Chapter 2

I scrolled through our chat history.

For an entire six months,it had been nothing but my one-woman show.

"Dante,I made the beef bone soup you usually drink tonight.Will you come home for dinner?"

He had not replied.

"Dante,I fell down the stairs and sprained my ankle.Could you pick up a bottle of pain relief spray from the pharmacy if you pass one?"

Still no reply.

With trembling fingers,I selected every conversation with Dante.

It felt as if I were selecting the entire ten years of our relationship.

Then I deleted them with one tap.

At the same time,a new follow request appeared on my phone.

It was from Celeste.

I did not accept it,but as if possessed,I tapped into her Instagram.

It was packed with photos of a family of three.

As I looked at those familiar dates,tears kept falling.

On the day of my first abortion,Celeste had posted a selfie with a peace sign.

In the corner of the photo,the trash can was piled full of cigarette packs.

"Starting to try for a baby.He quit smoking right away and said he wanted to be the best daddy in the world."

On the day of my second abortion,Celeste lay weakly in Dante's arms,holding a wrinkled little newborn.

"Mother and son are safe.He cried harder than I did outside the delivery room."

I looked at Dante's reddened eyes in the photo and suddenly remembered many years ago,when I went with him to the docks to negotiate a dangerous deal.

A gunfight broke out on the road,and the car window was shattered by bullets.

Without hesitating,I threw myself over Dante to shield him.

He was unscathed.

But glass shards and fragments tore open my chest,leaving me covered in blood.

Dante gripped my hand tightly.His eyes were anxious,yet the distance in them could not be hidden.

Even at the edge of life and death,he still called me by my full name.

"Evelyn Snow,don't sleep."

I had thought he was born cold and did not know how to love.

I tried for ten years to warm him.

But it turned out I had never entered his heart at all.

I could not tell whether the wetness on my face was tears or rain.I only wanted to call a car and leave at once.

But I was soaked through,and several Uber drivers canceled on me.

I had no choice but to walk all the way back to the estate.

Halfway there,a young couple on the roadside seemed to be having an argument.

The boy rubbed his forehead helplessly and reached out to take the girl's hand.

The girl shook him off in grievance and turned her face away.

The boy had no choice but to crouch down and carry her on his back,coaxing her softly.

"All right,princess.I know you're tired from walking.I'll carry you back,okay?"

At last,the girl smiled.

But I saw the boy's lips move.

"So troublesome."

My heart gave a violent tremble.

I suddenly remembered the time after a family charity gala when Dante took me to see the hilltop winery he had just bought.

On the way,I accidentally twisted my ankle.

He glanced at my red,swollen ankle and asked coldly,

"Can you still walk?"

Everyone with us stopped to wait for me.

I endured the piercing pain,unwilling to miss that rare chance to be close to him.

But limping along,I still slowed everyone down.

Then Dante suddenly turned back and picked me up in his arms.

Back then,I thought he felt sorry for me,and I secretly smiled against his chest.

Now that I thought about it,he had only disliked how slowly I was walking.He had only thought I was a nuisance.

Tears ran down my cheeks.

I took the wedding ring off my ring finger and threw it into the grass by the road.

By the time I reached the estate,there were only three hours left before my flight.

I shook my dizzy head and leaned against the wall as I entered the door code.

The electronic lock vibrated and gave a shrill warning.

"Incorrect password."

The next second,the door opened from inside.

Celeste looked at my disheveled state with provocation in her eyes,smiling as if apologetic.

"Sorry.I casually mentioned that I could never remember the code,so Dante changed the lock to my birthday."

I froze in the doorway.

I saw the servants carrying out the furniture,ornaments,and photos I had personally chosen,box by box.