly found carving too tedious and wanted to give up.

One day, she leaned in close and looked at me sheepishly.

"Ethan, carving is way too hard. How about I just buy you a nice one from a store?"

Whenever she wanted her way, she put on that helpless, innocent face that made it impossible to stay mad.

Of course, I couldn't bring myself to be harsh with her.

I shook my head. "It's fine. If it's too much trouble, don't worry about it. It's the thought that counts. You don't need to buy one either."

She breathed a sigh of relief and hugged me. "Babe, you're the best!"

Watching how relieved she looked, an ache settled in my chest.

People usually care the most about the things they pretend not to care about.

And right now, that very same hand-carved carrot pendant was resting against Julian's bare chest.

I remembered asking her why she wanted to carve a carrot for me back then.

She had said a rabbit couldn't live without its carrot.

And a carrot lost all meaning without its rabbit.

Love didn't just vanish into thin air. It simply shifted somewhere else.